[Spareribs]

Interesting topic.

I was talking to a TV sales guy over at Best Buy and he said that 1080 on a 37 inch screen is "bogus". He stated that you won't notice the 1080 thing on a 37 inch LCD and that 720p is really what you need for that size.

My feeling is that he's probably right, plus the picture did impress me on the 37 inch 720p LCD on the Samsung unit I saw.

I'm in the market for an LCD and decided to get a 37 inch Samsung 720p this Christmas as a holiday gift for myself because they are only a little more expensive (about $100 more or less) than than the cheap name brands if you can find a good deal on the internet and I see them all the time. Plus Samsung picture quality impressed me the most.

 

[mark10001]

Most broadcast is 1080i, and blu-ray is 1080p. If you set is 720p and you play blu-ray the 1080p will get downscaled to 720p. If you watch broadcast 720p and have a 1080p display the 720p will get scaled up to 1080p. The quality of the picture is going to depend on the processing, and quality of content. There are external video processors that do scaling, de-interlacing and noise reduction that will do all the processing correctly such as those from Anchor Bay » Products » DVDO Systems. On a small screen it wont be very noticeable but remember that no matter what resolution the display is you can still have artifacts if the processing is not done well. It is kinda like if you have an amp that is 1000W, it wont really matter if the preamp, source, or amp in the chain is inferior quality.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Which video codec and player are you using? DVD's looked really bad on my crt (1600x1200) until I tried a different codec, and the video improved noticeablty. (I'm using media player classic with the cyberlink mpeg2 decoder)

Media Player Classic + ffdshow or cyberlink mpeg2 decoder, depending if its video file or original DVD. Of course, post processing helps tremendously on artifacts and jaggies, but it still looks so bland and undetailed. On normal TV it isnt noticeable because both CRT and film work on same resolution.

 

[krmathis]

Go for 1080p.
A TV is meant to last multiple years, so its imo smart to think a little ahead. Even if you don't have a 1080p capable source these days, who knows what will happen in the future (next year, or the year after).

Hence why I did go for a 1080p 42" LCD some months back.

 

[guyx1992]

It depends how close you sit to the TV. I have a 42" LCD 720P TV and I sit about 3 meters away and its good enough...

 

[zotjen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dir_d /img/forum/go_quote.gif To me any screen above 40" should be 1080p but that is just my preference. 1080i is a joke... the splitting of the frames are so noticeable in action scenes or sports. That's why ESPN only broadcasts in 720p.

And this is why 720p should be fine for the OP. All broadcasts are either 720p or 1080i. You will only take advantage of 1080p with Blu-Ray.

 

[zowie]

Would it be fair to say that so far most of the posters recommending 1080p are basing it on theory and most of the posters recommending 720p are basing it on viewing observations?

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zotjen /img/forum/go_quote.gif And this is why 720p should be fine for the OP. All broadcasts are either 720p or 1080i. You will only take advantage of 1080p with Blu-Ray.

Any reason why the broadcasters can't or wouldn't switch to 1080p ?

 

[shigzeo]

i was at a large electronics store the other day and it compared 720p to 1080p side by side or with different user switchable inputs. the difference was staggering on probably a 40 inch tv. 720 looked good but 1080p look phenomenally good.

my fiancee has both and when a full 1080 broadcast comes on, it is by far, far far better looking: but people look worse as now,i can see all their blemishes

 

[KUNFUCHOPSTICKS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spareribs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Interesting topic. I was talking to a TV sales guy over at Best Buy and he said that 1080 on a 37 inch screen is "bogus". He stated that you won't notice the 1080 thing on a 37 inch LCD and that 720p is really what you need for that size.

Yeah, amazingly this guy from Best Buy is right. Anything under a 42, 1080p is worthless- unless you like to site 2 feet away from the TV, which is not a good idea.

 

[Moocher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zowie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Would it be fair to say that so far most of the posters recommending 1080p are basing it on theory and most of the posters recommending 720p are basing it on viewing observations?

Actually, theory suggests 720. Viewing observations suggest 720. Misunderstanding and hype suggest 1080. This is for the size screen you were discussing, mind you.

Mooch

 

[Nocturnal310]

Atleast for next 5 yrs the broadcasters WONT switch to 1080p due to bandwidth & cost issues.

And majority of population still owns a 720p Television.

If u have a Full HD tv...its only going to be used for Blu-ray & Gaming

 

[Bunnyears]

720 p is good enough for tv broadcasts, which are only 720p or 1080i. It's not good enough for blu-ray, even on smaller sized screens. If you can, look at a great bd such as Pirates of the Caribbean in full 1080p and you will easily see the difference even on smaller screens.

 

[Akabeth]

It depends how you look at it.

If budget is a singular issue all by itself, then I can't blame you to take home a 720p lcd. When I moved into my apartment last year with some long time friends, one brought his 720p. We had all our dvd-p, xbox (3), a ps3, and a full speaker setup hooked up to it. Then another one of us bought in a loaded comcast contract and there was plenty of high-def channels. It was alright for a while but we all knew someone had to step in and buy a 1080p sooner or later. So I bought one of these Sony 46" XBR5 for Christmas and gosh was it a big improvement in every measure. After some consideration I ended up selling it because I hardly ever watch TV anyway. As always its priorities, priorities...

OP, good luck with your purchase

 

[zowie]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm surprised by how polarized the views are. Hopefully this thread will be useful to others too.