720P or 1080P? - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

jschall · 2008-09-23, 05:47 PM

I'm new here, but I've been reading the FAQs and various posts 'til my PC screen looks blurry

We will be moving from Saint Lambert to Mont Saint-Hilaire just before the Holidays, and we're NOT taking our 32" JVC CRT TV with us. Time to move into the 21st century!

With all the information and useful advice on Digital Home Canada, I have learned a lot, and have narrowed my purchase options to these:

Size - given that we will be watching in a small room, 8' from the screen, I will opt for a 40" or 42" screen.

Technology - Plasma

Native resolution - not sure

Given the sources we will have available:
- No strong Over-The-Air signal at 50 km from Mont Royal.
- Vidéotron HD Set-Top Box (Scientific-Atlanta)
- DVD player (Progressive Scan)
- Future BluRay disc player

And given that we will be watching Standard- and High-Definition broadcasts 90% of the time, and rented movies occasionally -

Should I pay the premium for a 1080P HDTV set, or would a 720P deliver indistinguishable picture quality?

I have slunk around the display rooms at Costco, Future Shop and Best Buy, and it seems to me, I can surely see the difference in resolution between a 720 and a 1080, but that's while standing only 4 to 5 feet from the screen.

My comfort zone budgetwise is $1500 - $2000.

Your opinions and recommendations would be very welcome.

And if I have missed a pertinent FAQ or post, please point me to it!

Respectfully,

Jeff Schallenberg
Saint Lambert, Québec

Geoff · 2008-09-23, 06:04 PM

MY rule of thumb.
Anything smaller than 50" 720p. Larger , 1080p.
Others will say they can see a HUGE difference on their 37" flat screen , but not me.

Make sure , when you are comparing one TV to another that you are comparing apples to apples.

jean luc picard · 2008-09-23, 08:04 PM

does anybody but panasonic make 42" 1080p plasmas?

jvincent · 2008-09-23, 08:19 PM

Just as an FYI, there are no 720p plasmas. They are either 768p or 1080p.

jean luc picard · 2008-09-23, 11:15 PM

thats not correct. hitachi has some funky resolutions including 1024 x 1024 and 1024 x 1080 "i". not quite interlaced, but not quite progressive.

Michael DeAbreu · 2008-09-23, 11:42 PM

I'd plan for the future and opt for 1080p with an ATSC tuner.

You might also consider if you will be displaying digital photos on it. Greater than 4MP will just fill a 1080 screen.

rabid · 2008-09-24, 05:18 PM

720p should be fine for SD and HD viewing at 40" at your viewing distance. For viewing pictures and for connecting it to a PC, 1080p really makes a difference though.

If you will be connecting a PC to the tv, check with the sales staff to see If you could bring a laptop to the display rooms so you could test out various resolutions.

rsambuca · 2008-09-24, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschall

Technology - Plasma

Just curious - Why Plasma only?

Eluder · 2008-09-28, 10:47 PM

Personally, after seeing my friend's new TV tonight, get a 1080p. I've had my Sharp Aquos 720P LCD for almost 3 years and I've been happy, but I just came back from seeing my friend's Samsung A750 1080p with Blu-Ray, and my goodness, it looks ridiculously good. The movies looked so real, as if you were there; I mean I was impressed when I first saw BD/HD on my own TV, but seeing them on his, made me drool. I'll now definitely be replacing my TV at the end of the year and going with one of the new sets, there really is a huge difference between a good 720p set and a good 1080p set.

spensar · 2008-09-29, 03:53 PM

Quote:

I've had my Sharp Aquos 720P LCD for almost 3 years and I've been happy, but I just came back from seeing my friend's Samsung A750 1080p with Blu-Ray, and my goodness, it looks ridiculously good.

You are assessing the difference to 1080p, however, I think the key is that your TV is 3 years old. I think that even if his was 720p it would blow a 3 year old TV out of the water. The technology keeps getting better and 3 years is a long time in the LCD world.

the hawk · 2008-09-29, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spensar

You are assessing the difference to 1080p, however, I think the key is that your TV is 3 years old. I think that even if his was 720p it would blow a 3 year old TV out of the water. The technology keeps getting better and 3 years is a long time in the LCD world.

My thoughts exactly.

You can't compare a 3 year old LCD with the current crop.....the sets have come a long way in that short period of time in terms of contrast levels and processing.

Nowadays the discussion of 720p (768p) vs 1080p is almost moot......almost everything made these days is native 1080p and I'm sure within the next year or two nobody will make anything 720p (768p) that's 40" or bigger. Everybody has 1080p on the brain these days.

jvincent · 2008-09-29, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Everybody has 1080p on the brain these days.

True. Unfortunately it's not the most important factor.

Accurate colours and greyscale are actually a lot more important to a good movie experience.

I'm not saying 1080p is inherently bad, but I'd be very curious to see how many people are actually benefitting from the extra resolution.

As you point out though, this will be a moot point in a couple of years.

Eluder · 2008-09-30, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spensar

You are assessing the difference to 1080p, however, I think the key is that your TV is 3 years old. I think that even if his was 720p it would blow a 3 year old TV out of the water. The technology keeps getting better and 3 years is a long time in the LCD world.

I still don't think it's just the fact that my TV is 3 years old, I've looked at other friends who have recently bought 720P sets, and the difference was not this immense. Either way, it's an absolute no brainer to go 1080p right now IMHO unless of course you have to spend the bare minimum just to move to HD, but at that point, I would say skip HD until you can afford a good 1080p set. Like I said, I'm definitely going to be getting myself a nice new 1080p LCD this holiday season, the difference is truly immense.

David Susilo · 2008-09-30, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsambuca

Just curious - Why Plasma only?

because, currently, plasma is the better technology.

Check various magazines around the world, which display is considered the best display in the world; you'll get your answer to the question of "why plasma".

rsambuca · 2008-09-30, 09:27 PM

I was asking the OP, actually.

And I do keep abreast of the subject, and it is not definitive by any means. The topic of best technology is up for debate. Each display has its merits and it's downsides. Therefore you can not say one is superior than another unless you know the requirements of the user. Are you suggesting that any one particular display type is superior for all settings? ie. Dedicated Home Theatre room vs brightly lit family room? Public use displays with hours and hours of time on one channel with a ticker on the bottom? People concerned with their energy footprint?

2008-09-23, 05:47 PM	#1
jschall Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Mont Saint-Hilaire, Québec Posts: 135	720P or 1080P? I'm new here, but I've been reading the FAQs and various posts 'til my PC screen looks blurry We will be moving from Saint Lambert to Mont Saint-Hilaire just before the Holidays, and we're NOT taking our 32" JVC CRT TV with us. Time to move into the 21st century! With all the information and useful advice on Digital Home Canada, I have learned a lot, and have narrowed my purchase options to these: Size - given that we will be watching in a small room, 8' from the screen, I will opt for a 40" or 42" screen. Technology - Plasma Native resolution - not sure Given the sources we will have available: - No strong Over-The-Air signal at 50 km from Mont Royal. - Vidéotron HD Set-Top Box (Scientific-Atlanta) - DVD player (Progressive Scan) - Future BluRay disc player And given that we will be watching Standard- and High-Definition broadcasts 90% of the time, and rented movies occasionally - Should I pay the premium for a 1080P HDTV set, or would a 720P deliver indistinguishable picture quality? I have slunk around the display rooms at Costco, Future Shop and Best Buy, and it seems to me, I can surely see the difference in resolution between a 720 and a 1080, but that's while standing only 4 to 5 feet from the screen. My comfort zone budgetwise is $1500 - $2000. Your opinions and recommendations would be very welcome. And if I have missed a pertinent FAQ or post, please point me to it! Respectfully, Jeff Schallenberg Saint Lambert, Québec

2008-09-23, 06:04 PM	#2
Geoff Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Hamilton , Ont. Posts: 319	MY rule of thumb. Anything smaller than 50" 720p. Larger , 1080p. Others will say they can see a HUGE difference on their 37" flat screen , but not me. Make sure , when you are comparing one TV to another that you are comparing apples to apples. __________________ Tramps like us...

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2008-09-23, 08:04 PM	#3
jean luc picard Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: \ Posts: 434	does anybody but panasonic make 42" 1080p plasmas?

2008-09-23, 08:19 PM	#4
jvincent Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Ottawa Posts: 5,369	Just as an FYI, there are no 720p plasmas. They are either 768p or 1080p.

2008-09-23, 11:15 PM	#5
jean luc picard Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: \ Posts: 434	thats not correct. hitachi has some funky resolutions including 1024 x 1024 and 1024 x 1080 "i". not quite interlaced, but not quite progressive.

2008-09-23, 11:42 PM	#6
Michael DeAbreu Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 806	I'd plan for the future and opt for 1080p with an ATSC tuner. You might also consider if you will be displaying digital photos on it. Greater than 4MP will just fill a 1080 screen.

2008-09-24, 05:18 PM	#7
rabid Rookie Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 6	720p should be fine for SD and HD viewing at 40" at your viewing distance. For viewing pictures and for connecting it to a PC, 1080p really makes a difference though. If you will be connecting a PC to the tv, check with the sales staff to see If you could bring a laptop to the display rooms so you could test out various resolutions.

2008-09-28, 10:47 PM	#9
Eluder Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 1,446	Personally, after seeing my friend's new TV tonight, get a 1080p. I've had my Sharp Aquos 720P LCD for almost 3 years and I've been happy, but I just came back from seeing my friend's Samsung A750 1080p with Blu-Ray, and my goodness, it looks ridiculously good. The movies looked so real, as if you were there; I mean I was impressed when I first saw BD/HD on my own TV, but seeing them on his, made me drool. I'll now definitely be replacing my TV at the end of the year and going with one of the new sets, there really is a huge difference between a good 720p set and a good 1080p set.

2008-09-30, 09:27 PM	#15
rsambuca Veteran Join Date: May 2006 Location: Calgary Posts: 1,633	I was asking the OP, actually. And I do keep abreast of the subject, and it is not definitive by any means. The topic of best technology is up for debate. Each display has its merits and it's downsides. Therefore you can not say one is superior than another unless you know the requirements of the user. Are you suggesting that any one particular display type is superior for all settings? ie. Dedicated Home Theatre room vs brightly lit family room? Public use displays with hours and hours of time on one channel with a ticker on the bottom? People concerned with their energy footprint?