My friend's just gotten a PS3 and he's out shopping for a 1080p set to take advantage of the Blu-ray capabilities (getting rid of his 28" 720p LCD). The set he's looking at is the new Sharp, 6ms, 32" 1080p LCD. I've heard a lot about 1080p not being any different than 720p at screen sizes lower than 50". Is there truth to this? Can anyone link me to a site with a chart or table? It seems like the image would be incredibly sharp (don't pardon the pun) at 32" as opposed to 50" since there are more pixels per square inch. Any advice would be appreciated.

You'll be able to tell, if you sit REAL close to it, say like a computer monitor.

here are two charts. the first is here (http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/). the second is here (http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5108580-2.html). the first is more accurate as it shows the correlation between the resolution, screen size, and viewing distance. a 32" 1080p resolution tv would be best viewed at a 4' distance. here's the chart from the first link:
http://www.carltonbale.com/wp-content/uploads/resolution_chart.png

This whole optimum viewing distance thing cracks me up.

I have a Aquos 32" 1366x768 TV, and feeding it 1080i or 720 from a cable box made no noticable change at any distance, because it scales all I assume to it's native res or close.

I also just picked up a 42" Aquos 1080p TV before the New Years ball drop for '07, the same cable box set to 1080i looked amazing, and now with HD DVD in 1080i, it also looks STUNNING to me!

However I am not sitting 4-5 feet from my TVs. Doesn't anyone rememeber when your parents told you not to sit so close to the TV??? :D

If the PS3 looks as sharp on my 42", as my PC games at 1024x768 on this 15" monitor, I might give Sony $600+, but for now...Nope!

Just buy what looks good, and what he can afford now, as in 1 year or less, prices will drop, and he can have more screen for less money... ;)

The entire optimum distance thing is a nice scam in order to get people to buy a 50"+ set.

Seriously, a ~60" is needed for a distance of 7 feet? Please... all these claims are going to do is stall HDTV sales

"your sitting 10 feet away? well the only TV which will give good 1080p is our only 73" TV"

The entire optimum distance thing is a nice scam in order to get people to buy a 50"+ set.

Seriously, a ~60" is needed for a distance of 7 feet? Please... all these claims are going to do is stall HDTV sales

"your sitting 10 feet away? well the only TV which will give good 1080p is our only 73" TV"

Well, that, or getting eyes from Cyberdyne Systems. ;)

...
However I am not sitting 4-5 feet from my TVs. Doesn't anyone rememeber when your parents told you not to sit so close to the TV??? :D ...
Well, that's precisely because piss poor, low resolution PQ of SD materials :) The whole idea with higher resolution HD materials/HDTV so we can sit closer (without ruining one's vision) and have wider view angle, sharper (and more colorful) picture, overall enjoy a better experience.

That is exactly the experience I got moving from 32" CRT, to 46" 720p, and now to 57" 1080p at similar viewing distance (8-10').

Well, that's precisely because piss poor, low resolution PQ of SD materials :) The whole idea with higher resolution HD materials/HDTV so we can sit closer (without ruining one's vision) and have wider view angle, sharper (and more colorful) picture, overall enjoy a better experience.

That is exactly the experience I got moving from 32" CRT, to 46" 720p, and now to 57" 1080p at similar viewing distance (8-10').

I won't argue with that point, sitting closer to a bigger HDTV definetly enhances the experience. But saying a HDTV >70" is needed to enjoy 1080p from 10 feet away is riduculous.

I won't argue with that point, sitting closer to a bigger HDTV definetly enhances the experience. But saying a HDTV >70" is needed to enjoy 1080p from 10 feet away is riduculous.
Well, it's just a theoretical recommendation to get maximum benefits out of currently highest resolution possible (for both TV and source). It really depends on one's vision, lighting, TV, and source, that's why it's a range.

Sitting closer means one would see artifacts or pixel structures, obviously sitting further away does not prevent anyone from having a good experience :) I usually experiment with viewing distance, generally with good source (like most programs on Discovery HD, the recommended distance works well for me, if I watch SD sources, then that distance would be too close. So I end up with watching mostly just HD channels.

I've done a lot of research on this stuff, Sound and Vision also published their own detailed charts, scientific info, studies, etc on it all both on their website and in their mag (do a search of their site or these forums for words like 720p, 1080p, distance charts, or whatever to find that data).

Basically, the conclusion I've found/seen is that the average person won't really need to buy into 1080p since the average person almost always sits at least 6-9ft away from their set and almost always has less than 20/20 vision, even when they are wearing their corrective glasses/lenses.

So unless you plan on connecting your 32 inch to one of those steel-stand arms that attaches directly to your Lazy Boy chair so you constantly have the screen sticking right in your face, I wouldn't sweat going for 1080p. Even then though, things like quality of the source, quality of the disc player, and quality of your calibration will matter much more to your eye then what resolution your TV is natively displaying or scaling to.

I have 20/20 vision and I sit 8ft away from my 42" 480P Plasma. If i put my 24" Dell monitor at that distance I can easily tell the difference on 1080P, so that chart is void for me. Yes I understand not everybody has clear vision so what applies to me doesn't to others.

I think about it like this.

One day I hope to make my 42" 1080p TV my actual monitor, by hanging it on the wall behind my desk. So it doesn't matter if right now at 12' I could get the same picture from a 720p TV.

I have found that I need to be less than 2' away from the screen to make out individual pixels, that will be very important to me when it is my monitor.

57" 1080p...niiiiiiice >70+"...Oh to dream... :D

I understand a lot of studies were done on distances, angles, etc...to make you feel like you are "in the action". I believe THX has a lot of these measurements on their website too.

I guess I could have gone projector, but love my LCD's for most family viewing.

i never understood the arguement where a large tv is needed to see a difference between HD and SD. i have a 27" LCD tv and sitting ~7' away, the difference is undeniable between 480p and 720p. even my gf can tell. and that's comming from a girl who couldn't tell the difference between OTA HD and OTA SD on a 50" our plasma just a year ago.

The entire optimum distance thing is a nice scam in order to get people to buy a 50"+ set.

Seriously, a ~60" is needed for a distance of 7 feet? Please... all these claims are going to do is stall HDTV sales

"your sitting 10 feet away? well the only TV which will give good 1080p is our only 73" TV"

It could also be argues that for a given size, beyond a certain distance, cheaper 720p sets are adequate. In fact, for most people that is the case.