Official "1080p Vs. 720p" Thread Discussion - Page 6

Originally Posted by dhark

I am sure you may be right but did you happen to see I was trying to keep it around $1500 give or take $100!!! Not a couple thousand

Originally Posted by CruelInventions

... people discuss how their $1500-$2000+ processors do a "nice" or "decent" job cleaning up or improving their SD content viewing experiences. For me, the damn thing better be giving me an hourlong massage each night for those kind of prices!

Originally Posted by venk

I'm going through the same Panny 42" Plasma vs Westy 42" 1080p right now but I am looking at it from the other side as I have a PS3, Xbox360, and an HD-A1.

It seems I lose a TON of resolution (vertical and horizontal) when dropping down to the Panny. Are the benifits of Plasma worth the loss when considering the fact that I have the next gen 1080p stuff right now? Wouldn't the HDA1 look better on a 1920x1080 display since it outputs in 1920x1080i? Wouldn't forcing the resoultion of a 1920x1080p movie or game to drop to 1280x720p and the converting it to 1024x768 cause an appreciable drop in PQ?

Would the Hitachi 42" Plasma (1024x1080) help the image quality of the 1080i/p compared to the Panisonic? Heck at that Price point, I could get the new 47" Vizio 1080p LCD.

Boy, all this makes my head hurt.

Originally Posted by hifisponge

That is a tough decision to make. If it were between a 50" Panny (which is a true 720p set) and a 1080p LCD, I would say that my preference would still be for the plasma. I own both LCD and Plasma and an HDDVD player and I definitely like the picture quality of the plasma better. It has deeper blacks which makes the picture look richer than the LCD. The plasma also looks good from virtually any angle, whereas my LCD starts to look even more washed out when you sit to the side.

I can say that if you choose to go with LCD, be sure to check out the major brands (Sony and Samsung) as in my experience they have markedly better picture quality than the off-brands. The blacks are deeper (for LCD), the picture is cleaner and the color is truer on the Sony and Samsung sets vs something like Vizio.

The only sure way to know which is right for you is to compare them in the store for yourself. Just be sure to grab the remote for each of them to at least put them in a standard picture mode (something more neutral than "Vivid").

Originally Posted by hifisponge

That is a tough decision to make. If it were between a 50" Panny (which is a true 720p set) and a 1080p LCD, I would say that my preference would still be for the plasma. I own both LCD and Plasma and an HDDVD player and I definitely like the picture quality of the plasma better. It has deeper blacks which makes the picture look richer than the LCD. The plasma also looks good from virtually any angle, whereas my LCD starts to look even more washed out when you sit to the side.

I can say that if you choose to go with LCD, be sure to check out the major brands (Sony and Samsung) as in my experience they have markedly better picture quality than the off-brands. The blacks are deeper (for LCD), the picture is cleaner and the color is truer on the Sony and Samsung sets vs something like Vizio.

The only sure way to know which is right for you is to compare them in the store for yourself. Just be sure to grab the remote for each of them to at least put them in a standard picture mode (something more neutral than "Vivid").

Originally Posted by ebernazz

Well said! My only additional recommendation is if possible use your charge card and get both sets home for a week or 2 and compare in your setting. Lighting can make a difference and is actually why I did not stay with the LCD and chose plasma. The reflection was not as bothersome as the washing out when the LCD absorbed the light.

Originally Posted by aaandrewww

So how long will this thread even be valid.

...

I feel like three years or so before 1080p 50 inchers come down to about a grand for LCDs and plasmas. At that point it will be hard to price 720p TVs less than that and just as EDTV is disapearing now it will slowly fade away.

Originally Posted by rami1010

I'm new to this Plasma/LCD world. My old TV got busted few days back and now was thinking to get into real world of Plasma/LCD.

I was planning to buy Panny 50" Th-50PX600U until I saw Sony KDL46V2500..

Panny is 50" and 769p resolution
Sony is 46" and 1080p.

question # 1: Is there ANY picture quality difference between these two?.
question # 2: is it safe to buy these expensive TV's online?

Please please help me

Originally Posted by Nmlobo

Your set can not "display" 1080i. It can receive and manipulate the signal. 1080i (when properly deinterlaced) and 1080p do contain the same number of lines. Your TV can not display either 1080i or 1080p. It receives these signals and then scales the image down to 768p. It makes no difference where the signal is processed (internal or external to the tv) everything that is input to your set will be scaled to 768.

Originally Posted by WilliamG

I'd like to add that it really, as others have stated, depends on what you're watching. With regard to the ED 852x480 vs HD 1920x1080, I own both a Panasonic 42" ED plasma and a Samsung 46" 1080p LCD, and for SD and DVDs, the ED destroys the HD. No comparison. Even for crappy 720p HD cable etc, the ED holds up REALLY well. However, when it comes to dedicated 1080 sources like HD-DVD and Blu-ray, the ED can not hold a candle to the beauty of the 1080 set.

With regards to the 720p vs 1080p argument, it also really depends. If you sit really close to the TV, no question you should get the 1080p set. I can make out the pixel grid on a 720p set much quicker than I can a 1080p set. I sit around 7 feet from my 46" 1080p, and I can not distinguish individual pixels at all. It's beautiful. I also use my PC on my 1080 set, so this resolution was a no-brainer. With 1080p TV prices dropping so much, I think it would be a lot smarter to buy a 1080p now or soon and not worry about the future. You never know where your TV will end up, so why not splurge a little more and be future-proof? Perhaps not future-proof in regards to broadcasts, but at least you have the flexibility of moving/selling the TV at a later date.

If all you do now, and will do in the future, is watch HD cable and watch SD-DVDs, heck, save your money and buy an ED. It's the best set for that task. No questions. I absolutely love my ED plasma, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

The funny thing is I remember the 480p vs 720p arguments over 2 years ago just before I bought my ED plasma for $2k (when HD 1024x768 42" plasmas were still the better part $4k). I'm glad I bought my ED then, and now this year I spent another $2100 on my 46" 1080p. 720p never impressed me that much in material that was available at that time. 720p TVs will always, always need to scale, as others have said, whereas 1080p TVs won't need to scale 1080i HD or HD-DVD/Blu-ray movies.

The result?

Get an ED if you watch JUST SD-DVD, TV and HD-cable. Also the VERY best system for the Gamecube, Wii and Playstation 2/XBOX.

Get a 720p if you play 360/PS3 video games a lot, you watch HD material of ANY sort, you don't spend most of your time with SD-TV or SD-DVDs and you sit a "decent" distance back.

Get a 1080p TV if you sit closer to your TV, are positively addicted to HD in any form (PS3, XBOX360, HD-DVD, Blu-ray, HTPC) and don't view much SD material. Also a must-have for those who hook up their computers to their displays.

So there's my 2 pennies worth.

Originally Posted by mdyoung

Supported Native Resolutions

So does this mean I have a 768p TV and is that also the native resolution?

Originally Posted by mkoesel

That verbiage makes no sense - they are using the word "Native" improperly IMHO. What they really mean are supported PC resolutions.



This part: "Maximum Panel Resolution: 1366 x 768" is likely referring to native resolution of the set. So yes, you could say that you have a "768p TV". This emphasizes the actually panel resolution. You might also say that you have a "720p TV" since that is the maximum progressive ATSC resolution your TV can display without downconversion. This is arguably less precise. However it can be more useful to think of it this way with respect to the 720p vs. 1080p debate.

Originally Posted by mdyoung

OK thanks. I'm having Comcast come Monday to hook up their STB through HDMI and give me full digital cable service. So when I have them set things up what do you think is probably the best signal for the STB to send to the TV?

Originally Posted by rami1010

I'm new to this Plasma/LCD world. My old TV got busted few days back and now was thinking to get into real world of Plasma/LCD.

I was planning to buy Panny 50" Th-50PX600U until I saw Sony KDL46V2500..

Panny is 50" and 769p resolution
Sony is 46" and 1080p.

question # 1: Is there ANY picture quality difference between these two?.
question # 2: is it safe to buy these expensive TV's online?

Please please help me

Originally Posted by mdyoung

OK thanks. I'm having Comcast come Monday to hook up their STB through HDMI and give me full digital cable service. So when I have them set things up what do you think is probably the best signal for the STB to send to the TV?

Originally Posted by Elemental1

Pray that you have a 'pass through' option on the STB

Originally Posted by mdyoung

OK why is this important? I thought it was best to send the signal that matches the TV, which you said is 720p on my Vizio. So what is "pass through"?

Originally Posted by Swat_R2

I moved from a smaller 1080P LCD to a Panasonic 50" Plasma, and running a true 1920x1080 HD-DVD source to both, the Plasma blew the doors off the perceived resolution of the LCD. I think there's something to be said about the rich blacks and colors, and how they are more important than resolution in most situations.

However, if I get really close to the plasma (uncomfortably close) I can make out some pixel structure that I know would go away with a larger 1080P set. Thankfully, I'm glad I don't like sitting that close, but I can see how those who do sit pretty close would appreciate the added resolution.

My bottom line? I'm very picky with my image, but I've found the perfect high def sweet spot. It is 5-7' away from my 50", and it's glorious. The only thing I regret is not being able to run native 1080P resolutions from my computer - where the 1080P has the clear advantage. Other than that, there's no perceived visual difference unless you have your nose glued to the screen, whereas deep blacks and rich colors are seen at all seating arrangements, no matter how close or far.

Originally Posted by largtr

Here's a question I just cannot seem to find an understandable answer to; please bear with me. I have read this thread, and the dvd player threads, and decided to post here:

I have a Sammy 4273 with a 768p native resolution. I run a Toshiba DR5 upscaling DVD player/recorder through HDMI2 input. I can just barely tell the difference when I change the resolution on the DVD player between 480p, 720p, and 1080i - but it seems to me that 1080i gives a better picture. There is a greater difference between 480p and 720p and a minimal (but still noticeable) difference between 720p and 1080i. It is as though the picture becomes more focused, sharper, more detailed lines as I go up in resolution.

The 1080i appears to be the best; why? Isn't 720p closer to my display's native resolution with less work for the tv's scaler? Why, then does the 1080i signal look better? Or, is it just my brain filling in the gaps?

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Nmlobo

In 'pass through" the STB does not process the signal but passes it directly to your tv for processing (deinterlacing, scaling, etc). This is only important "if" your set has the better video processor. Many stbs do not have a 'pass though' mode and you must select either 720p or 1080i for HD.

I recommend you select 1080i as the output, if there is no pass through option. Why 1080i if your set is 768? The majority of HD is delivered in 1080i. If you select the 1080i output the stb will pass all HD inputs directly to your tv's video processor where 1080i will be deinterlaced and down scaled to 768. If you set the stb to 720p then incoming 1080i signals will be deinterlaced and scaled to 720p by the stb. This 720p will be passed to the tv's video processor which will again scale the picture to 768 - your screen's native resolution. By passing 1080i, the signal will require less processing and your tv will do the 'heavy lifting'.

Originally Posted by Nmlobo

If you set the stb to 720p then incoming 1080i signals will be deinterlaced and scaled to 720p by the stb. This 720p will be passed to the tv's video processor which will again scale the picture to 768 - your screen's native resolution.