720p & PC input - Is TEXT performance OK ?

(Moved from someone else's thread to get response )


Hi Folks,

I am a newbie poster but a longtime reader of this forum

about ready to buy a 720p LCD, (JVC 42E488) .


720p may work out fine for me ( 42", 8ft typical viewing

distance, mostly TV, some DVDs- will spend half my budget

now to get my first HDTV, then in a few years upgrade like

many of you guys have been doing for quite a while now ...

the 720p set will then become my "perfect" bedroom set,

while my new set should be 3x better , 1/2 the cost, and

contain more mature technology (hopefully).


Unfortunately, none of the stores in my area have a PC

connection demo and I don't have a laptop so ...


My questions are : What is the expected performance

of 720p sets when hooked up to a PC. How "readable"

will my email be from 4 ft - 6ft ?(wireless keyboard on

coffee table)

Will I be able to search the Web and read the static

text clearly from 4 to 6ft ? What is the distance limit for

this situation with 720p and 1080p ?


( I suspect 1080p will be better, but will 720p be OK ?

Please note that I am NOT a gamer since then the answer

would be very obvious ! - at a 3ft distance with a strong

desire to be 'inside" the game, 1080p is the way to go.

In my case I need to just read email & WEB, not be "inside"

it !


Setting aside issues like overscan, are there any guidelines

or suggestions for viewing distance vs screen size for 720p

and 1080p when using a PC hook-up for reading text ?


In addition, to be helpful to others, can someone with better

insight than I suggest a "rule of thumb" - perhaps along the

lines of "Text OK until 1/2 chart distance for 720p, text OK

until full chart distance for 1080p"