If I buy a TV smaller then 40"...how important is 1080p? I've read that you really can't tell the difference in smaller sets. Does anyone know if this is a fact?
It is definitely not a fact! It is one of the most abused myths out there in regards to HDTV.
To understand why this is not the case, all you have to do is look at your computer's monitor from two feet away, then look at a 40" TV from ten feet away. Guess which "looks" bigger? It will be the PC monitor, and by twice as much!
It isn't the size of the screen that matters, its how much of our field of vision is filled with the images we are looking at that determines how much detail we can see.
To accurately measure how much of a specific display is filling our field of vision, one must divide the distance you are from the screen by how large the screen is. This is commonly referred to in the HT industry as the D:W ratio
(Distance:Width). Width is commonly used for simplicity, but if one wanted to be very accurate they would use the entire screen area
(WxH).
But sticking with the industry norm; if you were sitting from a 19" screen from two feet away, it would give you a D:W of about 1.5
(which happens to also be the recommended D:W for a typical Home Theater).
If you were sitting from a 40" TV from ten feet away, that results in a D:W of about 3.5... the smaller the D:W the more your field of vision is filled. Thus, the 19" screen will appear more than twice as large as the 40" screen.
So it isn't the size of the screen, but the distance you are from it that will determine how much detail you'll notice... assuming both displays are equal in resolution and performance.
I recently had a rather heated debate with someone on the boardsus.playstation.com forum on this issue, as they were absolutely convinced that you can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on any screen 32" or smaller... which is absolutely untrue.
Rather than repeat a lot of the same info, here are the links to my responses, which include more detail explanations as well as more examples:
Bottom line: It is even possible to see the difference between 1080p and 720p on an iPod sized screen... if such existed, and as long as you were not watching it from far away.
Everyone's eyesight is different, but generally speaking you should easily be able to distinguish between 1080p and 720p images from a D:W of 5:1 or less, some may even notice differences at 10:1, especially from images with lots of fine detail.
This is also a key issue, and that is what type of images you are looking at. For example, if you are looking at a test pattern that is a solid color, there will be absolutely no difference between seeing it in 1080p, 720p, or even 480p... and for that matter, if you had a TV with a resolution of 1x1 pixel, it would also look the same... as they are all simply showing one color. The more detail that is in the picture, the more important it is to have a display that has enough resolution such that detail isn't lost.
Traditional 35mm film can capture much more detail than what can be displayed even on a 1080p TV, but if it is only capturing images that in themselves do not have a lot of detail, the differences wont be dramatic.
This is also why some might say they don't see a big difference between 720p and 1080p TVs as they may very well have been watching images that do not have a lot of fine detail, thus the added resolution isn't going to help much. Even more likely, they could also be watching 720p material on both displays, thus all they are getting on the 1080p display is an upscaled version of the 720p signal, which not only wont add any original detail back into the picture, but if the TV has an inferior scaler, the image might even look worse than when shown on a native 720p TV.
This is not to say that 720p TVs are not adequate, and in fact if it were me, Id spend more money on better quality images, then higher resolution
ideally youd want both, but a great looking 720p TV with vibrant accurate deep colors, and superb black levels, shadow detail, and contrast is going to completely outshine any crappy looking 1080p TV ay day of the week, even when watching the very best 1080p video that is out there
(which for me is easily the Planet Earth series, which just came out on Blu-ray and HD DVD today!)
There is nothing wrong with owning and appreciating a good quality 720p TV... that's what I have in our family room, and I do understand why the myth about not being able to see the difference between 1080p and 720p on smaller screens exists. However, it is in fact inaccurate, and it's a myth that really annoys me as it misleads a lot of people, who then go on to spread the same myth to others, which is why it is so common today, despite not being true.
Am I over thinking this or can nobody get a good grasp on new TVs. I'm thinking we just have too many choices.
