Led vs LCD TVs and 720 pixels vs 1080.

[ransley]

n

do you mean 720p and 1080i, yes they are the same, not 1080p, its double the resolution

[Bob Villa]

For 32" Go with Samsung or Panasonic, LCD, 720p, 60Hz. For 55" Same with LCD, LED, 1080p, 120Hz.

[ransley]

If you are talking 720p and 1080i yes. 1080p - progressive scan, is obvious even on smaller sets. And you do mean a Blue Ray test or try a test again.

[Ron]

1. Side by side, how do 720p and 1080p TVs match up in head-to-head tests?

We spend a lot of time looking at a variety of source material on a variety of TVs in our video lab here at CNET's offices in New York. When I wrote my original article over three years ago, many 1080p TVs weren't as sharp as they claimed to be on paper. By that, I mean a lot of older 1080p sets couldn't necessarily display all 2 million-plus pixels in the real world--technically, speaking, they couldn't "resolve" every line of a 1080i or 1080p test pattern.

That's changed in the last few years. Virtually all 1080p sets are now capable of fully resolving 1080i and 1080p material, though not every

1080p TV is created equal. As our resident video guru, Senior Editor David Katzmaier explains in his HDTV resolutions feature, Blu-ray serves up another video format, 1080p/24, and not every TV properly displays 1080p/24. The 24 refers to the true frame rate of film-based content, and displaying it in its native format is supposed to give you a picture exactly as the director intended you to see it (for a full explanation, click here).

Whether you're dealing with 1080p/24 or standard 1080p/60, doesn't alter our overall views about 1080p TVs. We still believe that when you're dealing with TVs 50 inches and smaller, the added resolution has only a very minor impact on picture quality. In our tests, we put

720p (or 768p) sets next to 1080p sets, then feed them both the same source material, whether it's 1080i or 1080p, from the highest-quality Blu-ray player. We typically watch both sets for a while, with eyes darting back and forth between the two, looking for differences in the most-detailed sections, such as hair, textures of fabric, and grassy plains. Bottom line: It's almost always very difficult to see any difference--especially from farther than 8 feet away on a 50-inch TV.

I said so much in a 2006 column I wrote called "The case against

1080p," but some readers knocked us for not looking at high-end TVs in our tests. But the fact is, resolution is resolution, and whether you're looking at a Sony or a Westinghouse, 1080p resolution--which relates to picture sharpness--is the same and is a separate issue from black levels and color accuracy.

Katzmaier stands by his previous analysis: The extra sharpness afforded by the 1080p televisions he's seen is noticeable only when watching 1080i or 1080p sources on a larger screens, say 55 inches and bigger, or with projectors that display a wall-size picture. Katzmaier also says that the main real-world advantage of 1080p is not the extra sharpness you'll be seeing, but instead, the smaller, more densely packed pixels. In other words, you can sit closer to a 1080p television and not notice any pixel structure, such as stair-stepping along diagonal lines, or the screen-door effect (where you can actually see the space between the pixels). This advantage applies regardless of the quality of the source

Just one of MANY sources that say the same thing.

I have a 50" Panasonic 720 Plasma. My neighbor has a 50" LG 1080 Plasma. We both sit about 11 ft away from our TVs. There is NO noticeable resolution difference, period. Sounds like you bought the Best Buy sales pitch.

[ransley]

I was at best buy a maybe a month ago, in the 47" tv section, all tvs, a whole wall were being fed 720p or 1080i except one tv. I immediatly noticed it was much sharper, the saleman confirmed only that one was on a Blue Ray player doing 1080p. it was Avatar. The difference was obvious, also obvious to the other maybe 3 customers that also came to stare. I wont buy a 1080i tv for my next one, at 32" maybe 720p-1080i is ok, but I also like my 24" computer monitor set to 1920x 1200 when I view photos, because im real close up. I bet anyone can go to best buy and the guys there will pull out a blue ray player and let you compare. Once I went there with a kill a watt meter and the sales man enjoyed testing his sets so they wont mind doing a Blue Ray test.

[jamesgangnc]

You don't say what the signal source is. Nor do you say if your neighbor's is 1080i or 1080p. Or how old it is.

On a 50" screen using a bluray player the visual difference between

720p and 1080p is quite noticable.

[ransley]

What about that Mormon advertising you do here free every time you post, pot-kettle-black. He isnt the sales spam we see, he is asking a question. You need to remove your advertising if you want to bitch at others.

[ransley]

I think a few here dont know if they see or understand what is 1080i vs 1080p

[N8N]

n

*I* can certainly tell the difference between the two small tv/ monitors that I have, one 720p and one 1080p. With the same source (1080i cable box) the difference, to me, is noticeable and somewhat obvious. Diff'rent strokes etc.

Using as a computer monitor, of course, the 1080p one just blows the

720p into the weeds. No comparison whatsoever.

nate

[Ron]

Did you even read the article that I posted????? They tested the TV's with a Blu-ray players with the same source material.

[Ron]

No it's not. Both of our TV's are less than a year old. And both were tested using a Blu-ray player with the same source material.

Nuff said.

[Ron]

:

And you can't read what I posted, obviously.

[ransley]

:

I read it, but I went to best buy and saw my own test, there was no comparison, 1080p is the way to go. Just wait until they put out 2160p!

[ransley]

te:

My test was done a month ago on new tvs, when was yours done and on what tv?

[Bill Gill]

That's not quite right. p stands for progressive scan, and i stands for interlaced scan. Interlaced scan is when the lines are drawn in an interlaced manner. That is they show one line, and skip a line, then on the next field they skip the lines that were just shown and put in the ones that were skipped. So they show lines 1, 3, 5 ..., then in the next field they show lines 2, 4, 5 ... This is how TV has been done ever since it was new. Progressive means they show all the lines in order 1, 2, 3, 4 ... There is no difference in resolution, you get just the same number of pixels on the screen. There is some difference in how it looks, which is why blue ray is done in progressive. However, the TV takes care of how it is displayed.

Bill

[JohnnyD]

Ron recently visited Las Vegas, where he saw many guys that looked and sounded EXACTLY like Elvis.

[Bill Gill]

Well, as said, at the store compare the TVs before you buy. I'm just reporting what people have said after careful testing.

Bill

[trader4]

han

1080p isn't double the resolution of 1080i. Both display exactly the same number of pixels on the screen. The difference is that 1080i displays odd rows in one scan pass, even rows in the next scan pass. If P in fact had twice the resolution, the difference would between the two would be striking. In fact, P is only slightly better.

For our friend considering a 32" TV, I'd say the difference beween

720P and either 1080i or p isn't going to be noticeable on that size display.

[trader4]

That's true to some extent, but it doesn't make every price guarantee useless. I've seen many stores caring the exact same models. I've also seen what you're talking about. The bottom line is, depending on what TV you actually buy, the price guarantee could be useful.

[Ron]

That is not what you said. You said a side-by-side comparison with

720p, 1080i and 1080p as the source material.

Whatever......you obviously have better eyes than me and all of the NUMEROUS people that have done side-by-side comparisons and said there is NO visual difference (minimal at best) between a 50" 720 or 1080 at

10-12 ft away when tested with a 1080p source (Blu-ray player). Keep wasting your money and drinking the Best Buy Kool-Aid.