720p better for TV than 1080p?

joeperry

Hi, are 1080p TVs actually the best for watching sd UPC/saorview. I'm not totally convinced i should buy a 1080p TV and i'm not sure if i can even buy a 720p TV these days?

I'm looking for a TV that gives the best picture for watching TV broadcasts. Obviously i will watch the odd bluray movie. But TV picture is more important to me. My brother has a 1080p Samsung using Sky but i'm not convinced by it at all. I was putting this down to the fact that it's a 1080p TV. Should i buy a HD telly or a full HD telly guys?

crosstownk

It all really depends on the size of your display and how far away you sit from it. From 5 metres on a 32" display, 720 will look no different to 1080. However, on a 50" display the difference may be quite noticeable. The role the human eye plays is often forgotten in the technical blurb.

I use a 50" display in 720p and sit approx 3.5m from it and the picture is excellent when watching HD content. The display doesn't do 1080 i or p but I reckon I would see a significant improvement. When my trusty Pioneer 50" gives up the ghost I will go with 1080p but for now I feel that 720p is more than adequate given my distance from the display.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_HDTV_viewing_distance

superleedsdub

joeperry wrote: »

H
My brother has a 1080p Samsung using Sky but i'm not convinced by it at all. I was putting this down to the fact that it's a 1080p TV.

Sky don`t broadcast in 1080p - the best they broadcast is 720p.

In your situation I wouldn`t worry too much about how the TV handles HD i`d look at reviews that indicate how well the TV handles SD, some TV`s are better than others at displaying SD content.
Also, if a TV is connected to a source by Scart then the picture quality will be inferior to HDMI.

I personally can see a difference between a quality 1080p blu-ray and a 720p source, but alot of people will disagree with me. However, even if you were to watch alot of TV in HD a 1080p TV won`t make any difference as AFAIK most (if not all) HD TV shows broadcast across the world are in 720p.

However, with the low cost of TV`s these days, it would be very easy to pick up a decent display with 1080p quite cheap and future proof your veiwing pleasures:-)

joeperry

I was thinking of a 40in and 42 would be the biggest i'd go. I see Powercity have a Panasonic 42in 720p TV for 550e. i think i may go and have a look at it in the flesh. Panansonic don't seem to do 40in which is a shame. Also i'd really like to get one with a 5 year warranty.

I reckon 720p is enough, if i upgrade to a HD subscription in the future sure it will still only be 720p.

superleedsdub

Cool - enjoy the new purchase:-)

However I would recommend checking in with the guys in Richers Sounds (they have their own forum in the Biz section here on boards) or Seamus Watters up north before buying down here. Could save you some cash..... (they both deliver to the republic and have excellent customer service)

joeperry

superleedsdub wrote: »

Cool - enjoy the new purchase:-)

However I would recommend checking in with the guys in Richers Sounds (they have their own forum in the Biz section here on boards) or Seamus Watters up north before buying down here. Could save you some cash..... (they both deliver to the republic and have excellent customer service)

Ya i bought a TV from John in the past but if i buy one from him now it won't have saorview will it? I wonder am i better off getting a standalone saorview box, i'm not sure if the saorviewTV can record or rewind? etc

superleedsdub

I bought 3 TV`s off RS last month (only one for me though). 2 samsung`s (same model) and 1 LG and both models work perfectly with saorview.

John or any of the guys there can advise you if the TV is Saorview compatible.

joeperry

Darn it, i just remembered i lso i need a TV with a feckin scart connection for the UPC :rolleyes:

superleedsdub

AFAIK - all the latest TV models still carry SCART sockets....

joeperry

superleedsdub wrote: »

I bought 3 TV`s off RS last month (only one for me though). 2 samsung`s (same model) and 1 LG and both models work perfectly with saorview.

John or any of the guys there can advise you if the TV is Saorview compatible.

Yeah i better ask John!

andy1249

Sky don`t broadcast in 1080p - the best they broadcast is 720p.

Skys HD material , is now , and always has been , 1080i.

Op, you will struggle to find a TV thats 32 inch or larger that is not 1080p these days.

1080p is the convergent format , 720p has all but disappeared.

Note that what were talking about here is the TV's native resolution , With 1080p , you get to watch a lot of content as it comes , no processing necessary , 1080i material is in that resolution once it has been properly de-interlaced.

So called 720p TV's were usually weird resolutions like 1024 x 768 ( actually a 4:3 ratio that relies on rectangular pixels) or 1366 x 768.
All of these models introduced artifacts with all content due to the weird nature of scaling that is needed with all content fed to these sets. Flatscreens can only display their native resolution , everything incoming has to be scaled to the native resolution.

Note that content comes in 1280 x 720 ( true 720p ) or 1920 x 1080p , so at the moment , 1080p sets are the best for most HD content due to less or no processing required.

Whether or not SD content will look good on your TV depends on the size of the TV ( SD content will never look its best on 50 inch or higher TV's ) and on the internal scaling electronics of the TV.
Only the major manufacturers have good scaling chipsets , so choose carefully , they all have their own proprietary chipsets and they dont share.

andy1249

AFAIK - all the latest TV models still carry SCART sockets....

Mmmm ... Sort of ! The newest Thinnest LED backlit LCD sets dont actually have Scart sockets as such , they have a multi pin connector on the side that you attach a pretty ugly cable to and this gives you a single scart socket.
Scart is dying pretty fast , with the demand for picture thin TV's these will disappear over the next couple of years.