HELP: Is there a reason to buy 1080p over 720p if you dont watch blueray ect...

[lotust]

Hey guys, I have an itch to buy a 50" LG plasma that cost around 650$ brand new. I currently have a 42" Sony DLP/LCD thats only 720p its also 3 years old.


Am I stupid for getting another 720p set? Is plasma getting phased out? Digital Cablevision here is also only 720p


thanks for your input.

 

[0roo0roo]

depends on your budget. sure it makes a difference. but its better to have 720p than nothin at low price point you just aren't going to get everything. its better to have a high contrast accurate color 720p than a blurry low rent 1080p lcd thats for sure.

plasmas not being phased out.

 

[sivart]

If you are sitting more than 6-7 feet from that 50" Plasma (or LCD) you won't notice a difference between 720p and 1080p when using a 1080p source...much less an 720p or 1080i converted to 1080p.

I kind of want a new TV for the living room, and I thought that LCD's would have caught up to plasma in the past 3 years, but they haven't. So, I'm happy with mine and will hold out for a deal (I.e. 50" Plasma under $600)

 

[oatmealstorm]

from my experience at stores. I could definitely tell the difference between 720 and 1080 when I'm bout a foot or so away.

it seems to me the 1080's have noticeably sharper images than 720's. Like they seem less blocky and such.

i guess though, what tv you wanna get depends on what its for and how far away you are sitting.

there is a difference, you can try it out for yourself. its also unreasonable to assume the signal is sent differently for different TV's , just so the store could sell certain brands more.

I've compared among, and across brands, and there definitely is a difference between 1080 and 720.

This is the same conclusion I've always reached, whether I go to any retailer. Saying the quality is undetectable is like saying an up-converted DVD looks the same as a blue-ray. The difference is there, you get what you pay for.

 

[sivart]

For sure buy a 1080p if you are using it as a PC monitor.

You can't really judge in stores because you don't know how much the signal is split, are they all HDMI, component or even composite (Yes, I've seen some hooked up like that.)

I was looking at 1080p / 720p LCD's in Best Buy today standing about a foot away from a 32" and couldn't pick the 1080p out of a line up...that was a foot away.

That being said, if the difference is less than 20% of what you are paying, I'd go for the 1080p.

 

[Modelworks]

Most people can't tell the difference at normal viewing distance. I went with 720p because I really can't when I back away from the screen. Maybe it is my age.

 

[lotust]

thanks for all of your input. Im still undecided

 

[CubanlB]

Very few retail outlets are going to have hdmi to all sets on display. it's, just wickedly expensive.

My advice is always as follows...

If you are going to be keeping the set until it breaks or until the display technology drastically changes, buy the best you can afford.

If you are going to upgrade TVs (move this set to a new location, go bigger, change display type to Front Projection, etc...) get the best deal you can find until another to good to pass by deal comes along.

And remember to enjoy the TV either way. Yes, next year there will be better sets on the market, most likely for less money. But, you are missing out on a much better TV experience while you wait.

 

[GnatGoSplat]

I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference unless you sit really close to it. My new Sony 1080p LCD looks great, but so does my 3-year old 50" Panasonic plasma which is a "720p" set (1366x768). I almost thought the new Sony might make the Panny look dated, but it really doesn't. I would get 1080p if it's a small price difference.

Plasma is getting slowly phased out in smaller sizes at least. In the under 50" category, there are fewer and fewer available plasma models every year. There are benefits and drawbacks to either, but I would still strongly consider plasma if you're after the best picture quality. Even if they do get phased out in a few more years, that doesn't mean your TV will quit working so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[maximumbob]

Check out the (sometimes undecipherable) menu items involved if you can. Cheaper sets have less settable options usually.

 

[bobdole369]

I currently have a 42" Sony DLP/LCD thats only 720p its also 3 years old.

No need to upgrade this set. In fact bluray 1080p will bot give you any visual difference unless you are really close and pay attention.

DLP is > LCD, but < Plasma.

I don't understand the comment DLP/LCD. Is it a DLP or an LCD?

However there are a number of reasons to go plasma over everything. 720p plasmas beat 1080p everything. In fact I don't think I've ever seen an actual 1080p plasma. Typically the screens are 1368x768 aka 720p. Plasma is much sharper and faster than LCD OR DLP. Thus 720p plasma > all.

I'd get the plasma.

Oh and the reason for no plasma at 1080p seems to be that plasma has reached the bottom of its profitability curve and LCD won (much cheaper)

 

[smitbret]

No need to upgrade this set. In fact bluray 1080p will bot give you any visual difference unless you are really close and pay attention.

DLP is > LCD, but < Plasma.

I don't understand the comment DLP/LCD. Is it a DLP or an LCD?

However there are a number of reasons to go plasma over everything. 720p plasmas beat 1080p everything. In fact I don't think I've ever seen an actual 1080p plasma. Typically the screens are 1368x768 aka 720p. Plasma is much sharper and faster than LCD OR DLP. Thus 720p plasma > all.

I'd get the plasma.

Oh and the reason for no plasma at 1080p seems to be that plasma has reached the bottom of its profitability curve and LCD won (much cheaper)

Please ignore 99% of the previous quote.

 

[Greg04]

No need to upgrade this set. In fact bluray 1080p will bot give you any visual difference unless you are really close and pay attention.

DLP is > LCD, but < Plasma.

I don't understand the comment DLP/LCD. Is it a DLP or an LCD?

However there are a number of reasons to go plasma over everything. 720p plasmas beat 1080p everything. In fact I don't think I've ever seen an actual 1080p plasma. Typically the screens are 1368x768 aka 720p. Plasma is much sharper and faster than LCD OR DLP. Thus 720p plasma > all.

I'd get the plasma.

Oh and the reason for no plasma at 1080p seems to be that plasma has reached the bottom of its profitability curve and LCD won (much cheaper)

Having had a 720P LCD next to a 1080P LCD and fed the same HD content to both, I am constantly surprised by your opinion, which I see a lot online, but almost never in real life. I could tell in an instant, my wife can tell immediately, and at a recent party EVERYONE could tell the 720 from the 1080. In fact, people would wince and say "somethings wrong with your set" when looking at the 720 set. That said, if you can't tell, then that's all that matters, because its your coin dropped.

 

[Greg04]

Please ignore 99% of the previous quote.

You are being VERY generous.

 

[kalrith]

The advantages of 1080p are higher resolution and less scaling. The higher resolution only matters if you're close enough to be physically able to perceive the higher resolution. This chart should help you determine that.

The scaling is very simple. If a 1080i signal is sent to a 1080p TV, then deinterlacing is all that needs to be done. If a 1080p signal is sent to the 1080p TV, then nothing needs to be done with the signal. However, a 720p TV (technically 768p) must scale everything since no source is 1366x768 resolution. On a TV with a good scaler, this might not be noticeable. On a 720p TV with a poor scaler, artifacts and other problems can be introduced from the scaling. On a 1080p with a poor scaler, at least 1080i and 1080p signals should be displayed well as long as the TV can deinterlace the 1080i with no problems.

I went with a 50" 720p TV, because I'm far enough away for the increase in resolution to not matter. I could've bought a 50" 1080p TV for the same price as mine, but the contributors to PQ that are more important than resolution (contrast ratio, color accuracy, and color saturation) were all better on my TV than on the same-priced 1080p TV; therefore, I chose the one with the better PQ. If I sat 6 feet from my TV, then I would've seen 1080p as a requirement since I would've been close enough to perceive the limitations of 720p. I sit 9 feet and do not perceive those limitations.

 

[JackBurton]

No need to upgrade this set. In fact bluray 1080p will bot give you any visual difference unless you are really close and pay attention.

DLP is > LCD, but < Plasma.

I don't understand the comment DLP/LCD. Is it a DLP or an LCD?

However there are a number of reasons to go plasma over everything. 720p plasmas beat 1080p everything. In fact I don't think I've ever seen an actual 1080p plasma. Typically the screens are 1368x768 aka 720p. Plasma is much sharper and faster than LCD OR DLP. Thus 720p plasma > all.

I'd get the plasma.

Oh and the reason for no plasma at 1080p seems to be that plasma has reached the bottom of its profitability curve and LCD won (much cheaper)

Awful, awful misinformation. No more posting for you.

 

[bobdole369]

Wow. Has anyone actually used a plasma in here? Granted I might be a bit jaded, I'm used to Panny pro's and Kuro's and the like, things with absolutely stellar scalers. I actually prefer the look of one of these panels to anything else made in LCD.

Now give 2 LCD sets, and feeding the same content to both - You can easily tell the 720p set,but the plasma will be 720p too, but much better looking (at least in my opinion) than the 1080p.

Can you be a bit more specific about the misinformation quoted?

bluray 1080p will bot give you any visual difference unless you are really close and pay attention.

I'm willing to forego this statement, because its subjective.

 

[JackBurton]

Can you be a bit more specific about the misinformation quoted?

Oh and the reason for no plasma at 1080p seems to be that plasma has reached the bottom of its profitability curve and LCD won (much cheaper)

Pioneer introduced their 1080p plasma (Elite) in 2006. In 2007 Pioneer introduced their Kuro plasmas which where 720p (768p) and 1080p. And in 2008, all Pioneer Kuros were 1080p. Of course the other manufactures have released their 1080p sets too. Today, if you were looking for a plasma, you'll find more are 1080p than 720p. So yes, there are plenty of 1080p plasmas to choose from now. And yes, there are plenty of people here with not only plasmas, but 1080p plasmas.

 

[sivart]

The manufacturer's are going to LCD because they are cheaper to manufacture and they can make more profit off of uneducated / mis-educated consumers. (Plus the little price fixing thing that they did a while back).

Sure, if I'm in business I'm going to sell the product that makes the most profit and the highest amount the market will allow (even if it is the inferior technology). If a few little white lies about another technology will scare the consumer into buying the more profitable technology, even better.

I would also not forget that LCD has a lot of room for improvement and little improvements mean I can continue to raise list prices on new products with minor improvements (I.e. 60Hz to 120Hz to 240Hz).

Business wise, LCD is the better choice. Consumer wise, plasma is probably the better choice. Of course business will sell what improves shareholder value. They don't care about the consumer as long as they continue to give them money to keep the shareholders happy.

I have owned the following:

720p Plasma (3 years old, budget box, still better picture than a similar age high-end LCD).
720p LCD (got rid of this after 6 months...couldn't stand the ghosting when watching hockey / golf / football)
720p DLP Projector (great picture at a great price on my 100" screen. Blacks as good as my plasma, no but it was under $2K 3.5 years ago).

 

[bobdole369]

Thanks for the update Jack. I'm not in the day to day business, we typically build 3+years out, so the last system I specced actually used panny pro th-50 and 42 9UK's, which as of 2007ish were pretty state of the art. Having a quick peek means I need to shut my mouth, because where I was led to believe plasma was reaching the end of its life/stopped being sold - I'm just plain wrong.

 

[JackBurton]

Thanks for the update Jack. I'm not in the day to day business, we typically build 3+years out, so the last system I specced actually used panny pro th-50 and 42 9UK's, which as of 2007ish were pretty state of the art. Having a quick peek means I need to shut my mouth, because where I was led to believe plasma was reaching the end of its life/stopped being sold - I'm just plain wrong.

Not a problem man. And I agree, it's crazy how fast things change in the HD world.