Is a 1680x1050 widescreen monitor really only 30 pixels short of being able to display 1080p HD?

[archcommus]

Or are there more factors involved than just the resolution in determining if it can display 1080p content.

 

[ss284]

1080p is 1920x1080.

-Steve

 

[Rage187]

no, it's 309600 pixels short of 1080P

(1920x1080) - (1680x1050) = 309600 pixels

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Yup, you're stuck with 720p with a 1680x1050 monitor. Kinda sucks, they've all but perfected those 20-21" wide screen LCDs in terms of contrast/response/viewing angle, but they're still no good for doubling as a 1080p HD monitor. Larger monitors that can do 1080p (1920x1200 23-27"ers and 2560x1600 30"ers) relatively tend to lack in contrast and response time...

 

[stelleg151]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Yup, you're stuck with 720p with a 1680x1050 monitor. Kinda sucks, they've all but perfected those 20-21" wide screen LCDs in terms of contrast/response/viewing angle, but they're still no good for doubling as a 1080p HD monitor. Larger monitors that can do 1080p (1920x1200 23-27"ers and 2560x1600 30"ers) relatively tend to lack in contrast and response time...

Youre not stuck with 720p at all...

Thats like saying the 95 percent of LCD's, Plasmas, and DLP's are stuck with 720p, which just isnt true.

I have a 2005fpw and 1080p material looks great.

 

[postmortemIA]

Works better than standard DVD material for sure.

 

[Redox]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Yup, you're stuck with 720p with a 1680x1050 monitor. Kinda sucks, they've all but perfected those 20-21" wide screen LCDs in terms of contrast/response/viewing angle, but they're still no good for doubling as a 1080p HD monitor. Larger monitors that can do 1080p (1920x1200 23-27"ers and 2560x1600 30"ers) relatively tend to lack in contrast and response time...

Not necessarily ...

Acer AL2416W

1000:1 contrast ratio, 6ms response time

 

[Fistandantilis]

so, whats the verdict? I have a gateway 2185, will I be able to display at 1080p

 

[imported_Stewy]

Originally posted by: Fistandantilis
so, whats the verdict? I have a gateway 2185, will I be able to display at 1080p

To display a true 1080 signal, you need a resolution of 1920 x 1080. However, if you're running a lower resolution, like 1680x1050, you'll still be able to watch the 1080p signal, it will just be downscaled.

 

[SonicIce]

You aren't "stuck" with anything. 1920x1080 downscaled will look better than 1280x720 upscaled (if you can even tell the differance).

 

[archcommus]

Can I display proper 720p content on my 5:4 19" 1280x1024 LCD?

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Can I display proper 720p content on my 5:4 19" 1280x1024 LCD?

yeah you should be able to display it without any scaling. You'll have 2 humongous black bars on your screen (cuz of the 5:4 ratio), but yeah.

720P = 1280x720
your screen = 1280x1024

 

[akugami]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Yup, you're stuck with 720p with a 1680x1050 monitor. Kinda sucks, they've all but perfected those 20-21" wide screen LCDs in terms of contrast/response/viewing angle, but they're still no good for doubling as a 1080p HD monitor. Larger monitors that can do 1080p (1920x1200 23-27"ers and 2560x1600 30"ers) relatively tend to lack in contrast and response time...

So you're telling me in a few years time when they finally get 1080P content to broadcast with I'll be stuck with 720p only? Darnit!

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: akugami

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Yup, you're stuck with 720p with a 1680x1050 monitor. Kinda sucks, they've all but perfected those 20-21" wide screen LCDs in terms of contrast/response/viewing angle, but they're still no good for doubling as a 1080p HD monitor. Larger monitors that can do 1080p (1920x1200 23-27"ers and 2560x1600 30"ers) relatively tend to lack in contrast and response time...

So you're telling me in a few years time when they finally get 1080P content to broadcast with I'll be stuck with 720p only? Darnit!

I'm honestly unsure that 1080p will ever be broadcast, given the tendency of stations/cablecos/satellite companies to starve the current HD signals for bandwidth as it is (1080p will of course be available on BR/HDDVD though). As has been said above, any 1680x1050 monitor can display a slightly downscaled 1080p signal, and in most cases it'll definitely look better than 720p (assuming good quality source). As it is, I can tell a difference between broadcast 1080i and 720p on my 2005FPW (and my tuner actually outputs a 1920x1080i/p signal directly to my monitor over DVI, and it downscales just fine). I wouldn't worry about being left in the dust with regard to 1080p if you've got a 20" widescreen LCD. Unless of course the HDCP thing does continue to gain steam, in which case you're likely screwed for 1080p over DVI/HDMI even if you have a 1920x1200 native monitor that doesn't support HDCP (like the Dell 2405FPW, etc.)

 

[akugami]

I was sorta being sarcastic about all the people moaning and whining about their monitors not being able to output 1080p. Heck, I even told my cousin who recently was looking at 42" and larger HDTV's, don't get stuck on buying 1080p since for the next few years, it'll merely be a catchphrase. Even though I know BR and HD-DVD's will support 1080p, it costs over $700 per player and we don't know who will win the format wars.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Sarcasm doesn't always come across easily over plain text.

 

[bigpow]

u might want to try and buy one 1080p display and tell us if you still can't see the difference between 720p & 1080p.
I know I have.
720p materials looks blurry on my 1080p 42" Westy

 

[Josh7289]

Originally posted by: bigpow
u might want to try and buy one 1080p display and tell us if you still can't see the difference between 720p & 1080p.
I know I have.
720p materials looks blurry on my 1080p 42" Westy

Yeah, but we're not talking about 720p on native 1080p monitors. We're talking about 720p and 1080p on 1680 x 1050 monitors, on which both signals should look about the same, with the 1080p signal being only slightly better, depending on who is viewing it.

 

[bigpow]

i hate to sound like an a$$, but i think this is one of those things where you have to try it (or own it) to be able to comment
i only responded to those comments about 720p & 1080p TV. 1680x1050 is not 1080p nor 720p.
Haven't you heard about perfect pixel or 1 to 1 pixel mapping? Today's 720p/1080i HD TV usually have 1366x768 for 50" or 1024x768 for 40"ish

talk is cheap, but making a guess or assumption is even cheaper..

 

[SonicIce]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: akugami

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Yup, you're stuck with 720p with a 1680x1050 monitor. Kinda sucks, they've all but perfected those 20-21" wide screen LCDs in terms of contrast/response/viewing angle, but they're still no good for doubling as a 1080p HD monitor. Larger monitors that can do 1080p (1920x1200 23-27"ers and 2560x1600 30"ers) relatively tend to lack in contrast and response time...

So you're telling me in a few years time when they finally get 1080P content to broadcast with I'll be stuck with 720p only? Darnit!

I'm honestly unsure that 1080p will ever be broadcast, given the tendency of stations/cablecos/satellite companies to starve the current HD signals for bandwidth as it is (1080p will of course be available on BR/HDDVD though). As has been said above, any 1680x1050 monitor can display a slightly downscaled 1080p signal, and in most cases it'll definitely look better than 720p (assuming good quality source). As it is, I can tell a difference between broadcast 1080i and 720p on my 2005FPW (and my tuner actually outputs a 1920x1080i/p signal directly to my monitor over DVI, and it downscales just fine). I wouldn't worry about being left in the dust with regard to 1080p if you've got a 20" widescreen LCD. Unless of course the HDCP thing does continue to gain steam, in which case you're likely screwed for 1080p over DVI/HDMI even if you have a 1920x1200 native monitor that doesn't support HDCP (like the Dell 2405FPW, etc.)

broadcast 1080p never? say is isn't so. and will BR/HD discs be full 1080p? and are current dvds 480i or 480p? and if they are 480i, does upconverting them look any better? what tuner do you have? what movie do you think has the best picture quality at this point? or did u not see any movies in HD yet? and what came first, the chicken or the egg?

 

[Dr J]

I have a 720p, 50" TV and I can honestly tell you that after a while, even an up-converted signal is acceptable, looks good.

I know that when I bought the thing, about a year ago, the Pres of Panasonic said that they would not be manufacturing a 1080P, 50" TV because the detail was too refined for the eye to discern (his words, not mine). This may have been a marketing ploy (and reflective of manufacturing costs), at the time, but they still do not manufacture a 50", 1080p, TV.

The long and short of it is that if you have a 20" LCD display, I really wouldn't worry too much about whether or not it can handle a 1080p signal.

I do agree with the person above, however, that a down-converted 1080p signal will likely produce better results than an up-converted one.

Still, after a year of viewing experience, I can tell you that the differences are not astronomical (I?m almost as happy with an up-converted SD signal, partially zoomed) ... as with all things tech related, you begin to take things for granted, no matter what you have.

Regarding the broadcasts, nothing is standardized and the range is huge. I currently have a satellite dish, but would like to buy a new HD antenna as I?m told there are now a dozen or so high def signals, broadcast locally and sometimes they look better, from what I?ve seen on a friend?s set, than what a processed satellite signal has to offer.

The HD players are, practically, a couple years down the road, yet.

There really is no reason for concern here ?

Just my 2c.

John

 

[SonicIce]

Dr J, how much better does an upconverted signal look than a zoomed-in one?

 

[BernardP]

Before making 1080P a priority, it would be a good idea to read the following article, which puts various HDTV standards in perspective:

Facts and Fiction of 1080P

 

[Dr J]

Sonic Ice,

I can't really answer the question because I have satellite and the converter upconverts all signals to 720p, no matter what the source signal is.

If you're asking how much worse the partially zoomed in picture is (as compared to the original, unmanipulated size), I can tell you that the qualitative difference is hardly noticeable. I have a 50" plasma and watch it from a distance of about 12'.

BernardP, thanks for the link; I started reading the article and will finish it now.

thanks,

John