August 06, 2010

Opinion - I Can See Clearly Now 10-4 on my 1080 LCD TV

Latest opinion piece on 1080i and value proposition.

Is it my imagination or is 1080 over-rated? It seems like we have to victims of techspeak and extend our money on demand for the latest and greatest. I remember when 1024 x 768 first arrived with a stunning 256 colors in my old PC. I had Diamond Stealth 64 with 1MB (yes, megabyte) and it introduced me to 24-bit color.

Now we have 1080i and 2560x1600 single link or dual link. I have 720p and a 1080p televisions and I can't tell the difference even though I am using native HDTV over the air. CNET put it this way.

We've done numerous side-by-side tests between two same-size HDTVs, one with 1080p resolution and another with lower resolution, and every time it's been almost impossible to see the difference with regular program material, especially when that material is moving. The difference becomes even more difficult to see at smaller screen sizes or farther seating distances--say, more than 1.5 times the diagonal measurement of the screen

The client wants to know if we are going to run in 1080. I ask how much content do we have that is high quality. I ask how far away is the audience sitting. How big is that LCD anyway?

For example, to see the benefits of stationary 1080p content on a 50-inch screen, you'll generally need to sit about 6.5 feet or closer. Few viewers want to sit that close, especially when low-quality content seen at that distance (remember the "garbage" maxim?) looks so bad.


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Posted by staff at August 6, 2010 01:05 PM