HD LCD Televisions & Monitors 720p vs. 1080

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Today I want to write a little about the difference between 720p and 1080p or i High Definition LCD televisions or monitors. You may be like I was a few weeks ago and thought that you simply had to have 1080p instead of what you thought was surely inferior 720p HD. The Panasonic FZ28 camera you have or are thinking of buying only had 720p HD video and you are worried its not good enough. I am here today to try and 'splain it out for you.

First, very very briefly, your old, regular non-HD televison in 480 resolution, which means there are 480 ROWS of pixels vertically from one side of the screen to the other. 720 means 720 ROWS of pixels vertically, and so on...So then, from a resolution standpoint, as much of an improvement as 720 is over old 480 (240 more rows), thats about how much better 1080 is over 720 (360 more ROWS). But can your eyes SEE and appreciate the difference? Yes and No.

If you have ever stood and gawked at the nice HD LCD TV in a store, and you were so very impressed and felt like you were there, did you ever notice you were standing probably 3 feet away from the screen? Next time you are in the store, such as a Walmart, stand WAY back from the entire television department, say about 100 feet from all the TVs. Look at the 720 and 1080 models, then look at the old square 480 models. Not much difference, right? Now try standing about 15 feet away. Not too much difference, right? Now get in less than 8 feet away from the screens, and you fall in love with the HD models again. Why is this?

CNET had a wonderful article all about the difference in HD resolutions and they came to the conclustion that unless you are sitting really close to your television set, "[it's] almost always very difficult to see any difference [between 720p and 1080p] -- especially from farther than 8 feet away on a 50-inch TV."

I then read every article I could find on the internet about HD, and every reputable site and commentator agreed that once you get beyond 7 or 8 feet from your TV screen, you are not going to be able to tell the difference between 720 or 1080 HD video. Look at this chart from CNET:



So according to the above chart data, the benefit of a 32" HDTV having 1080p resolution is not noticeable for most people sitting more than 6-feet away from their television set. The benefit of 1080p for a 42" television starts at 8-feet away, a standard viewing distance for most households.

In a Consumer Reports publication from December 2008, they also conclude that most 720p televisions have BETTER image quality than typical 1080 sets. They go on to comment that until the next generation of the HD technology comes, it is NOT worth paying extra for a 1080, when the 720p version on that brand and model line is more than likely better.

Well I'm a rubber-meets-the-road kinda guy who wants tangible proof for everything relating to this Earthly realm, so I went to a big box electronics store a few days before Black Friday, and spent about 2 hours in the home theater section, bearing out the CNET chart and claims. I even asked the associates to move like-modeled TV's, like the same Sony model in 720 and 1080, and move them literally side-by-side, and I did that for Toshiba's and Samsungs as well. (trust me, they will be happy to do it for you, so long as you really look, act and even SMELL like you are really looking to buy one TODAY!)(grin). I sat on their provided leather couch and compared. Then I stood at distance of about 10 feet, then 20 feet, and compared and took notes. What did I find?

CNET was right. The brand name didnt matter. When I compared 720 with 1080 on the couch about 5.5 feet away (thats on purpose ya know, where they put the couch), yes, the 1080 had an edge over the 720. Worth paying $200 more for? Not in my book!! When I backed up to about 7 feet, the distance I have at home from my TV, I was stunned and actually disappointed to see the 1080 lost its glory and was marginally better than the 720. Then at 10 feet and beyond, there is no difference. In fact, there were times I thought the 720 actually looked a little better at such distance, but I did not take the time to prove it.

Now how this related to the Panasonic FZ28 camera is that its 720p HD video is going to look just as good as 1080 to probably 98% of people who compared it on a television sitting the typical distance away from them. Now if you go stand 2 feet away from the screen, you WILL appreicate a difference, but NOBODY watched TV like that, so what is the point? And that brings up one last tidbit to mention.

Since the difference in 1080 over 720 HD is only seen up close, that means a serious computer gamer WILL want a 1080 PC MONITOR over a 720, because there face is less than 3 feet away from the screen. They WILL see the difference. 720 will look totally awesome though, just great, but 1080 will be one notch better. Worth $200 more? You decide...

So my suggestion is that for the current LCD technology used in the industry, if you are looking to buy a LCD television, same some money and get a 720p. If you are looking to buy either a LCD PC monitor or a TV to be used as a monitor as well, go for the 1080. Oh, and yes, the modern HD LCD's have a PC monitor hookup for full HD computing. In fact, for the price of a new LCD monitor in 26", you can just get a 32" 720p television and use it as your monitor. Its bigger, 100% just as good (its 100% exactly the same LCD guts and technology in a monitor or TV), and best of all, the TV has nice 10watt built-in, full-range speakers!!! The monitor probably does not.

So what did I do after my HD tests? I bought a Sony 720p television on an on-line Black Friday deal, picked it up in-store, and the whole family LOVES IT. I am going to buy another one to replace my current 26" PC monitor.

Go get em...