720p files vs 1080p files

vramak

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Is there a significant difference between (upscaled) 720p files and 1080p files on a medium size (40"-50") 1080p TV, assuming compression quality is the same ?

My Inglourious Basterds blu ray looks only slightly better than the DVD, at normal viewing distance on my 42" 720p TV. So I wanna know if there's a noticeable difference between 720p(which is 3 times bigger than DVD res) and true 1080p (twice as big as 720p) on a 1080p TV. Is there a noticeable difference ?
 
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@vramak: Well, yes to some extent. 720p and 1080p files do show a better resolution quality than the SD 480p of DVDs. But as far as TV sizes 40"-50" is concerned, the difference between 720p and 1080p is not that much pronounced when watched from a good 10 to 12 feet distance. However the viewing distance is again debatable. To notice a distinct result, one has to be at a distance of 5 to 6 feet which is not possible to maintain all the time. Honestly, I don't own a big screen Plasma/LCD but I have compared the quality at my friend's house and there is a subtle difference between SD and Full HD.
 
There is a huge difference between SD and HD. 720p and 1080p are pretty comparable, and you can hardly tell the difference unless you have two screens side by side, for comparison.
 
Is there a significant difference between (upscaled) 720p files and 1080p files on a medium size (40"-50") 1080p TV, assuming compression quality is the same ?

My Inglourious Basterds blu ray looks only slightly better than the DVD, at normal viewing distance on my 42" 720p TV. So I wanna know if there's a noticeable difference between 720p(which is 3 times bigger than DVD res) and true 1080p (twice as big as 720p) on a 1080p TV. Is there a noticeable difference ?

There is a huge difference between SD and HD. 720p and 1080p are pretty comparable, and you can hardly tell the difference unless you have two screens side by side, for comparison.
+1
Just to add, to that, the difference between SD & HD, ie. 480p & 720p, is night & day. On the other hand, the difference between 720p and 1080p is more subtle and is very much dependent on the combination of, 'size of display' & 'viewing distance'.
More specifically in the case of a 42" display, the difference between 720p and 1080p, would be almost negligible, if any at all, ie. from a normal viewing distance of 7-9 feet. On a 50" TV, the difference would be noticeable, but again, only from a distance closer than 10-11 feet. Personally, I recommend to one and all, that in the case of 42" size & smaller, to not give too much wieghtage to FULL HD (1080p). That is, unless, money is absolutely of no issue.
 
Thanks everyone!

To put it very straight -

I own 'The Dark Knight' in DVD and I have an excellent 720p copy on my PS3.

Right now I own a 42" 720p TV but I'll be replacing it with a 42" 1080p TV in a few days (not for the resolution but because the 1080p TV I'm looking at has a much better panel.)

So, will it be worth it to get 'The Dark Knight' in Blu ray ? The BD costs like just $9.5, so I'm tempted. But then it'll be waste of money if the BD doesn't offer a significant improvement over the excellent 720p file. Plus I already have all the (quite boring) bonus material on DVD.

So, is it worth buying a BD if you already own an excellent 720p copy?
 
....

My Inglourious Basterds blu ray looks only slightly better than the DVD, at normal viewing distance on my 42" 720p TV. .... ?

I guess you should try to compare the same on a 1080p TV, difference between DVD and BD will definitely be recognizable. Watching BD on 720p TV is not a good idea, the whole idea of HD is lost in this scenario.
And AFA difference between 720p/1080p goes, majority of the times the difference will be negligible, but in some dark/night-time scenes, there is a quality difference in the darker tones of the image.


cheers.
 
This is absolutely correct, that in the case of 42" size & smaller, difference between HD(720p) and FULL HD (1080p) is not a major one. But, if one is planning to use the panel as a PC monitor then I think FULL HD will be very useful and much better than HD. Also PS3 games look amazing on FULL HD.
 
Thanks everyone!
Right now I own a 42" 720p TV but I'll be replacing it with a 42" 1080p TV in a few days (not for the resolution but because the 1080p TV I'm looking at has a much better panel.)
@vramak: Just out of curiosity, Buddy which 42" 1080p TV have you set your eyes on?:licklips:
 
This is absolutely correct, that in the case of 42" size & smaller, difference between HD(720p) and FULL HD (1080p) is not a major one. But, if one is planning to use the panel as a PC monitor then I think FULL HD will be very useful and much better than HD. Also PS3 games look amazing on FULL HD.

Yups, when used as a PC monitor, full HD makes a difference coz the viewing distance will be like ~2 feet.

Don't think it makes a difference for PS3 games coz all the mainstream PS3 games are native 720p. And the PS3 doesn't upscale the resolution even. It passes a 720p signal which the TV has to upscale to it's native resolution.

@vramak: Just out of curiosity, Buddy which 42" 1080p TV have you set your eyes on?:licklips:

I'm looking at Pana V20 plasma, LG LH90 LED and maybe the Sammy 50" C550 too. I'm inclined towards the V20 tho. :)
 
T.....

So, is it worth buying a BD if you already own an excellent 720p copy?

Even comparing rip's to the original BD is not a good idea. The rip's which we get are not 100% accurate in PQ as compared to the original BD. I've got a huge collection of 1080p rips ranging from 30GB-45GB in size (this is actually the copy of the original BD), and I've bought the original BD's of the same movies which i've downloaded, and there is difference in PQ between both cases. But ofcourse, the rips do look good, but the original looks better than the rips.


cheers.
 
I guess you should try to compare the same on a 1080p TV, difference between DVD and BD will definitely be recognizable. Watching BD on 720p TV is not a good idea, the whole idea of HD is lost in this scenario.

I think that's debatable. Don't wanna start a debate tho. :)

And AFA difference between 720p/1080p goes, majority of the times the difference will be negligible, but in some dark/night-time scenes, there is a quality difference in the darker tones of the image.

cheers.

Right! I believe there should be some difference in the dark scenes. Still wondering if I should buy the BD of 'The Dark Knight'. :-S
 
@vramak: Well V20D is an excellent Plasma panel. But, price wise (Approx. 73K for 42V20D) it is slightly on the higher side. One of the HFV member nanu has just become a proud owner of this monster. Still to hear about the price tag from him.
 
Even comparing rip's to the original BD is not a good idea. The rip's which we get are not 100% accurate in PQ as compared to the original BD. I've got a huge collection of 1080p rips ranging from 30GB-45GB in size (this is actually the copy of the original BD), and I've bought the original BD's of the same movies which i've downloaded, and there is difference in PQ between both cases. But ofcourse, the rips do look good, but the original looks better than the rips.


cheers.

Agreed! Rips will be compressed so they'll look a little worser than the BD.

Hmm! Looks like I'll be buying the BD of 'The Dark Knight'. I've watched the movie twice in the theaters, I've bought the DVD, now I'm all set to buy the BD. :-S

Btw, Aneelr, are you using a projector or a TV for watching BD's ? If you're using a TV, can you tell me which one you're using ?
 
@vramak: Well V20D is an excellent Plasma panel. But, price wise (Approx. 73K for 42V20D) it is slightly on the higher side. One of the HFV member nanu has just become a proud owner of this monster. Still to hear about the price tag from him.

Yup, it's an excellent panel. I was quoted 66k for it here in Chennai. Planning to go have a look today. I'll be comparing it with LH90 LED and Sammy C550 plasma and will decide.
 
...

Btw, Aneelr, are you using a projector or a TV for watching BD's ? If you're using a TV, can you tell me which one you're using ?

I've a Samsung 46" LED. Planning to upgrade to a 1080p PJ some time later.


cheers.
 
I guess you should try to compare the same on a 1080p TV, difference between DVD and BD will definitely be recognizable. Watching BD on 720p TV is not a good idea, the whole idea of HD is lost in this scenario.
And AFA difference between 720p/1080p goes, majority of the times the difference will be negligible, but in some dark/night-time scenes, there is a quality difference in the darker tones of the image.
cheers.

+1 to that, even my experience says, 1080p played on native 1080p TV shows noticible difference than playing a 1080p on a 720p display, as then the scaling happens (which I have explained explicitely in two of the other threads) which does bring out the difference. How noticible is bit subjective.....
 
You should check your cable, it should be hdmi so you could enjoy the high resolution. Otherwise, the image is the same.
 
I watched Avatar DVD initially on my Onida KY 21" CRT. It looked amazing in terms of PQ. Then when I bought my 50VT20D, watched again (from a dist of 12-13 ft) & felt something lacked there. Had one 4.2 GB mkv rip of Avatar in fullHD & watched that by connecting my dell thru HDMI 1.3..it was way too clear!! dist was same. later when I bought my Himedia 900B, watched BD ISO (47GB) of the same in 3D & 2D both & PQ was superb (using HDMI 1.4). I also watched 9GB appx Full HD Green lantern on a 32" HD Bravia & it looked like PQ/ colours/ contrast was too good. In my home, watched the same again on my Pana 50" & though felt that the PQ was still awesome, it was not having the effect which I got while watching the same on 32" HD Sony. So, my conclusion is I definately need (for the better viewing exp. as per my own perspective) Blu ray disks/ BD ISOs to have a complete cinema viewing satisfaction on my 50" VT20D. For the 32", normal FullHD rips are OK.
So, I can say DVD is meant for CRT/ 32" HD LCDs, It will not give you visual satisfaction on FullHD/ bigger TV sizes. Then again This is what I feel & to whomever I talked till date about thier individual viewing experiences.
 
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