Resolution is one of those terms that advertisers want to shove in your face, telling you that you just cannot live without a HDTV with 1080p resolution. Of course, they are trying to convince you to take more money out of your pocket, but are the promised advantages of 1080p really worth the trade? For many people, it may not matter that 1080p does better than 720p, as the hefty price tag that comes attached to HDTV models sporting such a resolution acts as a true hindrance.

The main advantage that 1080p has is that it displays pictures with more details, but that can be seen only when comparing LCD models with 720p next to other LCD’s that have 1080p resolution. The truth is that the latter are more expensive, and the price difference can only appreciated as being a good investment if we consider what kind of programs we are going to watch on our new LCD.

Video Content Nature is Important

Here is a strong argument towards considering buying a less expensive, 720p model. Video content from DVD’s, which many people watch today, does not need more than 720p resolution to be displayed correctly. Only Blu Ray discs can be watched in all their glory only on 1080p, but they are still very few that buy and watch such discs, as the DVD has yet to be dethroned by the new technology. If we are to compare the price difference between a 720p model and a 1080p model, this sums up to several hundred dollars. Is it worth it? Well, if all you are going to watch are DVD’s, then the answer is ‘no’, and even for a few Blu Ray discs, such a spending has no solid ground. Plus, regular television is still broadcast in a format that does not require more than 720p resolution to be displayed with perfect quality.

Advocates of 1080p claim that sports can be watched better, but this is not truly the case. Even television networks specialized in broadcasting sport events use the same 720p resolution. Even if your LCD has 1080p resolution, you will get nothing more out of it, because the video content will still be displayed with the same rate of video information. Let’s see why this aspect is important.

We stated previously that it does matter what you watch, and that most video content today does not require more than a 720p HDTV model in order to be displayed properly. This brings us to a discussion on video source. For instance, if the video source depends on 480 lines per frame resolution, and your LCD has 720p resolution, than the video content will undergo a so called upconversion. What you will see on a 1080p model will be no different from what you will get from a 720p model, when such an upconversion occurs. This can mean only one thing: video source is important because you will only get what is broadcast or displayed from it, no matter what kind of features your LCD has.

What Can You See With 1080p?

Truth be told, no technology would appear without any support. So goes the thing with 1080p resolution. While most video content has nothing to do with it, there are still types of video source that work best on models with such a resolution. Take, for instance, Blu Ray technology: their discs can only be watched at full quality on a 1080p HDTV. But this type of cutting edge technology is not mainstream yet, so it would be safe on our part to say that Blu Ray and 1080p resolution are partners in crime in making us spend more money. Of course, if you are the type of person that loves to keep up with all the new trends in technology (and have the money to spend on them), than 1080p and Blue Ray are the thing for you. On the other hand, most folks cannot afford such spending, and, in fact, they really do not need all that.

As we are talking here about new technologies, another term that seems to be gaining more ground and gather interest from specialists is 1080i broadcast. The letter “i” stands for interlaced, while “p” for progressive, and they illustrate a difference between modes of displaying video information on your television screen. 1080i broadcast looks a little better on a television with 1080p resolution (than on one with 720p), because we can see all the details intended to be there. If comparing 1080p content and 1080i content, then we get the same amount of details. The difference between them is that 1080p offers 60 frames per second frame rate, while 1080i just 30 frames per second. This influences the way you watch fast moving sequences that require a superior frame rate, where 1080i does not offer the same quality as 1080p.

How Visible is the Gain?

We told you that Blu Ray video content is best watched on 1080p. That is true, indeed, but only under certain circumstances. For instance, if you want to watch a Blu Ray disc on a 720p LCD or on a 1080p LCD, if you stay far away from the screen, you will not be able to tell the difference. In case you have a 1080p LCD and you want to watch 1080p content, then you will need to stay at the optimal distance to get the best out of your experience. The size of the screen is important in such matters, so you will be required to buy a large screen LCD, if you truly want to enjoy the advantages of 1080p resolution.

Going from standard CRT TV to an LCD TV with 720p resolution will really blow your mind. But going from 720p models to 1080p models will not elicit the same amazement from your part. 1080p resolution is designed to display twice the amount of details we see on a screen with 720p, but this does not mean that the picture quality is doubled.

A Very Important Fact

It is pretty obvious that unless you spend most of your time watching Blu Ray movies or 1080i broadcasts, an LCD HDTV with 720p native resolution is enough. However, there is one extremely important thing you have to know. Most if not all 720p HDTV models (plasma TVs included) are entry-level. That means, not only they have 720p screens (as opposed to the mid-end or high-end ones which have 1080p screens), but the picture quality is inferior as well. Basically the combination of black levels and color accuracy, which is what determines the picture quality, will almost always be superior on a 1080p HDTV. This has absolutely nothing to do with the resolution, however. It is entirely dependent on the class of the HDTV (low-end & cheap vs. high-end and expensive). You can find good 720p LCD HDTV models on the market, models that offer great value for their price. However, if you want one of the best LCD HDTV models out there, they are all high-end, relatively expensive and have 1080p native resolution.

Conclusion

Many people are used to watched only standard television content, DVD’s and HDTV channels that broadcast in 720p. While a person that sees the video content displayed for the first time on a 720p LCD will be amazed by the difference, it is not really worth it to spend the extra dime on buying a 1080p LCD model. Even if some difference in quality is noticeable when watching Blu Ray discs, the advantages are too little to be taken into consideration. Also, remember that even for such content, you need to know the optimal viewing distance and arrange your room in a way that will allow you to stay at that certain distance from the TV when watching your Blue Ray discs.

Keep in mind however, that if you want the best picture quality, you will only find it in a 1080p model. Not because it is 1080p, but because it is high-end.