TV Help

**bringmagicback** · 07-15-2010, 10:37 PM

I have this samsung pn50a460 (I think) The picture is awesome and everyone comments on how great it looks. I have a question however.

Will a blu ray player broadcast in 1080 on this TV....I read that somewhere. Supposedly even if it is a 720 TV it will show blu ray at 1080. Any ideas? Is it worth getting Blu Ray with this TV? I am clueless on this subject.

**ISUAgronomist** · 07-15-2010, 10:44 PM

If your TV is only 720 the best you are going to see is 720.

**bringmagicback** · 07-15-2010, 10:52 PM

Ok, I think what they were talking about was that it would show the blu ray in 1080i but scale it down to 720 which is what you are speaking of I believe. They said that it would still result in a dramatic improvement when compared to DVD.....does this sound correct.

Again clueless so sorry if missing the obvious.

**hawkeyeh8r** · 07-15-2010, 11:14 PM

just go buy a new tv that is already in 1080 and that solves your problem

**Skyh13** · 07-16-2010, 01:17 AM

720 is better than DVD... ESPECIALLY if you're just using Composite cables (red, white, yellow). But when you're maxing out what your TV can handle, it'll look great anyways. Put something on there that's lower resolution, it won't look so good. It's why standard def TV looks way better on old CRT's than on high def TV's.

But yes, the image will be scaled down to 720p from 1080. So a blu ray player will work with your TV.
And a quick search on the internet brought up a forum where this was said:

your TV will down convert the 1080p source to 720p/1080i. You probably won't notice a difference unless you have a set over 50".

It looks like your TV is just at the size limit where you probably won't notice much of a difference between how 1080p and 720p look (of course, it depends on who's watching, but either way, it'll look good).

**bringmagicback** · 07-16-2010, 04:30 AM

Originally Posted by hawkeyeh8r

just go buy a new tv that is already in 1080 and that solves your problem

Other than movies.......There really isnt a reason to get 1080. Humans cant tell the diff. Unless you sit 2 feet from the TV.

**hawkeyeh8r** · 07-16-2010, 06:24 AM

Originally Posted by bringmagicback

Other than movies.......There really isnt a reason to get 1080. Humans cant tell the diff. Unless you sit 2 feet from the TV.

i just like the aesthetic look of having a bigger tv

**bstegs** · 07-16-2010, 07:15 AM

The appropriateness of the size of the TV depends on how far you sit from it. There is a chart floating around that shows this. Also, as said above, only blu-rays (and HD-DVDs, God bless `em) include 1080p content. Very few video games actually render at 1080p, let alone 720p, and are upscaled. All TV signals are compressed 720p or 1080i.

The real thing to consider though is that the 1080p vs 720p argument is not the most important thing. Three more important aspects are contrast (black levels), accurate color reproduction, and the ability to scale non-native resolutions (1080->720 and vice versa). Proper motion handling is important, but this can be improved by 1080p TV, but mostly by an improved pixel refresh rate.

**dmclone** · 07-16-2010, 07:17 AM

Originally Posted by bstegs

The appropriateness of the size of the TV depends on how far you sit from it. There is a chart floating around that shows this. Also, as said above, only blu-rays (and HD-DVDs, God bless `em) include 1080p content. Very few video games actually render at 1080p, let alone 720p, and are upscaled. All TV signals are compressed 720p or 1080i.

The real thing to consider though is that the 1080p vs 720p argument is not the most important thing. Three more important aspects are contrast (black levels), accurate color reproduction, and the ability to scale non-native resolutions (1080->720 and vice versa). Proper motion handling is important, but this can be improved by 1080p TV, but mostly by an improved pixel refresh rate.

**aeroclone** · 07-16-2010, 08:34 AM

Some good info in this thread so far. As you can see on the chart that dmclone posted, on a 50" TV you would need to be sitting closer than 10' from the set to be able to see any difference between 720 and 1080 due to the limitations of the human eye.

With that said, while your TV will convert the 1080p blu-ray signal to 720, it will still look great on your TV. It should look better than anything else you have, as DVD is in 480p, and HD cable while available in 720p and 1080i is often compressed, which compromises the quality. The full bandwidth 1080p that you get from blu-ray is the best thing out there. Give it a try, if you are a person who appreciates quality picture and sound, I'm sure you will be happy with the purchase.

**Senolcyc** · 07-16-2010, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by bringmagicback

Other than movies.......There really isnt a reason to get 1080. Humans cant tell the diff. Unless you sit 2 feet from the TV.

There's a difference. I'm no tv snob, but there's a difference. There's even a difference between 1080i and 1080p. Not techy enough to explain it at all, but there's a difference. There's a reason 720 units are so cheap.

**bstegs** · 07-16-2010, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by Senolcyc

There's a difference. I'm no tv snob, but there's a difference. There's even a difference between 1080i and 1080p. Not techy enough to explain it at all, but there's a difference. There's a reason 720 units are so cheap.

As I said, there are more important things than the resolution, i.e. - black levels and color accuracy. Most of your cheap TVs are not good at either. If you are at 42" or below, 1080p probably doesn't matter if the other qualities are good.

There is a reason that CNET used to give Pioneer's 720p KURO plasmas better rankings than Sony's top of the line 1080p LCDs.

**dmclone** · 07-16-2010, 11:09 AM

720p can look as good or better than 1080i and most people can't tell the difference. Go look at ESPN(720p) and then compare it to a channel in 1080i. However, there is a huge difference between 480i/480p and all the other HD signals on big screens.

**driegner** · 07-16-2010, 11:17 AM

So when I play NCAA on my 360 and sit 3 feet away from my 32" screen, I'm glad I have 1080p now!

Don't let anyone tell you 1080 isn't awesome for video games. It is.

**dmclone** · 07-16-2010, 11:57 AM

Not the best way to compare but here are some quick examples I took. I think it gives an idea between 480i and everything else. This is about 15 feet from the screen. As you get closer the differences show up even more.

480i

720p

1080i

1080p