-Difference in PQ Question

[edtyct]

Lots of thoughts on these issues. When you refer to cable feeds via S-video, do you mean analog broadcasts? If so, no digital HDTV is going to make them look particularly good. True, some displays are better at processing these signals than others, and the smaller the screen, the better this material is bound to look (simply because it's harder to see). But, in general, digital TVs have no business relying on S-video. Anyone who upgrades from a typical CRT to a large digital HDTV without planning to watch films and video at a minimum resolution of 480p--either via satellite/cable or standard DVD--via HDMI, DVI, or component is making a mistake. I'm almost of the mind that unless you intend to watch at least a little HD as quickly as possible, a high-grade digital TV may well be a waste of money. The fact of the matter is that many people who buy these sets and get their first taste of HD soon begin to lose their tolerance for anything less.

Here's the general skinny about HD at 720p and 1080p. On a 50" set viewed from a distance of 10' (or closer), the eye can't resolve the extra detail between 1080p and 720p. The pixels are just too small for most of us to see. With poor SD sources, neither resolution necessarily has an advantage. If the 1080p set's processing is poor, the SD picture might be visibly worse than that on a 720p set with better processing. All things being equal, however, I might lean toward the 1080p model, since images would be tighter--or smoother, as you say--though they would still be soft on both sets. Obviously, when you put a 46" TV into the mix, you'd have to move even closer to see any difference in resolution.

But you should be aware that the resolution numbers game is not the be-all and end-all of how a TV performs. Many other aspects of display technology are more important--grayscale, black level, gamma, and color decoding, to name just four. Choosing the right size and type of display for your environment and preferences, acquiring suitable material to watch, and evaluating performance on multiple fronts will usually produce a more satisfying result than simply buying on numbers.

Edit: It might be a good idea to add in this context that proper setup in the home--at the very least with a disk like DVE or AVIA--is vitally important for all but the least concerned about picture quality. Few TVs come out of the box with the proper settings for home use. A TV left to its own devices could easily make everything that it shows look significantly worse than it deserves. Because TVs in all but the most conscientious stores are programmed for a bright, garish environment or ignored altogether, sometimes seeing is not believing; in that case, firsthand viewing should be supplemented with the reports from professionals or informed enthusiasts.