1080p vs 720p on 32 inch

[speedcouch]

We are in the market for a 32 inch HDTV for the kitchen. We already have a rear projection 1080i 55 inch Mitsubishi that we've had since 2001 and a rear projection 1080p 50 inch Samsung we got in late 2007. So I've been looking at the 32 inch 1080p Samsung LCD TV now. I'm real close to purchasing, but have been reading a lot on the net that at the small 32 inch size, there is no visible difference from 720 to 1080. Then the other day, I was shopping at Best Buy and got the same story from the salesman (not that I believe a salesman as I know they have more 720 tvs, so want to move them).

Just asking for the real scoop from folks here. I think I'm a pretty discerning viewer and have always liked having a 1080 TV. We don't buy movies, so 1080p for a Blu-Ray player will never be an issue. We mostly watch movies on HBO, Starz, etc on DirecTV, network TV stuff and sporting events (NASCAR and football).

Am I just thowing away an extra $200 to get the 1080p Samsung as opposed to a 720p?

Thanks!
Cheryl

[Stuart Sweet]

This is completely your call. Some folks might insist that it all comes down to viewing distance, or whether you want to do more 1080p content. The truth is that it really is a personal choice.

At that size, though, I'd think the mitigating factor wouldn't be 720 vs 1080, it would be 60Hz vs. 120Hz. With 120Hz, which you can only get on a 1080p TV, you'll get that "crystal clear, through a window" picture when playing Blu-Rays at 1080p/24. Otherwise I suspect you'll see very little difference, and in cases like watching movies over a premium channel, I'd personally be just fine with 720p. (In fact, I am :) )

[bonscott87]

If you're at a distance of 5-6 feet or more you'll never tell the difference. But frankly, if it's in the kitchen does it really matter that much? You going to be watching 1080p Blu-ray movies there? I'd save the $200 and just get the 720p for a kitchen TV unless you have the extra bucks to spend. Now if it were in your home theater I'd tell you to go with 1080p no matter the size just to be future proof with a TV you'll probably have for 5+ years.

[harsh]

1080 in a 32" TV is pretty rare.

I'd spend some time watching some 480i content and see which TV does the best job with the idea that a TV that does well with 480i probably has some pretty good processing circuitry.

[Nick]

Cheryl, at 32" diag., 720p res is just fine.

I recently ordered & received a 32" 720p HD display from eCost
for only $321. The HD res is stunning. IMO, throwing extra bucks
at 1080p on a 32" would be a waste of money.

[BattleZone]

IMO, if you're strictly watching TV on this set, at that size, 720 isn't a big deal. If you think you might ever use it for displaying computer graphics, then getting the full 1080 resolution is more important. Here's why: "720p" TVs aren't really 1280x720, but rather use 1366x768 panels. This means that all content, whether 720 or 1080, must be scaled to fit the native resolution of the screen. This scaling isn't very noticable with normal movie/TV content, but it can be very noticable with computer graphics, which are designed for 1:1 displays. The scaling will make small text and lines blurry and hard to read.

[spartanstew]

720p

[Zellio]

Lol what? 32" kitchen tv? I assume your gonna build it in the wall?

Can you show a picture when your done? The largest lcd I had in the kitchen was a 480p 20" widescreen. I then went to an alienware laptop to a current 13" POS lcd with plain directv.

But damn, 32"! I'd love to see how you'd do this.

Oh, and uh btw, if you want good picture quality, I'd get the 1080p. You'll basically be upclose, since it's a kitchen, so you'll see the details like a computer monitor.

If you plan to be 6 feet away from the tv alot then ya, 720p.

[speedcouch]

Actually we have plenty of room for a 32 inch or bigger TV in the kitchen. Our old 27 inch tube Sony sits on the counter at an angle between the main kitchen cabinets and a penninsula dividing the kitchen from the breakfast room.

As I said in my original post, we do NOT plan to use the TV for DVDs. Almost never watch DVDs or buy them, so that's not an issue at all. Same thing for computer games, we don't play them. Just want an HD display to watch stuff while cooking or eating meals at the breakfast bar.

Thanks for everyone's input!

Cheryl

[Lee L]

It might be a little late, but the only concern I might have is how are you going to feed it? Will it have a seperate source or be fed off the box that drives another TV at the same time? (Say if you have an open floor plan, it might not work to have 2 seperate things going) If that were the case, maybe getting something in a 1080 mulptiple would be better as your other TVs are 1080 and it would be less scaling if you split a component output. However, most TVs can take anything these days and scale it, so maybe veiwing it in the store the same way you will at home would be best.

[speedcouch]

It might be a little late, but the only concern I might have is how are you going to feed it?

Excellent point! Thanks for bringing it up! We have two DirecTV HR20s in the house. I'm not sure how my husband will want to feed the new TV. Right now, we are feeding the old 27 inch from a SD Tivo in the bedroom. Obviously, that will have to change. The kitchen is right next to the LR; but has a hard wall between them, so if we watch different things in the two rooms as long as we each keep the sound reasonably low, there's no problem. We have our 2nd HR20 feeding our old HDTV in a sunroom which is next to the bedroom. It would probably be best to feed the new TV from that so if we don't want to watch the same things, there won't be a problem.

The old TV is only 1080i, but I'm guessing leaving the output to that would be
fine for a new 1080p.

Your questions just got me thinking I'd probably not want to degrade the signal to our 50 inch primary TV in the LR by splitting it to the kitchen TV. But splitting the signal from the old TV shouldn't be a problem since we don't watch that one much at all.

Thanks to everyone for your input! I'm going out to Best Buy at lunch to see if they still have the Samsung 32 inch 1080p that I've been looking at. Just reading Consumer Reports reviews, I think I'd get the best picture (deep blacks, etc) from that model.

Cheryl

[Lee L]

SOmething else I did not mention, but as long as you are using the HR20, you don;t need to split. IT can run the Component and HDMI at the same time, unlike the HR10-250. SO, depending on how you run a signal to teh 50 inch TV (either compent or HDMI), you can use the other stype to run to the kitchen TV. Of course, HDMI gives you sound and pvideo on the one wire, so that would be easier than component IMO.

Also, not sure if you know, do not by your cables at BestBuy, hit up someplace like www.monoprice.com or www.bluejeanscable.com .