Do I really need 1080p?

[Typhoon]

Hello,

I'm looking to buy a new TV and I've read a little about the 1080p being great for Hi Definition, etc. To be honest, I plan to use the TV with my digital box from rogers, but I don't really plan to upgrade to Hi-Definition box. I do however, want to have good resolution when I hook my computer's video out into the TV. Does this 1080p stuff make a difference when I hook up my computer to the TV? Will I higher resolution on the TV through the computer out if I go with 1080p? Won't a 720p set meet my requirements? Thanks.

[Emancipated]

You don't "need" it but who really needs anything other than bread, water and oxygen?

Actually, if I could do it all over again I would spend the extra and get 1080p. What I've heard people say is that on anything lower than 40", 1080p is a waste. I wanted 32" due to space and it's really the sweet spot for me. The text looks blurry and pretty unreadable. If you intend on using it fully for computer output, 1080p is pretty much required.

[Typhoon]

Just to clarify. Are you saying that you have a 720p set now and the text is blury? Are you also saying that on a 1080p the text would be clearer? If that's the case then clearly this 1080p stuff applies to output from a computer, and thus I guess I do need a 1080p. Can you confirm? Anyone disagree? Thanks again to all who respond.

[hightech]

I am not sure what TV Emancipated has, but on my Sony Bravia 40D3000, everything looks very good. I used an DVI to HDMI cable and was browsing this site and the text is very sharp.

In all honesty, on a 40" TV, unless you are 4 feet or less, you may see a difference between 720p and 1080p. I was at the local Best Buy and they have the 40D3000 and the XBR side by side, and what you notice is a slightly better contrast ratio on the XBR (which is not the same as resolution). The difference in price between the 2 TV's is $1000, so I'm not sure if it is worth spending it.

I actually saw one of the new Panasonic Plasma's on display and that was better then the Sony XBR. Here is the one I saw: http://www.panasonic.ca/english/audiovideo/plasma/th42_46_50pz80.asp

The Panasonic has a 20,000:1 native contrast ratio and it looks pretty good.

At the end of the day, stick with companies that have decent products like Sony, Panasonic, Sharp and Samsung. I find the big players 720p TV's are much better then other 1080p models. The resolution is not the only thing to consider, as video processor and internals can make or break a TV picture quality.

[Typhoon]

This is all good stuff and really helpful. So now I'm gearing towards 720p since, as you say the screen is still sharp when outputting from a computer and I don't plan to get the HD box anyways. So now my question is how is it that one poster's screen is sharp and another poster's screen isn't. Probably the video card and cabling then, right? I think 720p screens have a resolution of 1028 x 768 right? Is that the highest I can go on the video card output settings? To be honest, it should be good enough, I'm just asking.

[hightech]

This is all good stuff and really helpful. So now I'm gearing towards 720p since, as you say the screen is still sharp when outputting from a computer and I don't plan to get the HD box anyways. So now my question is how is it that one poster's screen is sharp and another poster's screen isn't. Probably the video card and cabling then, right? I think 720p screens have a resolution of 1028 x 768 right? Is that the highest I can go on the video card output settings? To be honest, it should be good enough, I'm just asking.

720p is 1366x768 if I am not mistaken.

What you didn't consider is that all 720p TV's don't all look the same. A Sony TV may be better then a Sharp for some things. The Sony has a decent PC mode and even has adjustments for text sharpness and image offset.

Before I settled on the Sony, I tried a Panasonic, and a Sharp and found the Sony for my needs was best.