Previous
Windows 7 media center review
Logitech Harmony Adapter for Playstation 3 review
HD 101: What is ATSC, PSIP, QAM, and 8-VSB?
How to install a CableCARD tuner in your DIY Media Center
DISH Network launches remote DVR control
Engadget HD Podcast 157 - 09.29.2009
Paradigm SUB 25 subwoofer review
Engadget goes behind the Dolby logo
Breaking news Feed
- Boxee inks deal with first hardware partner: a 'Boxee Box' is coming
- Best Buy partnering with CinemaNow to stream first-run DVDs to 'all web-connected devices sold'
- Netflix coming next month to PlayStation 3
- Toshiba details CELL REGZA LCD TV, coming December to Japan (update: video!)
- Intel announces Atom CE4100 for insanely powerful cable boxes and Blu-ray players
- Media Center CableCARDs freed from OEM requirement
- Samsung's LED TV Couple packs a 7-inch tablet remote for streaming TV and so much more
- Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-ray player coming November for $250, gives HD-DVD the final cold shoulder
- PS3 Slim bitstreams Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio, at last
- Xbox 360 officially the only console to stream Netflix -- sorry, PS3 and Wii
Featured stories Feed
- Spears & Munsil High Definition Benchmark Blu-ray mini-review
- Ask Engadget HD: Is it (still) a good time to buy a TiVo?
- Pace and Rovi work together to make a standard set-top a true multi-room DVR
- Ready or not, the latest 3D technology is coming home
- How to automatically skip commercials in Windows 7 Media Center
- Ask Engadget HD: How do you evaluate HDTVs in-store?
- Sharp AQUOS LC-52LE700UN impressions
- Ask Engadget HD: Best home theater setup for gaming?
- TDK's heavily stacked 320GB disc shows its nearly-clear face at CEATEC
- Panasonic's 1080p twin-lens P2 camcorder seen behind three-dee glass at CEATEC
- Facebook finally comes to webOS, not with a bang but a whimper
- Samsung unveils Android-equipped Galaxy Spica i5700
- Menq's $80 EasyPC E790 netbook runs Windows CE now, should run Android later (video)
- The next Engadget Show tapes November 22nd with HTC's Drew Bamford and Chris Grant of Joystiq
- Entelligence: Got game?
- Keepin' it real fake, part CCXLII: Aphone A6 is all about Android, aping Apple (video)
- Facebook finally comes to webOS, not with a bang but a whimper
- Samsung unveils Android-equipped Galaxy Spica i5700
- Sprint prepping update for Hero, still 1.5-based
- Creative to show off 'Zii Android mobile phone' next month at Chinese summit
- Best of the Week: Web Stupidity With a Twist, News Corp. Says Google Isn't Fair
- Undercover Wife Busts Husband By Posing as a Chatroom Teen
- After the Hype: Technologies That Never Lived Up to Their Promise
- Nerdy Guy Electrifies Aboriginal Didgeridoo
- Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak Might Actually Happen, Thanks to Physics
Resources
Sections
- Announcements
- Ask Engadget HD
- DIY
- Features
- Industry
- Misc
- Podcasts
- Polls
- Regulatory
- Reviews
- Blu-ray
- Cables
- Camcorders
- Displays
- DVRs
- HD DVD
- Media PCs
- Media streamers
- Other formats
- Other hardware
- Players
- Ports
- Receivers
- Recorders
- Remotes
- Set-top boxes
- Speakers
- Switches
- Tuners
Hardware
Manufacturers
WIN Network
- Autos
- Technology
- Lifestyle
- Gaming
- Finance
- Entertainment on AOL
- Lifestyle on AOL
- Sports on AOL
- Travel on AOL
- Also on AOL
Other Weblogs Inc. Network blogs you might be interested in:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jimmy @ Jun 21st 2008 3:23PM
cb,
I will not get into all of the math and science behind why and how all of this works but here is the short answer: The human eye has a limited ability to resolve detail; and, because of this, different resolutions at different distances will all appear to have the same quality to the average viewer.
For a little more detailed answer consider an equation that has three variables: Screen Size, Resolution, and Seating Distance. By varying these three variables the human eye will 'see' the same quality image on different screens.
Size matters.
The larger the display, the easier it is to see the benefits of higher resolution. This is why most 32 inch and smaller televisions are not full 1080p screens. Get yourself a 110 inch projector and you will certainly appreciate all the resolution a blu-ray can give you. Screen sizes in between depend on how far you sit from them.
Seating distance matters.
If you are sitting within five feet of your screen you are probably going to see all of the possible picture detail. In fact the screen size will usually need to be under twenty inches before you would NOT notice the difference between 720p and 1080p at a distance of five feet. On the other hand if you are sitting ten feet away from a 46 inch screen you might not notice the difference between 720p and 1080p.
One very important thing to remember is that resolution is just one part of the equation for how good an image appears. In fact it is not the most important factor. Most people would agree that Color and Contrast are much more important factors. So the viewing distance versus resolution arguments all assume that all other factors are equal. In real life they usually are not.