I understand the difference of the two, and how most smaller plasma televisions can display 1024x768 at a 16:9 physical aspect ration, but this is concerning the quality difference between the two.

I'm planning on picking up the Samsung 42" HPS4233 tomorrow. I will be using it primarily for 480p television and DVDs, but along along with my PS3 at 720p.

Am I looking at much of a quality loss here during 720p, in comparison to a 42" LCD that can display 1366x768? Will the deeper contrast of the Plasma compensate for this loss?

Thanks,

Tony

No, it will be just as bad. Both 1024x768 and 1366x768 are bastard resolutions! There is no native program source for either one; absolutely everything fed to them has to be up or downconverted by the set itself.

If you want the best PQ, get a set that properly matches the HDTV resolution - get a set with 1280x720 resolution!

Then, at least, ABC, FOX and ESPN (720p) can be viewed without scaling artifacts.

The rest of the HDTV (1080i) channels and all DVDs (480i/1080p) will still have to be scaled though.

Why don't more plasmas and LCDs come in native 1280x720? You'd avoid any sort of scaling for 720p that way. Sorry if that's a question that's been answered a million times, I've wondered it for a while now.

There is a Sony Wega 42" LCD Rear Projection KF42E200A going on sale tomorrow for the same price as the plasma. It has a 1280x720 native resolution.

However, in my living room, the couch is against an adjacent wall to the TV, and is only a few feet away, off to the side. I'm a little worried about the viewing angle here, if I have people over to watch the television.

Would you still recommend the Projection?

Thanks,

Tony

So can you discuss more about why 1280x720 is a much better resolution than 1366x768? I thought that the higher the resolution the better the images will apear without any degredation in picture quality...

Cree

I have all three resolutions in my house, and 1024x768 by far looks the best, BUT its on a panny plasma. What I mean is, the quality of the TV and the type of pannel will far exceed the resolution differences of the three.

I always set my programming, or source to 1080i, this way, on my 720p televisions of all mixed up resolutions(plasma 1024x768, LCD 1366x768), I can be assured that im not UPSCALING anything, just DOWNSCALING. Downscaling always seems to work out better, sharper and clearer. I wouldnt choose 720p source on any tv but a 1280x720. the rest get 1080i. for example, the 720 lines of 720p signal dont have to be stretched across 768. AND the reshape of the 1024 which falls short of the true 1280. By setting to 1080i, you get downscaled and converted to progressive, to say 1024x768p with my plasma, or 1366x768p with a LCD. the plasma and LCD are going to throw whatever signal you give it into progressive, so choosing 1080i source will most always be your best option. Unless of course, you have a true 720p which is 1280x720. In this case you will notice no difference.

Some people bow at the altar of specs - resolution being one of the great offenders.

My 1024x768 plasma looks FANTASTIC. It beats the pants off every 1080p LCD I've seen. That's because contrast ratio, black level, refresh rate, quality of video processing, the tweakability of the video settings, etc. all have a big impact on picture quality. Resolution is just one small aspect.

1024x768 is a weird resolution, granted, but don't let the specs make the decision for you. Look at the picture - buy the best picture.

Scaling artifacts will only appear if your set has poor video processing. Anyway, no matter which resolution you choose, you'll always have to scale SD, and you'll be scaling either the 720p or the 1080i channels.

Just pick the set you like the best and don't worry about the resolution specs.

STOP THE PIXEL & RESOLUTION MADNESS, PEOPLE! IT'S DESTROYING THE COUNTRY!!

well, maybe these forums anyway. So much fretting and consternation about an aspect that means relatively little in the grand picture quality scheme of things. TDavis21484 is dead on with his overview. Btw, TDavis, I'm reconsidering the NEC 42xr4 as an option, in addition to the Pioneer 425cmx. Something about these brands reputation for superior processing and aspect ratio control has got me interested again. That's if I can land a 42xr4 circa 1500 delivered. If not, then its the Pio. That's if I don't succumb to the Panny pull before the week is out (5 year warranty and all). Or even a 50"..


back on topic.. to the topic starter, you should drop in on one of the dedicated Samsung threads. Do a search for it. There you should get plenty of feedback about processing quality, resolution issues, etc., or at least, you should find lots of useful information just by reading through those threads. Good luck.

That's simply not true. All broadcast material will still be scaled because you cannot generally watch broadcast material with zero overscan (and expect to get a a good picture).

Very well said. This mirrors my experience as well. Resolution actually has very little impact on PQ compared to all the other points listed above. This should be obvious to anyone who has read the comparisons of the new 1080p Pio to it's 768p cousins. The 768's have gotten generally better PQ reviews for their superior contrast.

Nonsense!

Why on earth would you believe scaling is necessary?

What is wrong with "zero overscan"?

I watch zero overscan television all the time on my front projectors with no negative PQ issues.

NBC-HD does fill the leftmost vertical column with red pixels and, of course, the closed captioning data is visible at the top of some SD stations, all of which can be obviated by non-scaled cropping or masked by the screen surround (although I do neither).

Gesundheit!



What's wrong is that it isn't possible to do this on many if not most flat panel televisions. And even where it is, there will be garbage left on the edges of the screen in many cases.



Wrong forum.



I can't find the "non-scaled cropping button" or "adjust screen surround masking" on my remote. Anyone else with a _Plasma or LCD_ able to locate these buttons?

Then I guess you should qualify your blanket statement:

"All broadcast material will still be scaled on flat screen TVs because you cannot generally watch broadcast material with zero overscan (and expect to get a a good picture)".

I stand by my original statement.

Me too. I might not if I had posted it in a less-specific discussion area, but luckily I didn't do that.

Cheers

Exactly. The scaler is much more important than the native resolution, because so few sources are in a panel's native resolution. There are very few LCDs or Plasmas (if any) with a native 1280x720 resolution (a few front and rear projectors do). That being said, buy the technology and model that looks the best to you under the conditions it will be used.

The resolution of the panel means nothing. Nothing.

NOTHING.

Stop wasting time considering it. 1366, 1024, 1920, all are baloney that the manufacturers use to obfuscate the sole important criteria, yet the most uncontrollable: subjective picture quality.