Scaling on 1080i TV vs No scaling on 1080p TV

[admin_exported]

Hi guys. I'm looking at the Sony KDL32W400 and the KDL32P3020 (£670 and £410 respectively)

The main reason I am considering the W4000 is because it is 1080p, so the TV wont have to upscale/downscale PS3 games and in theory should be better, cleaner image. Is that right?

The P3020 is 1366x768 resolution so will have to upscale from 720p or downscale on 1080i.

Will there be any major difference in PS3 gaming quality?

I will mainly be playing PS3 games on the TV and only watching the odd bit of freeview. Hopefully I'll be purchasing an HD freesat box soon as well. 32" is my limt due to area.

Any opinons welcome.

*Edited to make sense*

 

[professorhat]

Most games on the PS3 are in 720p format, so won't make a lot of difference at the moment (big exceptions are GT5 Prologue and Metal Gear Solid 4). It does look like more and more big releases may come out in 1080p though as times goes on so if it's primary purpose is for games on the PS3 and this means you'll be sitting fairly close to the TV, I would go for the KDL32W4000 model given it's glowing review from WHF for hi-def sources. If you're sitting over say 8 feet away, I'm not sure you'll be able to discern the difference between the two though...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks professorhat. I will be sitting between 2-3 metres from it, no further, and GT5P and GT5 are the main games I want to play at the moment.

It is tough trying to figure out if the price difference will justify the presumeably better picture.

Can anyone else/any of the What Hi Fi team shed any light?

 

[Anonymous]

vish:

Thanks professorhat. I will be sitting between 2-3 metres from it, no further, and GT5P and GT5 are the main games I want to play at the moment.

It is tough trying to figure out if the price difference will justify the presumeably better picture.

Can anyone else/any of the What Hi Fi team shed any light?
You wont be able to see any difference with 1080p that far from the small screen, especially running fast moving games, where the perceived resolution is lower than the actual resoltion.

 

[Anonymous]

rewerb: You wont be able to see any difference with 1080p that far from the small screen, especially running fast moving games, where the perceived resolution is lower than the actual resoltion.

What do you mean by perceived resolution?

Sorry if that's a noob question.

 

[Anonymous]

The resolution might physically be 1080 lines. but as soon as the picture moves across the screen the resolution goes down and the image is not pin sharp. So what you're actually seeing is a resolution less than 1080.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi,

You asked for an opinion, so here's mine: I bought the Sony KDL 32 W4000 and am pleased as punch with it. A wonderful picture with real blacks and a full tonal range (not that games will improve from that, I guess, but then, I don't play games). My viewing distance is about 2.5 metres, but occasionally a little more.

Highly recommend this Sony model.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'd go with the W4000 - it's not just the resolution that's higher; it's a better-set all-round (as you'd expect from a far pricier set in the Sony line-up).

 

[fr0g]

It amazes me the number of people here who reckon you wont see the difference between 720p and 1080p at just 3 metres. Often the same people who reckon a mains lead can change the sound, or picture.

1080p has more than double the pixels (information).
Personally I think the difference is pretty stark.

 

[Anonymous]

fr0g:It amazes me the number of people here who reckon you wont see the difference between 720p and 1080p at just 3 metres. Often the same people who reckon a mains lead can change the sound, or picture. 1080p has more than double the pixels (information). Personally I think the difference is pretty stark.Its all matter of optical physics. Your eyes can only see the smallest details close up (typically the eye can see an object that susbcribes an arc of 1/60th of one degree from the eye). The further you are from the screen the less small detail you can distinguish.

Whether you can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at 3metres depends upon the size of the screen. Depends also whether the image is static or moving.

I reckon a mains lead can change the picture and sound. If it's a faulty one, there wont be any sound or picture.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much guys! Looks like I better save a bit longer and hold out for the better TV. I've now found it at £650 so I'm already £20 closer

Although will need to find a place JL will price match.

Was wondering if the Pana TX32LZD80 is a worthy competitor to the W4000? Have just seen it at around £90 cheaper.

Being a uni student with a taste for quality is hard

Thanks again guys!

 

[Anonymous]

LOL...Nice one rewerb.

I agree that at this distance on a
32'' set you will struggle to see the difference and if you do is it
worth the cash ? Why don't you go for a 37'' set as this will fit your
viewing distance and also bring you into the heady arena of Plasmas ?

A lot are cheaper than the w4000 and are great for games.

 

[Anonymous]

If I were to get a plasma it'd have to be 1080p, are there any great ones under £650?

Space is the big issue IF I could afford a 1080p plasma, 32" is pretty much the limit due to the positiong on my room. My TV is between a wall and a doorway, so don't want the risk of it being knocked over. No way to rearrange either, I've tried but my room is in the best arrangement as it is.

 

[Anonymous]

Seems like you're set on 1080p then so bite the bullet and spend 650 and enjoy.

 

[Anonymous]

I would quite happily get a 1080i TV if its performance was very close to the 1080p but being a student, £650 is a lot so I'd want 1080p.

Had Claire said the P3020 only lacks top resolution to the W4000, I'd prob take that. But esp as 37" is when you tend to notice the differences more with 1080p and 1080i, it'd have to be 1080p TV for me which I wouldn't be able to afford (or fit easily in my room!).

 

[Anonymous]

Then ask yourself if you'd rather have a totally sharp (on 2 games) 1080p gaming experience that is quite underwhelming in size (IMO) or a very sharp pic that seems nearly room filling ( although I sit the same distance as you and would rather have a 42'') for less money.

I have a 37'' hd ready panasonic and like the pic a lot. If I went for 46- 50'' at 3 metres I'd def go for Full HD to help sharpness, but on Blu Ray and Games I'm more than happy.

As for fitting the tv in its not just the screen size (check specs) but also depends on how you're mounting it.

You can get a 37px 80 for around 550 quid- not much less than the Sony but a lot bigger.

 

[Anonymous]

vish:

I would quite happily get a 1080i TV if its performance was very close to the 1080p but being a student, £650 is a lot so I'd want 1080p.
I remember being a student and was over the moon when I could afford a second hand Dansette record player!

 

[Anonymous]

rewerb:I remember being a student and was over the moon when I could afford a second hand Dansette record player!

I had to google Dansette

andyb190:

You can get a 37px 80 for around 550 quid- not much less than the Sony but a lot bigger.

I've just measured up and maybe I could fit it in with a squeeze, little room for breathing around it though. I've just seen it is only 1024x720 pixels. I know specs like that are not the full info on the TV but how will that cope with even 720p games when its resolution is not high enough?

Size is not really my main concern, but quality. I don't want necessarily the absolute best quality (or I'd have a mortgage for a home cinema) but I want the best value of great quality. I think the W4000 is leading but maybe I should consider the 1080p Pana TX32LZD80 since Panas of late have been extremely good.

 

[professorhat]

vish:I've just seen it is only 1024x720 pixels. I know specs like that are not the full info on the TV but how will that cope with even 720p games when its resolution is not high enough?
A 720p game would fit a screen with a 1024x720 resolution perfectly i.e. pixel perfect as the 720 goes by the number of horizontal lines which is the last number in your resolution. A 1080p game would simply be downscaled by the gaming system / TV to fit the TV.

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:vish:I've just seen it is only 1024x720 pixels. I know specs like that are not the full info on the TV but how will that cope with even 720p games when its resolution is not high enough? A 720p game would fit a screen with a 1024x720 resolution perfectly i.e. pixel perfect as the 720 goes by the number of horizontal lines which is the last number in your resolution. A 1080p game would simply be downscaled by the gaming system / TV to fit the TV.

Sorry, I meant as 720p is 1280 horizontal pixels and the TV is only 1024. As they do not have the same aspect ratio, will the quality of 720p games be affected?

 

[professorhat]

Oh I see, sorry. No, again, the picture should be adjusted automatically to fit your TV e.g. the native resolution on my Panny is 1024x768 but all my games look absolutely fine through it (both Xbox 360 and PS3).
EDIT - just adding a caveat as realised it's definitely worth seeing if you can get a demo first to ensure it looks okay as, although I'm sure this is what it should do, I'm not going to stake my life on it as 100% sure!

 

[Anonymous]

Wanted to see it tonight but shop closes to soon after work so will wait till sat/sun.

Our lounge plasma is a 2nd gen Sony with 1024 X 1024 res and the aspect is fine but I've never put an HD source through it so didn't know if it would cause probs.

Can I ask what model you have and how you've found it?

 

[Anonymous]

My mate has a Sony kdl40x3000 and he thinks my pic is excellent........particularly for the money. He hasn't got a HD source but offered to swap tvs when he saw Life of Brian on Bluray on my px80 (for what thats worth).

Now if you had the money I'd go for a new Sony KDL40W4000 particularly as they are excellent with games but you don't so the Panny is a very good budget option at half the price.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd love the KDL40W4000 but that is way out of my price range. TBH I was only looking to spend around the £400 mark but would have stretched further only for the 32" W4000.

Any particular reason the KDL40W4000 is excellent with games? Does that mean the 32" will be as well?

My head says pana plasma, but my heart says sony lcd