1080p vs. 2560 x 1600?

Question

Ok. I have been so over whelmed with all this tech stuff. Everyone has been pushing the "Full HD" bull as the catch phrase for new "HD World" With the limited knowledge I have I have been able to understand the main stream methods of audio and video interface. The question I have for all of you is should I just wait to upgrade my systems until 1600p and DisplayPort are main stream (Guessing they'll call it that.) From what I've learned the next highest resolution step is at 2560 x 1600, but with the little research I've done I've found a shockingly low Contrast ratio for these displays compared for the new 500,000:1 Samsung has just released. The new "1600p" would most likely use the DisplayPort as the main way of transfering HD picture to your TV. With this DisplayPort it offers a much faster transfer rate and offers a color depth of 16 Bits per connector, which would seem to make HDMI rather obsolete.

Answer 1

First, you have to recognize and come to terms with the fact that consumer electronics is a continually evolving field. There will always be something better just down the road.

Furthermore, at any point in time the equipment available will range from relatively low price/basic capability to high price/"all the bells and whistles". Most consumers can't afford the high priced stuff, so have to decide where they are comfortable on the continuum, while recognizing that, with time, prices for any particular performance level will decrease.

Once you accept the inevitability of that you can begin to focus on what really matters ... having reasonable performance at any particular time to allow you to enjoy movies or music or whatever. Sometimes waiting a while during periods of rapid change make sense, but at other times waiting may be pointless. You have to know which is which.

Enough philosophy, let's look at some facts.

In the case of video, the world is still evolving from SD to HD. A minority of consumers have HDTVs, and it will be several years until this changes. Even then much less than half will be 1080p ... most new HDTVs are 720p models.

Furthermore, essentially the only 1080p program material at the consumer level (OK there are some HD tapes) is on HD disks (HD DVD or Blu-ray). There is no 1080p TV and won't be for at least a decade (and probably much longer).

The next level of video resolution after 1080p is probably 1440p, not 1600. Is this much of an improvement?

Look at the difference between 1080p and 720p the improvement is marginal. In fact for someone watching from 8-10 feet away you need to have a display larger than 50" to even be able to notice any difference, and 65" before it's reliably distinguishable.

Further, consider that resolution is the 4th most important factor in determining perceived picture quality (after dynamic range, colour saturation and colour accuracy, in that order). And as you have noted. new high def displays will almost inevitably have weaker characteristics in other areas (e.g. low contrast, slow response times).

Finally consider that since only a small minority of consumers will be able to afford either the equipment or the very limited content, you must conclude that anyone buying in is more interested in the quality of the image than the content of the material.

Personally I'd rather have a very good image and a choice of material to watch at reasonable prices, than a slightly better resolution poorer image and limited choice of material at much higher price.

In fact we have just described my objection to HD disks and the fixation on 1080p. I have a 720p HD front projector and a 110" screen. I find the picture on my equipment from normal DVDs played on my HD DVD player (i.e. using it as an upconverting DVD player) to be only slightly inferior to HD disks. It simply isn't worth it to me to pay much more (typically $10-$25 more than the $5-$10 I pay for previewed DVDs) for a limited selection of HD disks for a small increase in resolution (although the improved audio is nice)

See the link for some pictures that suggest the actual difference in DVD (not upconverted) vs HD disk image resolution. Significant, but not night and day, particulalry if one is "into" the movie. Now imagine what little difference there would be going to 1440 (or even 1600) relative to 1080.

While Blu-ray appear to be the survivor of the HD disk format wars, it is highly unlikely they will ever replace DVD as the physical format of choice for most consumers. They will remain a premium niche format, with the bulk of consumers moving from DVD to HD download/VOD services at compressed sub-1080p quality level (which is, after all, the most the majority can benefit from).

OH .. DisplayPort vs HDMI? While DisplayPort may eventually become a significant factor, in it's present version it doesn't provide appreciable advantage over HDMI, is mainly focussed on computer rather than HE applications, and anyway is backward compatible with HDMI.

In the consumer world, some Sony HDTVs (and some others) are xvYCC and 10 bit colour capable (which HDMI will handle), but there isn't likely going to be any content (except video games) that can take advantage of this for some time.

So, rather than simply say, don't hold your breath, I hope I've provided some arguments for picking a resolution level you consider acceptable and buy in now. While 720p is arguably adequate, if you want to be as "future proof" as possible aim for 1080p (with xvYCC and 10 bit colour capability), but don't wait for DisplayPort or higher resolution ... it'll be a long wait. Certainly more than the estimated 5-8 year lifetime of an HDTV.

Answer 2

It won't change for a while, 1080p just came out so usually new a/v technologies last roughly 10 years before being replaced with something new.

They would just be s******g over anyone who bought a 1080p tv if they just go and make 1600p tv's in the next few years.

Answer 3

They wont be going above 1080 for a long long time.  Stations and movies are HD at 1080 and it takes a lot of technology to transmit that.  The new HD digital signals are all being built to transmit 1080i and so are HD satellites.  I for one don't anticipate it ever going above that.  Those would be some darn big tv screens and expensive that could even use or benefit from above 1080.  So the market would be very small - not profitable.