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In: Home Theater
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4k resolution televisions are now widely available and potential buyers are wondering if the extra resolution is worth it. In some cases it is, but in most, it’s not.  The details below can help you decide. 4K (and 8K) Resolution Defined The older 1080p HDTV standard has a resolution of 1920×1080 (2.1 million) pixels. The UHD resolutions are multiples of this base 1080p resolution. 4k resolution is named for the approximately 4,000 (4k) pixels that make up the horizontal resolution across the image. More specifically, the resolution is 3840×2160, which gives 8.3 million total pixels – 4 times that of 1080p. (4k is sometimes calledRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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I receive a bunch of questions in reference to my 1080P Does Matter article. Some of the questions are along the lines of “Do I really lose the benefits of 1080p if I sit too far away from a small screen? How? The lines of resolution don’t go away.” While the lines are still there, you’re eye can’t detect them, but I haven’t found a simple way to explain this. Then I came across this article and picture (via digg) that demonstrate a great, simple-to-explain example. quoting http://bloggerwhale.blogspot.com/2007/03/dont-trust-your-eyes.html# In the pic below you can see two faces. A normal face on the right and aRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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I have a front projector in one room and a flat panel display in another. Instead of purchasing separate sets for components for each display, I’d rather just use a HDMI distribution box so any source could be routed to either display. Unfortunately, this is turning out to be an impossible dream. Most of the devices available are HDMI splitters, so they can display the same source on both displays. However, they can not display different sources on different displays and this is the functionality I really want. A HDMI matrix switch is required to do this. The Gefen 4×4 HDMI HDTV Matrix Switch willRead More →

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I found an interesting article related to my 1080P Does Matter post (as well as my Home Theater Calculator.)  It gives some additional perspective on the resolving power of the human eye.  One key difference I noticed is that it states the resolving capability of our eyes to be 0.01 degrees, where as I’ve used a figure of 0.0167 degrees (0.6 arc-minute vs 1.0 arc minute.) This is not a huge difference; both are estimates based on the average eye.  I’m just glad that the values are so close. The figure I found most interesting was the total resolution capability when taking everything (eye, eyeRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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This is a follow-up to my article on HDTV screen resolution vs a persons ability to perceive any advantage. Before the link to the test pattern, I want to make it clear that the results vary greatly with the content. With an anti-aliased image (i.e. a photograph of a person with many color gradients), it would be much more difficult to detect a single pixel. With a non-anti-aliased image (solid single-color lines), pixels become much more apparent. To allow everyone to conduct a simple test for themselves, I created a sample a page that is half-way in between the scenarios described above. It is aRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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There are two different factors to determine how close a viewer should sit to the screen of their home theater (field-of-view and picture resolution). To choose a proper distance, it is necessary to understand the impacts of both, and understand when trade-offs occur. There are multiple ideal seating distances depending on the equipment and the preferences of the viewer. Here the details of these two separate factors: Field-of-View based viewing distances: The THX and SMPTE specifications are based on a field-of-view being a certain width or wider, meaning that all seats must be closer than a certain distance to the screen. In general, the widerRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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Recommended Seating Distances and Resolution benefits (small)I’ve read various articles debating the importance of the 1080p. I want to set the record straight once and for all: if you are serious about properly setting-up your viewing room, you will definitely benefit from 1080p (and even 1440p.) Why? Because the 1080p resolution is the first to deliver enough detail to your eyeball when you are seated at the proper distance from the screen. But don’t just take my word for it, read on for the proof.

There are a few obvious factors to being able to detect resolution differences: the resolution of the screen, the size of the screen, and the viewing distance. To be able to detect differences between resolutions, the screen must be large enough and you must sit close enough. So the question becomes “How do I know if need a higher resolution or not?”. Here is your answer.

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I just read the The case against 1080p article on cnet by David Carnoy. I think the article offers pretty decent commentary on side-by-side viewing comparisons of 720p and 1080p flat panels. However, the article states that it “isn’t the most scientific test” and that “At larger screen sizes, the differences might become somewhat more apparent, especially if you sit close to the screen.” Kudos to the author for pointing these out; I’ve addressed these issues in this post, which explains when and why 1080p (and 1440p) are important. I’m particularly impressed that the cnet article references the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF), stating the theRead More →