1080p vs 720p

**Skippy** · 01-03-2013, 11:36 AM

ello,
My friend and I are debating if there are any difference from playing 1080p content vs 720p content. I'm saying that you won't see any difference due to the resolution but my friend insist on saying that it will be better quality since bigger resolution on the file will downscale better than a 720p. Am I totally wrong in being really persistant that it's not any difference?

**kch50428** · 01-03-2013, 11:42 AM

I notice the difference between 720p content and 1080p content from my iTunes library on my TV - which is 1080p... if you only have a 720p capable display, a 1080p file isn't going to be any better than what the display is capable rendering.

**Karenkcoulter** · 01-03-2013, 11:51 AM

Depends on the size of the TV set and the distance you are from it.

For example, at a distance of 8', on a 32" set, you won't notice the difference. At the same distance with a 60" set you will.

Somewhere out on the web is a formula for figuring this out.

FYI--This is the same basic reason that the retina iPad and iPhone have different PPI and Apple can still call them "retina"-viewing distance is different so the pixels can be larger on the more distant object and you still won't be able to perceive them due to the larger viewing distance.

**Skippy** · 01-03-2013, 12:11 PM

Oh, I purely meant for the iPad mini.

**Retconaddict** · 01-03-2013, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by Skippy

Oh, I purely meant for the iPad mini.

Well then definitely not.

**jsntrenkler** · 01-03-2013, 12:40 PM

Lol iPad mini needs a retina display in a bad way ;-)

**Karenkcoulter** · 01-03-2013, 04:36 PM

If the mini had been released in Jan 2012 prior to the full size retina iPad, everyone would have raved about the screen.

But since it was released after the retina iPad, people saw spoiled. If you've seen the retina iPad, you can tell the difference. But text on the mini is still far sharper than my 22" 1080p monitor at work.

**bt777** · 01-05-2013, 11:10 AM

I think on the iPad mini it's not so much an issue of resolution but more of an issue of compression ratios. The video quality also depends on the algorithm apple uses to downsize.

Generally, when downsizing the material is not quite as sharp so it may need to be artificially sharpened. The other side effect of downsizing is that it may reduce compression artifacts as less data is needed to produce the images.

Assuming that compression ratios are the same and that the scaling algorithm does a bit of post processing, the 1080p version should look a bit better, but I think it will only be noticeable under heavy scrutiny. The storage space saved by using 720p would be a bonus on the mini, but if you plan to get a retina capable device in the future, you will be disappointed that your videos are not in 1080p.

In other words, it depends on usage and what you value most.

**NWNirvana** · 01-06-2013, 01:32 PM

Yes you are wrong. 1080p content will look better than 720p content no matter the display resolution.

**CPUGEEK** · 01-06-2013, 05:23 PM

Originally Posted by NWNirvana

Yes you are wrong. 1080p content will look better than 720p content no matter the display resolution.

No your wrong. !08- will not make any difference at all vs 720 on a ipad and also other devices such as 32 inch tvs, They cannot display 1080p but it will scale it down to 720 or whatever resolution the ipad have