TV Technology Questions

[jpotter33]

Hey guys,

So it's tax time, and the wife and I decided we would get two new tvs as our "toys" with our tax refund and save the rest.  One tv will be for our bedroom, and the other will be for our basement/man cave for pretty much just watching the C's play. A couple of questions for y'all that are much more technologically-minded than myself.

1) How big of a difference is there between 720p and 1080p? I've read that the difference truly depends on how far away you are from the tv, but I wasn't sure why exactly that was and if it's even a valid point.

2) 60HZ vs. 120HZ? I've heard 120 HZ is overkill and pretty much not noticeable by human eyes.

3) Should I spend the extra for a Smart TV, or would a wifi-capable blu ray player work just as well? I want to be able to stream Netflix and Amazon on my tv without having my PS3 or laptop connected to it, but I wasn't sure how reliable wifi via a blu ray player would be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Roy H.]

I'm not an expert by any means, but...

1) I've heard the same thing about 720 vs. 1080p, but we have definitely noticed a better picture on our 1080.

2) 60hz hasn't been a problem at all, for TV, movies, or gaming.

3) Both of our TVs have a wifi blu-ray, and they have worked great.  Roku also gets good reviews, if you want to go that route.

[Quetzalcoatl]

Hey guys,

So it's tax time, and the wife and I decided we would get two new tvs as our "toys" with our tax refund and save the rest.  One tv will be for our bedroom, and the other will be for our basement/man cave for pretty much just watching the C's play. A couple of questions for y'all that are much more technologically-minded than myself.

1) How big of a difference is there between 720p and 1080p? I've read that the difference truly depends on how far away you are from the tv, but I wasn't sure why exactly that was and if it's even a valid point.

2) 60HZ vs. 120HZ? I've heard 120 HZ is overkill and pretty much not noticeable by human eyes.

3) Should I spend the extra for a Smart TV, or would a wifi-capable blu ray player work just as well? I want to be able to stream Netflix and Amazon on my tv without having my PS3 or laptop connected to it, but I wasn't sure how reliable wifi via a blu ray player would be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are my answers:

1.) 1080 is better than 720 on equivalent TVs, but the best 720 is leagues better than the worst 1080.  If you see a TV that was the best 720 from two years ago that is being dramatically price discounted and every review says it's amazing, it's better than an off brand 1080 for the same price.  Just like there is more to a cell phone camera than megapixels.

2.) Basically same thing for 1

3.) All that stuff like Roku is great, there is less and less need for proper cable anymore.  I just have a cable box for ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS & the League Pass channels.  Everything else is Netflix, Watch ESPN, Hulu, HBOGo, Amazon Prime & FX Now through my XBox 1, although you can do the same thing on Roku, PS4, etc.

My other piece of advice is wait 2 weeks to buy one, unless you see something amazing.  March is the best month to buy TVs

[jpotter33]

I'm not an expert by any means, but...

1) I've heard the same thing about 720 vs. 1080p, but we have definitely noticed a better picture on our 1080.

2) 60hz hasn't been a problem at all, for TV, movies, or gaming.

3) Both of our TVs have a wifi blu-ray, and they have worked great.  Roku also gets good reviews, if you want to go that route.

Thanks that helps.

[jpotter33]

Hey guys,

So it's tax time, and the wife and I decided we would get two new tvs as our "toys" with our tax refund and save the rest.  One tv will be for our bedroom, and the other will be for our basement/man cave for pretty much just watching the C's play. A couple of questions for y'all that are much more technologically-minded than myself.

1) How big of a difference is there between 720p and 1080p? I've read that the difference truly depends on how far away you are from the tv, but I wasn't sure why exactly that was and if it's even a valid point.

2) 60HZ vs. 120HZ? I've heard 120 HZ is overkill and pretty much not noticeable by human eyes.

3) Should I spend the extra for a Smart TV, or would a wifi-capable blu ray player work just as well? I want to be able to stream Netflix and Amazon on my tv without having my PS3 or laptop connected to it, but I wasn't sure how reliable wifi via a blu ray player would be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are my answers:

1.) 1080 is better than 720 on equivalent TVs, but the best 720 is leagues better than the worst 1080.  If you see a TV that was the best 720 from two years ago that is being dramatically price discounted and every review says it's amazing, it's better than an off brand 1080 for the same price.  Just like there is more to a cell phone camera than megapixels.

2.) Basically same thing for 1

3.) All that stuff like Roku is great, there is less and less need for proper cable anymore.  I just have a cable box for ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS & the League Pass channels.  Everything else is Netflix, Watch ESPN, Hulu, HBOGo, Amazon Prime & FX Now through my XBox 1, although you can do the same thing on Roku, PS4, etc.

My other piece of advice is wait 2 weeks to buy one, unless you see something amazing.  March is the best month to buy TVs

Really, why March?

[Quetzalcoatl]

Hey guys,

So it's tax time, and the wife and I decided we would get two new tvs as our "toys" with our tax refund and save the rest.  One tv will be for our bedroom, and the other will be for our basement/man cave for pretty much just watching the C's play. A couple of questions for y'all that are much more technologically-minded than myself.

1) How big of a difference is there between 720p and 1080p? I've read that the difference truly depends on how far away you are from the tv, but I wasn't sure why exactly that was and if it's even a valid point.

2) 60HZ vs. 120HZ? I've heard 120 HZ is overkill and pretty much not noticeable by human eyes.

3) Should I spend the extra for a Smart TV, or would a wifi-capable blu ray player work just as well? I want to be able to stream Netflix and Amazon on my tv without having my PS3 or laptop connected to it, but I wasn't sure how reliable wifi via a blu ray player would be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are my answers:

1.) 1080 is better than 720 on equivalent TVs, but the best 720 is leagues better than the worst 1080.  If you see a TV that was the best 720 from two years ago that is being dramatically price discounted and every review says it's amazing, it's better than an off brand 1080 for the same price.  Just like there is more to a cell phone camera than megapixels.

2.) Basically same thing for 1

3.) All that stuff like Roku is great, there is less and less need for proper cable anymore.  I just have a cable box for ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS & the League Pass channels.  Everything else is Netflix, Watch ESPN, Hulu, HBOGo, Amazon Prime & FX Now through my XBox 1, although you can do the same thing on Roku, PS4, etc.

My other piece of advice is wait 2 weeks to buy one, unless you see something amazing.  March is the best month to buy TVs

Really, why March?

Most tvs are sold before the super bowl and so this is the dead time for sellers before the new models are out.  They're just trying to shed inventory

[jpotter33]

Hey guys,

So it's tax time, and the wife and I decided we would get two new tvs as our "toys" with our tax refund and save the rest.  One tv will be for our bedroom, and the other will be for our basement/man cave for pretty much just watching the C's play. A couple of questions for y'all that are much more technologically-minded than myself.

1) How big of a difference is there between 720p and 1080p? I've read that the difference truly depends on how far away you are from the tv, but I wasn't sure why exactly that was and if it's even a valid point.

2) 60HZ vs. 120HZ? I've heard 120 HZ is overkill and pretty much not noticeable by human eyes.

3) Should I spend the extra for a Smart TV, or would a wifi-capable blu ray player work just as well? I want to be able to stream Netflix and Amazon on my tv without having my PS3 or laptop connected to it, but I wasn't sure how reliable wifi via a blu ray player would be.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are my answers:

1.) 1080 is better than 720 on equivalent TVs, but the best 720 is leagues better than the worst 1080.  If you see a TV that was the best 720 from two years ago that is being dramatically price discounted and every review says it's amazing, it's better than an off brand 1080 for the same price.  Just like there is more to a cell phone camera than megapixels.

2.) Basically same thing for 1

3.) All that stuff like Roku is great, there is less and less need for proper cable anymore.  I just have a cable box for ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS & the League Pass channels.  Everything else is Netflix, Watch ESPN, Hulu, HBOGo, Amazon Prime & FX Now through my XBox 1, although you can do the same thing on Roku, PS4, etc.

My other piece of advice is wait 2 weeks to buy one, unless you see something amazing.  March is the best month to buy TVs

Really, why March?

Most tvs are sold before the super bowl and so this is the dead time for sellers before the new models are out.  They're just trying to shed inventory

Gotcha. TP for the info.