I was overhearing a discussion that was pretty much saying HD is a scam for TVs less than 50" and that 1080p TVs look exactly the same as 720p on upscaled DVD.

Is that true? So would getting a 1080p 46" samsung be a waste?

Ignorant.

yep, ignorant.

There is some valid debate on this point. Many people here argue that 720p is fine on TVs below 50 inches. But, if you otherwise like the TV and it just happens to be 1080p, I would buy it.

Also, viewing distance plays a part in here. The further back you sit from the screen, the larger the screen has to be in order for you to see all the detail provided by the higher resolution. If you sit closer to your TV, even at 46" you'll want the highest resolution you can get.

At the same time, you'll want to consider the price difference. How much more is it for 1080p vs. 720P? With hardware prices dropping all the time, you may find that the 1080p set is not much more expensive than the 720p set.

yeah. if you are sitting more than 6' away from your 46", it wont make a difference. i doubt there is much of a price difference between that and the 720p model so I would just go for it.

From the smaller screens I have seen, 1080p is kinda wasteful at such a small screen as 46". I started noticing improvments with 53"+ screens with 1080p. But, Viewing distance does play part into it, so you can have a smaller screen but if you sit real close it will be better. I ended up going with a 61" 1080p DLP Sammy

http://www.carltonbale.com/wp-conten...tion_chart.png

who sits more than 10 feet from the TV now a day?

Hah. My 42" TV could be 1440P and I would notice the difference.

Uh, quite a few I'd say.

I went from a 46" 1080i CRT RPTV to a 52" 720P LCD RPTV and notice very little difference from where I sit. In the end screen size was more of a benefit than resolution.

well, technically 1080i is greater resolution than 720p (1920x1080 vs. 1280x720). it's hard to directly compare a CRT to an LCD though, as the CRT doesn't really have a fixed-pixel resolution. i'm not sure that a 1080i CRT actually has an effective horizontal resolution of 1920 pixels.

Me. But I am in the range on that chart that suggests 1080 might be too small.

Very few do. Pretty much only the 9" gun projectors can actually manage 1920 hor.

Just to add to Suprmallet's list from post #5, PC usage is another factor to consider for 1080. If you plan on using a computer hooked to the TV at all, you usually want the best resolution you can afford. It's easier to see the difference with this kind of source.

That was what I meant, but I worded it poorly. The gain in screen size outweighted the loss of resolution.

I take it someone is an apartment dweller or something? My living room is about 16 feet long and it would take some weird organization to create a less-than-10 ft viewing distance.

The chart Lizard linked to is a fantastic summary IMO.

I'm sitting about 13 feet from my 115" and that means about 12ft from the 37" (used during the day normally and right now as the projector is out on RMA).