As said already, unless you have the optimum setup, then you are hardly going to notice any difference between 720p and 1080p.
And my question is "Why wouldn't you try to have the optimum setup?" It's a question of a handful of factors easily within your control: TV size, resolution, and placement. The
rest of the analysis that accompanied the chart explains that if you want to sit at the "optimum" distance, you'll benefit from 1080p. And it makes it pretty easy to match up the parameters.
I just don't see why bringing up 1080p gives rise to the argument "Since I'm happy with my nonoptimal setup, most people don't and shouldn't care about optimizing their setup. 720p ought to be enough for anyone."
Analogy: Let's say you just browse the web. Then, an 8-core Mac Pro with dual 30" Cinema Displays is overkill and a waste of money. That says nothing to denigrate the value of either of them. It just says your values and needs suggest you should get an iMac.
Analogy 2: Let's say someone (i.e. me) comes in wanting to print 8x10"s on a 200 lpi printer. You'd be doing me a disservice to say that that I'd be fine with a 3 MP camera. And what if I want to crop my photos because I didn't have enough zoom to fill the frame with my subject? I'm going to need a sensor with sufficient resolution to do what I want it to do. (Even we scale back to the layman, you're going to have a hard time convincing me that 100 dpi (A4 at 1 MP) is sufficient for printing a high-quality image. That's approaching screen resolution.)
Now, of course, there's the issue of effective resolution and that jamming more pixels onto a tiny sensor doesn't do you any good. The point is, these are all considerations to make with access to the right information. I'll try to optimize my camera for my photography needs, just like I'd do with a TV.
But 1080p is not the equivalent of a 1/2.3", 12.1 MP sensor being used to print 4"x6" photos. The crimes of the digital photography industry are far worse.
I was accused of plagiarizing and 'spreading false information.' Since they tried to make me look like a fool, I felt it necessary to return the favor. It was quite easy since the truth was on my side the whole time.
Sorry if I got a little riled up. Just don't like it when people get on here and spout pure nonsense in attempt to make someone look bad... especially when they have nothing backing up their argument.
No, taking it easy is absolutely right. I (and presumably others) didn't set out to make you look like a fool. I just said what was on my mind at the time, in addition to disputing your assumptions. It's nothing personal. I'm just some guy on the internet who throws words around.
