is 720p truly playable on ipad?

[megathunderult]

i was reading a discussion on a forum about the quality of hd 720p videos on an ipad and read that "True 720p resolution is 1280x720. iPad can't achieve that. It can process the video at that resolution, but to display it on the native screen it will be downscaled. Downscaling = wasted bandwidth" is it a waste of time downloading 720p videos and converting them for my ipad?

 

[blackNBUK]

It really depends on whether you want to keep the videos for a long time or whether you just want to watch them once. It some point there will be an iPad that can display 720p and at that point you may regret not having the HD videos.

 

[shellbryson]

It really depends on whether you want to keep the videos for a long time or whether you just want to watch them once. It some point there will be an iPad that can display 720p and at that point you may regret not having the HD videos.

It plays back, but the answer is technically "no". There aren't enough physical pixels on the screen to match 720p.

iPad = 1024 x 768
720p = 1280 x 720

iPhone4-shot 720p video plays back fine though if sync'd (doesn't appear to convert them).

 

[foshizzle]

a single 720P encoded video will play on both an iPad and an iPhone 4, as well as many other gadgets. It's a nice universal format.

 

[blackNBUK]

It plays back, but the answer is technically "no". There aren't enough physical pixels on the screen to match 720p.

iPad = 1024 x 768
720p = 1280 x 720

iPhone4-shot 720p video plays back fine though if sync'd (doesn't appear to convert them).

I understand that the iPad can decode 720p but can't display it at full-resolution. However plenty of other devices can playback 720p, including (probably) iPad 2 or 3. So the question to the OP is whether he cares only about his current iPad or whether he wants some future-proofing?

 

[Julien]

I convert my HD (BD rips) to 1024x576 (or 1024x438 for 2.35) for the best possible PQ while using the least space.

 

[megathunderult]

I understand that the iPad can decode 720p but can't display it at full-resolution. However plenty of other devices can playback 720p, including (probably) iPad 2 or 3. So the question to the OP is whether he cares only about his current iPad or whether he wants some future-proofing?

im only interested in my current ipad