Hi BigJim and greetings to all from the CES in Las Vegas,
1080p displays do have more pixels than a 720p display. What this means is that you can sit closer to a 1080p display--about 4 feet from a 50-inch vs. 8 or 9 feet for a 720p 50-inch (LCD, plasma, or DLP) and see the same clarity.
Put another way, you can get a bigger screen--say 65 inches or more-- and view it from the same distance that you'd normally require for a 50-inch display. But if you normally sit 9 or 10 feet away, a 50-inch 1080p display won't appear any sharper than a 720p display at that distance because it is beyond the resolution of the human eye. So you have to move closer or get a bigger display.
I've just been doing a bunch of these comparisons here at the CES.
Again, I've been underwhelmed by the Pioneer plasma panels.
Some of the really stunning looking displays are from Panasonic (plasma and LCD) Sony (LCD), Hitachi, Sharp (LCD) and Samsung, the latter just a hair behind the former, at least in the show demos.
A number of the new LCD panels incorporate a dynamic backlight that varies with the picture information to enhance black levels, and it really works. Also the refresh rates of newer panels are at 120 Hz to reduce any lateral motion artifacts.
One of the really knock-out images was Sony's OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display of the 1/4-inch thick panels. No backlight is required as they generate their own light, but it's early. Most of the panels are 12 inches and the largest is 27 inches. None for sale, so it will be some years before we see consumer versions.
There will be more detailed info in the upcoming Axiom newsletter for January.
Regards,
