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 March 1, 2006 Too Much Resolution? When the digital television standard was adopted in the US, it allowed a number of different configurations. If you take into account all approved vertical resolutions, aspect ratios, and scanning systems (progressive or interlaced), 18 variations are possible. Of these, the king of the hill would be a widescreen (16:9), 1080-line, progressive-scan display, and there are now a number of such sets on the market. It seems only natural that buyers with deep pockets would line up to buy these ultimate sets, but their desire may be premature. One factor is that virtually no films or television shows have been produced in 1080p. Even if a set can display a picture in that format, it will have to have been upconverted from something else, and it probably looked about as good in the original. More to the point, there is a definite upper limit to the resolution of the human eye. According to a BBC report quoted in a recent issue of Sound & Vision magazine, at a fairly typical viewing distance of about 9’, "a 50" (diagonal) 720-line widescreen HDTV will give you all the resolution you can see." According to author David Ranada, "1080p will look like 720p if the combination of screen size and viewing distance puts the screen at your eyes’ resolution limit." Sets that can handle 1080p will undoubtedly become more and more common, but the premium may not be worth it. ...Ian G. Masters
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