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1080 vs 720 on new iPad

A

amro

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 7, 2008
369
34
So, I'm torn as to what to do about my videos. Obviously, they were created for the iPad/iPad2. And since Apple didn't offer a 128G version, I'm not really sure if I want to remake my videos to 1080 since that will eat up more space. I have about 20 movies on my iPad. I travel quite a bit and don't like the screens on the airplanes. The amout of movies I have, gives me a good choice of varying genres.

Has anyone done a test to see how much better the video looks? I may try something like The Fifth Element at both resolutions and see what it looks like. The one advantage of doing higher resolution is if I Airplay it at a friends house or hook it to a big screen, which I've never really done.
 
If you are sitting 5in from the screen then 1080p.

If you are sitting average distance then 720p.

If you dont care then SD.
 
The resolution really is noticeable, but what I would suggest doing, either convert all of your videos to 1080p and just choose which to put on depending on how you are feeling, you can always change, or only convert your favorites.
 
720p is good enough. The difference is barely noticeable on 9.7 inches. If you're watching on a 1080p screen, around 50 inches or so, you could probably notice but even then, if I sat a normal person in front of 720p or 1080p on a 55 inch screen, they probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
 
I know the 1080p movies are pretty hoggy on space. I have "Hugo" in 1080p and it's 9gb. Last night I did a 1080p test with 2 movie trailers (The Hobbit and The Simpsons movie) and hooked them up to my 48" TV via my old Apple HDMI cable and it looked gorgeous. (They also looked gorgeous on the new iPad itself, too)

Tonight I'm planning to load some 720p samples (of the same 2 movie trailers) to hook up to the TV to see what the difference looks like. Also checking quality difference between a movie at 1080p on iPad and 720p on iPad -- if it still looks decent, I'll store a couple of 720p ones for watching on the big screen later, and maybe one 1080p for watching on the go.
 
sekazi said:
If you are sitting 5in from the screen then 1080p.

If you are sitting average distance then 720p.

If you dont care then SD.
Click to expand...

I go for sd. I watch at the gym on the elliptical and when I am bouncing up and down on a machine my eyes can barely notice the difference. But if I were watching videos side by side I could see it.... Otherwise just go with 720 to save some space. Do you REALLY care on a 9.7 inch screen if it's 1080p?
 
The difference is HUGE, 1080p looks so much better. But it's really up to you - try burning one 1080p movie and decide for yourself if it's worth the extra space.
 
amro said:
So, I'm torn as to what to do about my videos. Obviously, they were created for the iPad/iPad2. And since Apple didn't offer a 128G version, I'm not really sure if I want to remake my videos to 1080 since that will eat up more space. I have about 20 movies on my iPad. I travel quite a bit and don't like the screens on the airplanes. The amout of movies I have, gives me a good choice of varying genres.

Has anyone done a test to see how much better the video looks? I may try something like The Fifth Element at both resolutions and see what it looks like. The one advantage of doing higher resolution is if I Airplay it at a friends house or hook it to a big screen, which I've never really done.
Click to expand...

On your iPad there is just not a meaningful difference for it to affect the experience. A little better detail in dark scenes and depending on source material picture may be marginally better. Putting them side by side is meaningless since of course 1080p is better. It's more about the experience and it's just not enough to make the significant increase in space worth it based on how you describe your needs.
 
DreamPod said:
The difference is HUGE, 1080p looks so much better. But it's really up to you - try burning one 1080p movie and decide for yourself if it's worth the extra space.
Click to expand...

BS. HUGE difference between 1080 and 720 on a 9.7" screen? The only huge difference would be in file size.
 
Go to the trailers section of iTunes (go to the iTunes Store on your computer, see the pull-down menu under "Movies" at the top of the store and select Theatrical Trailers).

Choose a few movies trailers to download in both 720p and 1080p versions. Bring both versions to your iPad (maybe rename the video files in iTunes so you can keep track of the difference). Check both and see if the difference is great enough for you to care.

I haven't done this myself, yet. I'm planning to soon!
 
I converted Immortals to 1080P and 720P and nary notice a difference. 1080P isn't worth the file being twice as large on an ipad sized screen. If I were doing HDMI out I might change my position.
 
SporkLover said:
I converted Immortals to 1080P and 720P and nary notice a difference. 1080P isn't worth the file being twice as large on an ipad sized screen. If I were doing HDMI out I might change my position.
Click to expand...

The increased resolution of the ipad2 is most evident with text and photo apps. For video, not so much.
 
Has people trying getting a good app with play different formats?

I think the one thing I LOVED about my Galaxy S2 (now a different phone) is that anything I true at it 1080p or 720p it worked buttery smooth. It makes me sad that this bad boy Ipad sometimes stutter.
 
I have been through this over and over again since launch day. There is very little difference between 720p and 1080p on the new iPad. Both look really good because the pixels are so small. You do get more detail with 1080p, but it's hard to detect because of the small screen size. I would recommend focusing on proper compression and encoding settings than output resolution. Source is also going to play a huge role.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll try a couple of movies at both resolutions and see if I notice a difference. Chances are, I won't. Heck, I've got to wear glasses for reading now. I think I'll also get some space back if I go down to two channel stereo, if I understand other posts. Of course the minute I got to 720 and 2-channel stereo, I'm going to be at a friend's house who's gonna want to see it on their big screen.
 
Very little difference go for 720p. Nature shows might be more worthwhile to go for 1080p as they are often shot with attention to detail compared to movies/shows.
 
I tried my above described comparison with iTunes trailers. Switching back and forth between videos got boring very fast, because there was little to no discernible difference. It might be a little more interesting to compare if you've got two new iPads to put next to each other.

Also, it could be that HD iTunes trailers aren't up to the same standard as some new release HD movies that you can rent or pay for in iTunes (I've no idea). Taking two new iPads and comparing a new release in both formats that way might be the best test. Heavens me if I'm going to go through the effort to do that, though.
 
Redjericho said:
The resolution really is noticeable, but what I would suggest doing, either convert all of your videos to 1080p and just choose which to put on depending on how you are feeling, you can always change, or only convert your favorites.
Click to expand...

That's the workaround I've decided on, just have a couple on the iPad, then remove them and add a couple more....It is worth doing.
 
As others have stated, the difference with text on the retina screen is very obvious. The difference with still pictures is amazing, but requires paying a lot of attention on one still image. With movies, I can't see a difference between 1080p And 720p at all.
 
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