1. EVERY double blind test has shown that people can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at normal viewing distances on screens less than 50".
That's great. So my TV is 15" too large. And every time we want to see the good 1080 video at my house, we have to hook the camcorder directly to the 1080HDTV because the
TV version obviously doesn't look as good. Perhaps we're all triply-blind here?
2. On screens large than 50", you can only tell a small difference on ONLY the highest quality models.
What does that matter? On every new 10.6 OS mac sold, we have features like grand central, that the vast majority of people don't max out. So was it stupid for Apple to build that in? How about Tethering before AT&T could support it? Stupid? Why bother with Facetime in the next iPads when 100% of current iPad users can't use it?
People want what they want. My 1080HDTV is OLD, but still native at higher than 720p. My second HD camcorder is 2+ years old, but still native at higher than 720p. I have a very old iPod that was capable of lossless audio and we still don't have lossless audio in the iTunes store.
Some people want the best quality of things... especially when the best quality of something like this doesn't have to cost any more than the "good enough" level, as evidenced by lot of other hardware boxes selling for <$100 with 1080p hardware baked in.
Following your logic, anything technological that doesn't exist today has little purpose in being developed. 100% of the people who can't use it today have spoken.
3. Experts again state that compression is a bigger issue in quality than resolution. Given the current bandwidth, 1080p requires more compression than 720p. That is why to most reviewers ATV 720p rentals look better than DirecTV's 1080p. I have both and always choose ATV rentals when given the choice. (To be honest, when I have the time, I wait for the Netflix Blu-Ray).
No, you can compress video of various resolutions at any level, or leave them all uncompressed. It's not a requirement to compress 1080p at a higher level than 720p.
If you want to argue this point, the reason for greater compression is file sizes. More compression yields smaller file sizes, which more efficiently download and store in smaller spaces. But if we go down that path, SD quality videos compressed at the exact same level of 720p will result in smaller file sizes and even more efficient streaming. And 320 x 200 video would store in even smaller sizes and be even quicker to download.
Apples to Apples goes like this: 720p is video pictures at a resolution of 1280 x 720. 1080p is video pictures at a resolution of 1920 x 1080. If we were shooting pictures with a digital camera that were important to us, which resolution would we want to use? Is a retina display useless in iPhone because it is higher resolution in the same frame?
Compression, etc do matter, but if other variables are apples to apples- optimized compression levels for source material, higher resolution wins every time it's displayed on something big enough to fully see the details it provides.
4. Most consumer grade camcorders CAN'T exploit the quality of 1080p. Compression, chip quality, etc. have more impact than resolution.
Believe what you wish. See answer to #1. I guess everyone at my house just has really good eyes.
5. The only consumer product than currently can exploit the higher quality of 1080p is Blu-Ray. (See point 1.)
Hmm, well what about satt & cable VOD? Roku:
http://shop.roku.com/Roku-Digital-Video-Player-Options-W5.aspx WDTV:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=30 and streaming services like:
http://www.vudu.com/ Do you need more? Because more are out there, and even more are on the way before end of year.
So who is being the jerk about demanding a spec than currently and in the foreseeable future is nothing but a MARKETING ploy.
Again, I asked for someone who had received one of these to test to see if it could do something I'm interested in. It doesn't even matter if 1080p is a marketing ploy. It doesn't matter if I can see the difference or not. I'm interested in pushing years of 1080HD Camcorders home movies to my HD via some kind of iTunes-friendly connection, without down-converting them to 720p30fps or 960 x 540.
You come back like I've crapped on your kid or something, and then sling a bunch of drivel or outright falsehoods above like it somehow personally hurts you that some people might want a piece of hardware to do a little more than specs. What's it to you?
If this one can do something important to me, I'll buy it to replace
TV I already own. If it can't, I'll wait or seek something else. How does that hurt you in any way? Congratulations if you are happy with things exactly as Apple decides to serve them to you. There's nothing wrong with hoping such things can do a little more.
