Blu-ray versus DVD - Why do we never see a comparison?

Many people dismiss blu-ray as not that much of an upgrade. This comparison will show that they are wrong!

Blu-ray versus HDTV

Basis of this study

At what viewing distance do different sized TV's reach that sharpness level where if the image were any sharper, we couldn't see the difference?

DVD resolution:

Blu-ray resolution:

Plan your home theater space?

DVD resolution on Widescreen TV's with full 720 x 480 playback Viewing angle, left to right, at the distance of maximum sharpness for DVD playback is 14 degrees for all screen sizes. If you view a standard DVD at this distance / angle you will be at the limit of an average person's eyesight so it would be difficult to tell if the playback is a standard DVD or a better, blu-ray DVD. Moving closer, you should begin to see individual pixels. If you are closer than this distance it should be easy to see the that blu-ray resolution is better.
TV Size	Distance in      feet of max      sharpness	Comments
40"	12 feet	Most people's living room viewing distance is between 10 and 12 feet.
42"	12.8 feet	Most people's living room viewing distance is between 10 and 12 feet.
44"	13.1 feet	You now begin to need to sit further away then average to not notice that DVD is lower sharpness than blu-ray.
46"	13.8 feet
48"	14.4 feet
50"	15 feet	This is the max distance, most people will allow for sit down, full attention TV viewing.
52"	15.1 feet	Definite advantage now goes to blu-ray for sharpness. People normally do not sit more than 15 feet from a TV.
54"	16.4 feet
56"	16.7 feet
58"	17.4 feet
60"	18 feet
62"	18.7 feet
64"	19.3 feet
66"	19.7 feet	Even if someone were to sit this far away, there would be other chairs closer to the screen. Again, Blu-ray has a large advantage for living rooms this large.
68"	20.3 feet
70"	21 feet
72"	21.6 feet	A viewer closer than 21. 6 feet can start to see that DVD resolution is noticeably less than Blu-ray. Anyone sitting further away will not be able to see much difference.

Blu-ray resolution on Widescreen TV's with full 1920 x 1080 playback (square pixels) Viewing angle, left to right, at the distance of maximum sharpness for blu-ray playback is 30 degrees for all screen sizes. If you view a blu-ray DVD at this distance / angle you will be at the limit of an average person's eyesight, so moving further away should result in the resolution remaining similar. Moving closer, you should begin to see individual pixels. The blu-ray maximum sharpness distance is always closer than the Standard DVD maximum sharpness distance. So, at watching blu-ray will allways look much better, out to the Standard DVD maximum resolution distances listed above.
TV Size	Distance in      feet of max      sharpness	Comments
40"	5.3 feet	This is very close to view. The pixel size is at the limit of 20/20 eyesight at this distance. Closer, we would notice resolution go down, further away, we will not be able to see much difference in resolution. A larger screen is useful.
42"	5.6 feet	Still very close. A larger screen is useful.
44"	5.9 feet
46"	6.2 feet
48"	6.6 feet
50"	6.7 feet	Still to close. A larger screen is useful.
52"	6.9 feet	Almost 7 feet viewing distance is about right for a small living room. The perceived resolution will lower if you sit closer. This is an optimal size for a small living room.
54"	7.2 feet
56"	7.6 feet
58"	7.9 feet	Middle size living room - 8 foot sitting distance.
60"	8 feet
62"	8.2 feet
64"	8.5 feet
66"	8.8 feet
68"	9.1 feet
70"	9.4 feet
72"	9.5 feet	The main seats should be at least 9 1/2 feet away from the monitor. People sitting closer will begin to see some pixelation.

Conclusion

• This shows a big advantage to blu-ray for resolution improvements based on 20/20 eyesight being able to resolve small points of light.
• All viewers should easily be able to see improvements with blu-ray at normal distance viewing.
• Some mid-size HD screens showing blu-ray are more appropriate for small to average living rooms.
• Some customers, who view their television from unusually far away, may not benefit from blu-ray for smaller HDTV sizes.

Notes

Blu-ray authoring has many more advanced video filters and encoding options than standard DVD's. Filters to improve the blacks, grain, edge contrasts and other image improvements are far beyond what standard DVD authoring can do. Watching a moving video is much different than examining a still photo. This study is based on the photographic standard and the difference of perception with video is not covered at all. It is probably true that most people will find blu-ray to perform better even beyond the distances listed above.

[ Back to Top ]

[ Back to Top ]