Quote:
Originally Posted by JesterEric
Most screens are so small the HD clarity isn't really a selling point, IMO.
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It all depends on the resolution of said screens. For example, many Asus Eee PCs have a resolution of 1024X600. A 640X480 (and 720X480) video will look alright on that and anything else (1280X720 and 1920X1080) will be drastically scaled down. You would have to sit about 6 inches from a 10" 1024X600 in order to really differentiate between between an SD video being scaled up and an HD video being scaled down.
However, on 10"-11.6" screen with a resolution of 1366X768, the difference between HD and SD is rather drastic. I am talking about normal 1-2 ft viewing distances here. A 720p will drastically look better than a 480p video. 1080p doesn't really matter when using the netbook's screen though. However, when pumping the video to an external monitor capable of 1080p, the difference matters.
There is a common census that small screens don't require HD video. Well, that normally holds true for HDTVs as they have viewing distances of 4-8 ft. However, computer monitors have long been in the 1080p+ realm simply because we sit so close to them. We would need HDTVs capable of more than 1080p if we were using them as an actual computer monitor by sitting 1-2 ft away from them. That isn't the case. Hence why computer monitors use really high resolutions and why HD videos look better even on smaller monitors. Viewing distances make all the difference in the world. We can get away with 1280X720 when sitting in a living room with a 40" HDTV. Take a 20" monitor, put it right in front of your face, and 1280X720 is no longer what it used to be.