3 ms·
Note that I was talking about the full benefit of 1080p, not 4k. My points are that 4k is usually pointless, and therefore that 1080p is usually better than jus
by bscphil 6y ago
Note that I was talking about the full benefit of 1080p, not 4k. My points are that 4k is usually pointless, and therefore that 1080p is usually better than just "minimally acceptable", since most of the time we don't even get the full benefit of it.
> On mobile, 720p starts to get shoddy once your screen hits 5 inches across.
Even assuming you're right abut this, I guess I really just have a hard time caring. Anything you watch on your phone is at best something you don't give a shit about, artistically speaking, and it's hard to imagine 1080p vs 720p making any kind of difference to the experience. (I suppose I might be biased since my screen is "only" 5.2 inches diagonally - I get the smallest one I can whenever I buy a new phone.)
And for what it's worth, using the same math as for my previous comment, you can't even get the full benefit of 720p on a 5 inch diag screen unless you're holding it less than a foot from your face. Granted, you can get the full benefit of 1080p at a little under 8 inches, but I'm suffering even imagining trying to watch a video this way. Even at this distance, I would dispute using "shoddy" to describe how 720p will look.
The math is actually pretty simple: for a 720p screen, there are sqrt(12802 + 7202) pixels on the 5 inch diagonal, so a distance of 5 inches / sqrt(12802 + 7202) per pixel. 20/20 visual acuity can resolve roughly 1 arc minute, or pi/10800 radians. By the arc length formula, the distance we calculated subtends that angle at (5 inches / sqrt(19202+10802)) * (10800/pi), or 11.7 inches.
> And in my experience there's a lot of screens closer than 10 feet to couches.
Note that I addressed this point. If you have a pretty typical 50 inch TV, you've got to have it closer than 7 feet from your couch for 4k to make any difference at all.
- ants_a 6y agoAverage visual acuity for young people is about 0.7 arcminutes, best being around 0.5. There seems to be disconnect about how people are consuming media. For me holding a 2280x1080 6.3" phone ~8" from my eyeballs is a natural viewing distance and I can see the full resolution without difficulty. And at least from my point of view a 65" TV is also a pretty typical size.
- Dylan16807 6y ago> Note that I was talking about the full benefit of 1080p Yes, so am I. > therefore that 1080p is usually better than just "minimally acceptable", since most of the time we don't even get the full benefit of it. If most of your users would be limited by 720p, and 1080p is standard and easy to do, then I'm comfortable calling 1080p the minimum. > I'm suffering even imagining trying to watch a video this way. The official "Retina" numbers have a phone 10 inches from your face. And that's about where I hold it when I have my glasses on. > 20/20 visual acuity can resolve roughly 1 arc minute, or pi/10800 radians. That's a good baseline number, but a lot of people can beat it by a significant fraction.