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submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by artifex@piefed.social to c/technology@lemmy.world

A new study published in Nature by University of Cambridge researchers just dropped a pixelated bomb on the entire Ultra-HD market, but as anyone with myopia can tell you, if you take your glasses off, even SD still looks pretty good :)

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[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

This is highly dependent on screen size and viewing distance.

On a computer screen or a phone screen? No, it's not really noticeable. Hell, on some phone screen sizes/distances, you might not even be able to tell 720p vs 1080p.

On a 120"+ projector screen? Yes, it is definitely noticeable.

I have a small home theater and picked up a refurbished 4K LED projector (Epson 3200) coming from an old 1080DLP (Viewsonic 8200) - massive difference!

[-] iopq@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

I had a 6" 720p phone. Couldn't tell the resolution, but could definitely tell the longer battery life

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yep, on phones and other mobile devices, lower resolutions help significantly with battery life and framerates. Tiny super high resolution displays are pretty much pointless unless you're using a VR headset (then the resolution matters more).

[-] Rooster326@programming.dev 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

As someone with a lowly 1080p projector and a 4k TV, I much prefer the 1080.

Viewsonic PX701HDH. I blow it up to 185" and I cannot see the pixels until I am uncomfortably close to the image.

The quality of the display/projector itself makes a huge difference. With a projector specifically - the bulb itself (and how much life left) is going to make a huge difference in picture quality.

[-] iopq@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Now play 1080p content on it to compare

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 week ago

Well, the thing is the 1080 on the 4k projector still looks a little better than it does on a native 1080 because it upscales with pixel shifting. It doesn't look as sharp as 4k, but still a bit better than 1080 (at least from ~10' at 120").

[-] acosmichippo@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

agreed. I have a similar setup and our projectors are not even doing "true" 4k, it's pixel shifting. so the real thing would be even more noticeable.

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Pixel shifting is for when it upscales, isn't it? If you have a 4k source, you'll get a 4k picture from what I read about this series.

That said, 1080p upscaled definitely still looks better compared to the old projector (though the newer one is also brighter, which also helps).

this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2025
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