Hi Chris 

To me both 720p and 1080p look incredible.

What I can say speaking from my experience with  non HD BV6 many years ago, is that B&O televisions seem to do an amazing job of delivering picture excellence from any given source.

Maybe 55inch and upwards 1080p is the minimum requirement but certainly for a 40" or 37" you will be very happy. But let's what others have to say. Moxxie, Chris T or Elephant are good guys to ask!

In theory, on screens up to 42", at normal viewing distances, 480p is generally higher resolution than the human eye can discern.  In practice we had BV-5 mk 1's in the same shop as Fujitsu 1024x1024 panels, and the BV-5 routinely crushed the Fujitsu.  Black level/grey scale, color (especially skin tone) accuracy and subtlety; all of which B&O excel at.  

I am a noted skeptic when it comes to  flat screens and HD - all of which I regard as a brilliant marketing ploy to get the entire planet to replace good TVs with worse ones. However, the BV7-55 downstairs playing the Blu-ray version of Avatar at the BV11 event really did look completely fantastic!

As RussR says, at normal viewing distances you wont be able to tell the difference.

Playing around with the BV11 and switching between SD and HD channels showing the same programmes, there is little to choose between them at the 40" screen size. However, if you want to sit close and look at some detail like a view of a printed newspaper page or book page, you will appreciate the greater HD detail.

Blu-ray movies are often considered to look much better than broadcast HD: apart from reception problems that's why shops prefer to have Blu-ray running on the demonstration TV's.

Graham

vikinger wrote:

Blu-ray movies are often considered to look much better

vikinger wrote:

As RussR says, at normal viewing distances you wont be able to tell the difference.

Playing around with the BV11 and switching between SD and HD channels showing the same programmes, there is little to choose between them at the 40" screen size. However, if you want to sit close and look at some detail like a view of a printed newspaper page or book page, you will appreciate the greater HD detail.

Blu-ray movies are often considered to look much better than broadcast HD: apart from reception problems that's why shops prefer to have Blu-ray running on the demonstration TV's.

Graham

Then this must depend on your provider or the broadcasting station. Here on satellite there is a significant difference between HD and SD. However, that is certainly not the case for all stations. 

The bitrate viewer on my sat-receiver confirms the difference. Some HD-streams here, the bitrate is higher then 10 Mb/s, where the same SD only has 2Mb/s. And yes, that makes a massive difference, even on 32".

Blu-ray bitrates are even much higher then 25 Mb/s, so that explains why it looks better.

RussR wrote:

In theory, on screens up to 42", at normal viewing distances, 480p is generally higher resolution than the human eye can discern.  In practice we had BV-5 mk 1's in the same shop as Fujitsu 1024x1024 panels, and the BV-5 routinely crushed the Fujitsu.  Black level/grey scale, color (especially skin tone) accuracy and subtlety; all of which B&O excel at.  

I would think I can see the difference between 480p and 720p  on a 42" screen. ❓ But higher resolution in screen sizes up to that is 'overkill'.
Some people are so focused on the resolution, that they think quality depends only on resolution. Of course it's not so.
A good picture depends on at lot of things. A good 'HD-ready' tv can have a better picture than a cheap 'Full HD' tv.

When you mention the Fujitsu Tv...Was it LCD/LED -or plasma?
When comparing a plasma to a LCD/LED, the plasma will often be the winner when it comes to black level/grey scale and natural color (especially skin tones, as you mention). The BV 4/5 can beat the sh.t out of most competitors.
Talking about other brands, even a cheap plasma will have better black level and more natural colors than a LCD/LED at the same price level (and even many more expensive ones).

The problem often is, that in the stores the Plasma tv's are set to a 'energy saving' mode that reduces the brightness...This makes the plasma's picture look a bit more grey and 'dull' compared to the LCD/LED's next to them. If you're in doubt - try to ask the seller to adjust the picture (if he/she know how to... 😜 ) next the time you visit. 
Some people think that brightness/contrast equals quality.
It's like 'hey - it looks sharp and bright, then it's good'... They don't care about unnatural skintones -or that things that should be black are just grey...😠

When it comes to sizes from 50" and over, I guess Full HD makes sense...

Steffen wrote:

When it comes to sizes from 50" and over, I guess Full HD makes sense...

I would agree. Sitting about 4m from my BV10 40", I can't tell if it's Full HD or just HD.

RussR wrote:

In theory, on screens up to 42", at normal viewing distances, 480p is generally higher resolution than the human eye can discern.  In practice we had BV-5 mk 1's in the same shop as Fujitsu 1024x1024 panels, and the BV-5 routinely crushed the Fujitsu.  Black level/grey scale, color (especially skin tone) accuracy and subtlety; all of which B&O excel at.  

In my Panasonic VT 42" the difference between 480p and 720p is very very important even between 720p and 1080p is "only" important. The distance is 2.5m.