bzs@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) (06/11/89)
There was a little spot about the Media Lab the other day in the Boston Globe. Someone they interviewed there claimed that at any distance over 9 feet people couldn't distinguish between HDTV and the current standard. He couldn't understand how $500M of research into HDTV could have failed to notice this. Interesting. -Barry Shein Software Tool & Die, Purveyors to the Trade 1330 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA 02146, (617) 739-0202
koreth@ssyx.ucsc.edu (Steven Grimm) (06/11/89)
In article <8906110057.AA24809@bu-cs.BU.EDU> bzs@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) writes: >...at any distance over 9 feet people couldn't distinguish between HDTV and >the current standard. That's really dependent on screen size. If people have wall-sized HDTVs, which seems to me to be HDTV's goal (a theater screen in your home), then the difference would DEFINITELY be noticeable. Try looking at a 60" projection TV from 9 feet away and you'll see what I mean. However, I think HDTV is a waste of time if we can't decide on a world standard. It makes sense for everyone to settle on a standard at some point, so if it takes HDTV to do that, I guess it's worthwhile. Better $500mil on HDTV than on Smurf action figures. :) --- These are my opinions, which you can probably ignore if you want to. Steven Grimm Moderator, comp.{sources,binaries}.atari.st koreth@ssyx.ucsc.edu uunet!ucbvax!ucscc!ssyx!koreth
peter@ficc.uu.net (Peter da Silva) (06/11/89)
In article <8906110057.AA24809@bu-cs.BU.EDU>, bzs@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) writes: > There was a little spot about the Media Lab the other day in the > Boston Globe. Someone they interviewed there claimed that at any > distance over 9 feet people couldn't distinguish between HDTV and the > current standard. He couldn't understand how $500M of research into > HDTV could have failed to notice this. This assumes a fairly standard size TV screen. This is going to be true of any technology thanks to the limited resolution of the human eye. However it's likely to make a significant difference to wide-screen TV. (not to mention cheap hi-res monitors for us nerds) -- Peter da Silva, Xenix Support, Ferranti International Controls Corporation. Business: uunet.uu.net!ficc!peter, peter@ficc.uu.net, +1 713 274 5180. Personal: ...!texbell!sugar!peter, peter@sugar.hackercorp.com.
klopfens@ANDY.BGSU.EDU (Bruce Klopfenstein) (06/12/89)
Could it be that that research, which was released by MIT, was a bit biased? If my memory serves me, MIT is working on an NTSC-compatible system which uses considerably less than 1125 lines. Guess what? If MIT can work out a study to show people can't tell the difference, that's an argument for their system. Sad, but self-serving research courtesy of MIT. Bruce Klopfenstein
klopfens@bgsuvax.UUCP (Bruce Klopfenstein) (06/12/89)
From article <8906110057.AA24809@bu-cs.BU.EDU>, by bzs@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein): > > There was a little spot about the Media Lab the other day in the > Boston Globe. Someone they interviewed there claimed that at any > distance over 9 feet people couldn't distinguish between HDTV and the > current standard. He couldn't understand how $500M of research into > HDTV could have failed to notice this. > > Interesting. In case my previous response was lost, please note that this research is very self-serving for MIT. As I recall, they are working on an NTSC-compatible system using limited bandwidth. It is in MIT's interest to show that viewers don't want 1125 line HDTV (or can't tell the difference.) I think this is a very impotant point. Bruce Klopfenstein -- Dr. Bruce C. Klopfenstein | klopfens@andy.bgsu.edu Radio-TV-Film Department | klopfenstein@bgsuopie.bitnet Bowling Green $tate University | klopfens@bgsuvax.UUCP Bowling Green, OH 43403 | (419) 372-2138; 352-4818 | fax (419) 372-2300
twhlai@watdragon.waterloo.edu (Tony Lai) (06/13/89)
In article <8906110057.AA24809@bu-cs.BU.EDU> bzs@BU-CS.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) writes: > >There was a little spot about the Media Lab the other day in the >Boston Globe. Someone they interviewed there claimed that at any >distance over 9 feet people couldn't distinguish between HDTV and the >current standard. He couldn't understand how $500M of research into >HDTV could have failed to notice this. What size monitor are they using? The recommended distance for watching HDTV is between 3 and 4 times the picture height. The recommended distance for NTSC is between 6 and 7 times the picture height. With a 20" monitor, a distance of 9 feet is 9 times the picture height, so such a result isn't unexpected. The Media Lab is a bunch of Nazi, er, NTSC apologists. If NTSC were imposed on us by a foreign country, we would consider it an act of war. At least I would. Obligatory smiley faces: :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) -- Tony Lai