Resolution

Another major decision point involves a TV's native screen resolution, which indicates the number of pixels, or picture elements, on the screen. The more pixels, the finer the detail a screen can display.

What 720p and 1080p mean
You’ll see HDTVs advertised as being 720p or 1080p, sometimes called "full HD." A 720p set has resolution of 1024x768, 1280x720, or 1366x768 pixels. A 1080p set has 1920x1080 resolution. The first number indicates the number of horizontal rows of pixels from the top of the screen to the bottom; the second number indicates the vertical columns of pixels from left to right.

Is 1080p always the better choice?
Not necessarily. While a 1080p set has the potential to display finer detail than a 720p set, resolution alone doesn't determine picture quality. Other factors such as brightness, contrast, and color also come into play. Some of the top-rated TVs in our Ratings are 720p sets that have better picture quality than some 1080p models. Further, the effect of resolution depends in part on the size of the TV. You can best appreciate the finer detail of a 1080p screen on a 50-inch or larger TV, though you might see subtle improvements on a 40- to 47-inch screen, especially when viewed up close. In smaller sizes, the benefits of 1080p are marginal, one reason you won’t find many sub-40-inch sets that have 1080p resolution. One exception: If you plan to use your TV as a computer display, 1080p resolution is a plus. The higher resolution will let you see more content onscreen with greater clarity and finer detail than on a 720p set. (You might have to connect your computer to the TV via an HDMI input to take full advantage of the 1080p resolution and avoid cutting off outer edges of the image—otherwise known as overscan.)

What you’re watching matters too
To fully enjoy the benefits of a 1080p TV, you need top-quality high-def content. You can get that from a Blu-ray disc, which contains true 1080p content. A 1080p set will convert current HD signal formats (720p and 1080i) to match its native screen resolution. If the quality of the programming is good and the TV does the job well, the picture quality can be outstanding. In fact, most 1080p HD sets can derive true 1080p performance from most film-based movies. But the quality of HD content varies considerably (especially on cable), so it might not fully exploit the potential of a 1080p display.

Weigh the price against the value
Generally, you’ll pay at least a few hundred dollars more for a 1080p set than for a 720p set of comparable quality. If price is not an issue, we'd recommend a high-scoring 1080p set over a similar 720p model—definitely for sets 50 inches and larger, and arguably for sets in the 40- to 50-inch range. But keep in mind that the picture quality of a good 720p set can be very close to a 1080p set's, especially if it's smaller than 50 inches.