So... when should HD 720p be used?

Inazuma · 17 Jun 2007 at 18:48

I have a 2007wfp, a 20" 1680x1050 monitor. I have the option of enabling 720p... but in what ways would this be better than using the full 1680x1050

james.miller · 17 Jun 2007 at 18:53

it wouldnt lol

fish99 · 18 Jun 2007 at 01:11

SebC said:
I have a 2007wfp, a 20" 1680x1050 monitor. I have the option of enabling 720p... but in what ways would this be better than using the full 1680x1050

In no way. In fact it's considerably worse. 720p is just 1280*720, nothing more than that. HD is nothing more than just a set of resolutions that's all, resolutions the PC has been doing for many years. Your 2007WFP should be used in 1680*1050. The only time you should consider using a lower resolution is if a game is too slow in 1680*1050, and then you should use 16:10 resolutions like 1440*900 or 1280*800, not 1280*720 which is 16:9.

GreenMint · 18 Jun 2007 at 16:46

Only "better" when you have a 360 plugged in via VGA mate.

Inazuma · 18 Jun 2007 at 17:05

Are HD videos only viewable through a HD resolution though? Sometimes I open MP4s (that have should video) but only the audio plays

meathman 007 · 18 Jun 2007 at 17:17

a mp4 video playing with only sound is most likely the cause of not having a particular video codec installed on your computer. Install a codec pack and it should work fine....

fobose · 18 Jun 2007 at 17:32

Download VLC: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ - It doesn't require codec packs and I played HDTV (720p) Gladiator on it this morning and it worked fine

fish99 · 18 Jun 2007 at 17:46

Ivan Drago said:
Only "better" when you have a 360 plugged in via VGA mate.

Even with a 360 you don't want to use 720p (1280*720) on a 2007WFP since 1280*768 is closer to 16:10 ratio, and 1280*1024 in wide mode looks even better than both.

SebC said:
Are HD videos only viewable through a HD resolution though? Sometimes I open MP4s (that have should video) but only the audio plays

As said above, nothing to do with resolution, your video software will scale videos to fit your screen. No video playback software requires any particular resolution. Your screen should always be used at 1680*1050 where possible. 720p is just 1280*720 nothing more. 1080p is just 1920*1080. HD doesn't really mean anything on a PC. There would be no point in setting your screen to 1280*720 to view a 720p movie, because then your screen is doing upscaling instead of your movie software so the result is the same.