HDTVTest: 4K vs 1080p Blind Test Results

I’m not surprised by HDTVTest’s finding that 97% of people could correctly identify a 4K display vs. 1080p, but I have to admit that they did it at 9′ on a set of 55″ displays was surprising. In my experience it’s only really obvious after 65″. They were fairly scientific in setting up the test to ensure it was as fair as it could be; make sure to click through to get a better understanding of the results and the conditions that generated them. Well done.

 Earlier this month, we set out to investigate if the extra resolution offered by 4K over 1080p is visible at normal viewing distance, as part of an Ultra HD and OLED television showcase event organised by British retailer Richer Sounds. A 55-inch 4K UHD (ultra high-definition) TV was lined up alongside a 1080p HDTV of the same size, each displaying content that’s 1:1 pixel-matched to its native screen resolution. Both TVs had their identities masked by custom-built cabinets which were spray-painted black. Standing 9 feet away (enforced using crowd control posts), attendees were then asked to pick out the 4K television after sampling the displayed material.

HDTVTest

 

  • Now you’ve got me downloading

    Now you’ve got me downloading 2 of the open-source movies they used(nice of HDTVTest to put up links to them) to see how far back I have to sit to not notice the difference between the 4k and 1080p versions.  Only 10gb or so more to download…

    • How big is your 4K TV? I’m

      How big is your 4K TV? I’m really hoping for an OLED 4K announcement at CES (yum).

      • I grabbed one of the 39″

        I grabbed one of the 39″ Seiki’s that they’ve been blowing out dirt cheap.  It’s way to small for me to want to set up as actual TV in a main room.  I used it to replace a triple monitor setup in my home office.

        An OLED 4K would be pretty sweet.  I’d personally love to replace my living room projector with a 4K model, but I think it’ll be quite a while until there is one in a price range I’d consider acceptable to upgade.

  • A person with 20/20 vision

    A person with 20/20 vision can see the benefit of resolutions higher than 1080p on a 55-inch display when viewing distance is closer than about 7.15 feet, whereas a person with 20/15 vision can see the benefit when viewing distance is closer than about 9.53 feet.