i can't remember the exact figures but based on the average human eye I believe to see the difference you have to be closer than
9 ft for 47" tv
7 ft for 42" tv
5 ft for 32" tv
3 ft for 24" tv
Now computers often use terrrible scaling, in addition to being under 2 ft away hence the importants for resolution in that format.
I think it is all a matter of time. The more the public is exposed to HD the more than can tell the diffference. When I first got my 42" 1080P my wife was simple pleased by the large size and wide aspect and noticed no diffference between dvds and hd. After watching a season of Lost she started to notice HD superiority to dvd (even if comcast overcompresses the feed). Now that we are another year down the road and watch House and Lost(720P) and other HD(1080i) along with some Blu-Ray(1080P) she knows the difference. She now picks up on compression artifacts in eh comcast feed and difficiencies in different scalers.
Now if you want to talk about a a waste of everyones time, it is those standalone dvd upscalers. If you cna see a difference with them that means the scaler in your tv is not working or crap(usually meaning picture quality of tv is lacking). But the worst part is these people could be payling slightly more to get a Blu-Ray player further holding back that adoption.
Final* Word on Game Delays:
The game will not be any better or include more content then planned. Any commnets that say so are just PR hogwash to make you feel better for having to wait.
Delays are due to lack of proper resources, skill, or adequate planning by the developer.
Do be thankful that they have enough respect for you to delay the game and maintain its intended level of quality.
*naznatips is exempt
