It still is, but nobody cares anymore. At 16:9 1920x1080 is considered “Full High Definition,” and 3840x2160 (at minimum) is “Ultra High Definition,” at least in terms of their official marketing speak. The latter has mutated to include both 4K and 8K content somehow, apparently because the brainworms in the marketing department ran out of superlatives after “Ultra.”
720p hits that sweet spot between file size and picture clarity so that’s my default preference for torrents.
Yeah no. 720p is so low resolution that it no longer qualifies as HD IMO. I need 1080p minimum, 4K remux ideally. But what matters even more than resolution is codec and bitrate. I rather watch well-encoded 1080p video over a poorly-encoded 4K file.
No way, not even close. At least I can’t enjoy that anymore, I’m too much of a snob now… Are you watching on your phone or Laptop? That would make sense.
However, 1080p h.265 can get you superior quality while saving space over 720p h.264.
When I had to watch on my 65" UHD, it was 4-5GB/hour 1080p h.264 files at minimum. 8-10GB UHD h.265 minimum. When I rip BDs my 1080p stuff i rip and convert to h.265 and keep them around 5-6GB/hour (which is like 8-10 h.264 so a gain), and my UHD + DV/HDR stuff I rip are also about 12-15GB/hr… but I cut out all subtitles and alternate audio and keep stereo and multi channel English to help maximize that file size (for friends/family who don’t have surround or just use TV).
Now that I’m on an 85" UHD, I kept most content the same (most shows don’t need UHD + DV or HDR) but on bigger theatrical stuff or content where I care, movies are closer to 20-22GB/hour for maximum enjoyment. It makes a very big difference when viewing lower bitrate vs higher bitrate! Way less banding, pixelation, and offers smoother playback in higher motion scenes. Plus, audio plays a huge part in immersion!
Not everyone has the space though, for that content, so I get it. But treat yourself occasionally and watch something hi res with quality audio!
