A whopping 92% of the participants in a blind test recently held by the CEDIA association picked Blu-ray over a hidef iTunes movie download. Twenty-five participants were asked to look at two identical 40-inch LCD displays showing the movie '
Twilight', one from an iTunes 720p download and the other from 1080p Blu-ray. Participants didn't know which display was Blu-ray.
The survey was given to 21 women and four men, and took place March 27 in the headquarters of CEDIA. The displays were non-calibrated 40-inch LCDs on movie mode with identical movie mode settings, and connected to the source with high-quality 5-meter HDMI cables. The lights were dimmed in the front of the room towards the displays and on in the back.
This is not considered to be a highly scientific study, but it is nonetheless significant, as it confirms the notion that not only can consumers tell standard definition (480i/480p) from high definition, but they can also tell highly-compressed, lower resolution HD from high-bitrate, high-resolution HD.