How effective is the 'full HD' marketing line?

[Headphone Czar]

Maybe I'm a HD old schooler, but in 2003 720p/1080i was HD.. Later 1080p was HD.. 1080p only became 'full HD' when HD DVD/Blu Ray, & 1080p TV's were out in mass production.. & what is the opposite of 'full HD'? lite HD, or half HD? & if so, are 720p/1080i not 'real hd'? I hate when manufacturers use less then truthful marketing tactics to persuade people. 1080i & 1080p are the same resolution. The latter is progressive.. Not to sound like I hate 1080p, I will buy a 1080p display when I get the funds.

[SDBlu]

I believe 1080p is higher resolution than 1080i, one step above it making it better picture quality overall

[Rob J in WNY]

1080i and 1080p have the same resolution (vertical lines). "I" stands for "interlaced" and "P" stands for "progressive" - the manner in which each frame of video is displayed.

"Full HD" leans toward the 1080 (vertical) by 1920 (horizontal) pixel screen size, or more commonly referred to as the "16:9 aspect ratio."

Some consider the "P" just as important to what is considered "Full HD" in name. In simplicity, the progressive process displays each frame seen on your screen line-by-line, a full frame at a time, versus the interlaced process, which displays every other line at a time, in two "fields," per frame. The progressive system offers smoother, more accurate video display. The progressive process also requires twice the video "bandwidth" in order to work, which is why only HD media such as Blu-ray discs and HD DVD are your source for 1080p video at this moment. It's a lot more complicated than this, but I hope I covered it in essence.

I'm sure there will be additional good information for you on this thread.

- Rob J

[Rob J in WNY]

To add, a lot of people will not readily notice the difference between interlaced and progressive displays, although, with a little "eye training," the differences are often profound.

- Rob J

[RiseDarthVader]

I don't like how Sony markets Blu-ray as beyond high definition. Because I know some people that think Blu-ray is superior to what you see at the cinemas which is untrue. They think Blu-ray is the highest resolution possible.

[ixlegitballinxl]

hd is anything 720p+

is 1080p worth it? Yes

Only marketing hype I see is Satellite companies claiming Turbo 1080p broadcast....

Blu-ray is the only true 1080p source with the big file sizes to prove