UK/US British TV sets

[Happy_Evil_Dude]

Hello,

I've been debating for a while now whether to buy British TV shows through their US or UK releases when the choice is available.

Are there differences between what 2Entertain, Acorn, Universal, etc put out in the UK compared to the equivalent titles put out by PBS or BBC in the US?

I notice that sometimes a UK version is listed here as being "1080/50i" whereas the US or even French version is listed as "1080p". Is the 1080p automatically better or is it actually essentially the same?

Thank you.