is 1080p Marketing Hype?

[Headphone Czar]

Or does it really provide a big increase in PQ.. I only have 720p/1080i & feel like I'm missing out.. I'm a bit skeptical, with the whole 'full HD', 'true HD', ads that are being pushed to sell 1080p sets.. I'm sure some people think 1080p is a higher resolution then 1080i..

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by Headphone Czar

Or does it really provide a big increase in PQ.. I only have 720p/1080i & feel like I'm missing out.. I'm a bit skeptical, with the whole 'full HD', 'true HD', ads that are being pushed to sell 1080p sets.. I'm sure some people think 1080p is a higher resolution then 1080i..

1080p (1920x1080=2,073,600 pixels) is higher resolution than 1080i/768p (1366x768=1,049,088 pixels). As for the question of whether or not it will provide YOU a big increase in PQ, that depends on:

• Your eyes
• Screen size
• Seating distance

I have a 58" 768p plasma, viewing at ~11' and I think the picture is just amazing. Others might have problems with SDE in this setup, but I don't. One thing's for sure, you'll get a lot of opinions on this. The best thing for you would be to go to a store and view different sets for yourself at the distance you will be viewing.

[Edh63]

I think it's worth it too. I have 1080P viewing at about 12' and it is stunning. You'll only see 1080P on Blu-ray though.

[Headphone Czar]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

1080p (1920x1080=2,073,600 pixels) is higher resolution than 1080i/768p (1366x768=1,049,088 pixels). As for the question of whether or not it will provide YOU a big increase in PQ, that depends on:

• Your eyes
• Screen size
• Seating distance

I have a 58" 768p plasma, viewing at ~11' and I think the picture is just amazing. Others might have problems with SDE in this setup, but I don't. One thing's for sure, you'll get a lot of opinions on this.

So 1080p is a higher resolution cause of the P. I heard otherwise. 1080i/1080p are the same resolution.. Is 480p a higher resolution then 480i? Thats what the reviewer in my Sound & vision mag said.. & I think a reviewer for benchmark. Not to argue.. I just want a definite awnser.

[coolmilo]

Basically I = Interlaced and P = Progressive. I scans every other line and P scans every line.

Following is a better explanation: http://www.canopus.com/canopus/techn...interlaced.php

[welwynnick]

Remember that 1080i is only a transmission and interface format, and (apart from CRTs) is not used as a DISPLAY format, which is the most important criterion.

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by Headphone Czar

So 1080p is a higher resolution cause of the P. I heard otherwise. 1080i/1080p are the same resolution.. Is 480p a higher resolution then 480i? Thats what the reviewer in my Sound & vision mag said.. & I think a reviewer for benchmark. Not to argue.. I just want a definite awnser.

P is always better then I so yes 480p is better then 480i and 1080i/1080p are not the same resolution. they may look similar but 1080p is slightly better then 1080i

[Geofruben]

1080p is only necassary when you get into the 50 plus inch TVs. The bigger the field the bigger the lines will be. Smaller TVs just don't have enough space to show any difference between 1080 and 720. but 420 to 720 is a big difference.

[HDJK]

Originally Posted by welwynnick

Remember that 1080i is only a transmission and interface format, and (apart from CRTs) is not used as a DISPLAY format, which is the most important criterion.

Exactly. And the rest comes down to only one thing: viewing distance.

[ZackL]

1080p is in my opinion somewhat of a marketing hype. Salespeople at Fry's, Best Buy, Future Shop, and even the little electronics stores will tell you that 1080p is the best but neglect to tell you about viewing distances, screen sizes, or that you'll only see the resolution on Blu-ray, HDDVD and PS3.

All the TV manufacturers now have "1080p TruHD stickers on their 1080p televisions, which makes you go "Oh no... I can't buy a 720p TV because I will not have true HD! So in some respect they feed on the fact that it's touted as the best to make that extra $500 on a television. In some cases of course it isn't market hype. 90% of the time a 50'' HDTV will look better in 1080p than 720p. But then a 720p Pioneer Kuro might look better than a 1080p Westinghouse. It's whatever you want. Look at televisions for yourself and decide what YOU think looks best, not what you've been told is best.

Rock on and enjoy.

[bluseminole]

Originally Posted by Geofruben

1080p is only necassary when you get into the 50 plus inch TVs. The bigger the field the bigger the lines will be. Smaller TVs just don't have enough space to show any difference between 1080 and 720. but 420 to 720 is a big difference.

Not entirely true. I have a 37" Westinghouse LCD that is 1080p. Switching between 1080i and 1080p output from my BR player makes a marked difference in fast action scenes, and I sit pretty far away from my TV (10'--far enough that most people say I can't see a difference between SD and HD, which is complete bull). I have very good eyes, but even my less-than-critical guests have agreed that 1080p seems a little better.

If the TV you're buying has average or below-average video processing inside, like the Westinghouses do, then it will be far better off if it accepts the native 1080p signal from the BR player and doesn't have to do any scaling. Because if you go 1080i or 720p and the deinterlacer isn't top notch, it'll always look worse than native 1080p, regardless of screen size.

[CptGreedle]

There is a sticky on one of these forums about this I think.
Either way, 1080i is less than 1080p. This is not marketing hype. I is for Interlaced, P for Progressive, as others have pointed out.
You will NOT see a difference in quality in a still, paused image or screenshot. The image differs in the way it is presented in motion.

Interlaced images will display half the data at a time, like a window blind (hence the word "interlaced"). This is less demanding on the equipment as it is giving you half the information every frame, but it switches between frames so quickly you can not see the difference in a still shot. But with motion it comes out clearly. Interlaced can cause Moire patterns, jagged lines, line twitter, blurred/striped fast moving objects, etc.


Progressive displays the entire image each frame. This is more demanding on equipment, but the benefits are worth it for many consumers. Since actual film is progressive (in that it displays the entire image for every frame), a progressive TV will better mimic the effect of film. It is also free from these other visual artifacts (errors) and just looks better all around.

Interlaced is what TVs use for SD (standard definition), 480i. Enhanced definition TVs (or EDTV) display 480p. There are methods for de-interlacing an interlaced image, but the results are still less than a true progressive scan image.

So there is no way 1080p is a marketing hype. Sure most people won't notice the artifacts and such, but enough of us do. Remember buying a progressive TV will cost more and can only give you a progressive image if you have a progressive source. Otherwise it will either be an interlaced image or a deinterlaced image.

[CptGreedle]

Screen sizes have NOTHING to do with interlaced and progressive. That is different. Here is a graph on screen sizes and viewing distances.



And here is a calculator for figuring out the optimal size and distance:

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/v...alculator.html


They list progressive on the image because it is the best quality. For interlaced, although distance can effect this as well, it is a side effect of the distance. If you view an interlaced image far away, it is still interleced, just harder to tell. But the image is still 720 or 1080 so you will be missing details if you are too far away.

No hype about interlaced and progressive there either. The viewing distance and size determines the best resolution, not interlacing.

[statikcat]

Interlaced is the devil.

If you think 1080i and p are the same resolution try hooking a computer to each. You will be disappointed if you think 1080i is 1920x1080.

[CptGreedle]

technically it is 1920x1080.

it is not the resolution that changes. And yes, interlaced looks AWEFUL with a computer hooked up. We have that at work in a conference room and I can't stand to use it.

progressive scan and interlaced change the way it is "scanned" onto the screen. So the resolution is the same either way!

[rragland]

Originally Posted by Headphone Czar

Or does it really provide a big increase in PQ.. I only have 720p/1080i & feel like I'm missing out.. I'm a bit skeptical, with the whole 'full HD', 'true HD', ads that are being pushed to sell 1080p sets.. I'm sure some people think 1080p is a higher resolution then 1080i..

On my Westinghouse LVM-37w1 37" 1080p LCD, the system information displays 1920 x 540, on 1080i broadcasts. So, 1080p is twice as good as 1080i.

[krendevil]

Originally Posted by Headphone Czar

Or does it really provide a big increase in PQ.. I only have 720p/1080i & feel like I'm missing out.. I'm a bit skeptical, with the whole 'full HD', 'true HD', ads that are being pushed to sell 1080p sets.. I'm sure some people think 1080p is a higher resolution then 1080i..

It's not hype!! I've had both (1080i and 1080p) and currently have a 1080p bottom of the line Sony TV (see sig. below.) It looks fantastic and I don't have any thoughts of replacing it any time soon. It's like having a mini IMAX screen. I've heard if you have a screen smaller than 46" it's hard to tell the difference. Just my 2 cents.

YAAAHH!!! YAAAHH!!! On to the next town!!!!

[dobyblue]

Providing the SOURCE was shot progressively, 1080i and 1080p are exactly the same resolution. They are both 1920x1080, just delivered differently.

If your television can correctly deinterlace 1080i60 then you end up with the original 1080p24 signal after performing 3:2 pulldown.

This is the article you want to read - http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...07-part-1.html

What's confused a lot of people is calling LCD/Plasma/DLP's "720p/1080i" - all that means is it will handshake with a 720p or 1080i signal, but in order to display the full resolution of a 1080i signal you still need a 1920x1080 panel. The 720p/1080i sets are often 1366x768 panels or 1280x720. They will deinterlace a 1080i signal to 1080p then scale to the panel's native resolution.

So, a 1080p PANEL is better than a 720p/1080i panel, but in terms of resolution from a 1080p24 source, 1080i60 and 1080p24 are carrying the same resolution information.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by krendevil

I've heard if you have a screen smaller than 46" it's hard to tell the difference. Just my 2 cents.

That's completely incorrect. You can have a 100" TV and not tell the difference, it all depends on your viewing distance.

See the chart posted by CptGreedle for estimates of distances and resolutions.

A 22" LCD would allow you to appreciate 1080p if you were sitting 2-3 feet in front of it, like most people do with a computer monitor.

[SquidPuppet]

I went from Sony XBR 1080 "I" to Sony XBR 1080 "P", so that is clearly an apples-to-apples comparison.

Got my moneys worth for sure

It may be me, but progressive also feels less fatiguing to my eyes after a long view.