720p or 1080i?

[AxL_the_Red]

Which one displays the better all around PQ in your opinion? I thought it was 1080i at first, but I often hear that 720p is sharper, so what do you think? I don't have 1080p so I would really like to know.

[Deciazulado]

If you have a 1080p display that deinterlaces 1080i correctly, 1080i.

[AxL_the_Red]

I don't really get what you say as I'm kind of new to HD. All I can tell you is that I have a Sony Wega 50" HDTV that supports 720p and 1080i, but not 1080p, and I use a ps3 for blu-ray viewing and gaming. It's just that I heard that 720p displays a better picture quality than 1080i and I wanted to know if I had to put my maximum setting on my ps3 to 720p.

[groovyone]

I set mine to 1080i. I think it looks great, better than 720p. Hard to say for sure though, since Resistance and MotorStorm are 720p, but a few of the 1080p demos and the movies look great at 1080i.

[AxL_the_Red]

Ok, thanks for the help.

[dgator783]

def. 1080i looks better....I sat here for a good 15 minutes switching back and forth using Pirates blu ray to compare the difference and u can def. tell that 1080i was a better looking piture, the colors themsleves looked richer and full.

[Greenmatiz2]

1080i is better, but if your display has a max of 1366x768 such as mine, the difference is very slight (but there is a difference). Here is how I can tell:

If you have Casino Royale, find the early scene where Bond first enters the hotel and goes to the video surveillance room. He looks at his phone very close-up. The numbers on the phone in the upper right corner are extremely small. I can make those phone numbers out slightly better with 1080i (scaled to 1366x768) than I can with 720p settings out of my PS3. There is also an overall "clearer" look to the movie in 1080i. You can also find the earlier scene where Bond is driving in his car, and looks at his phone. There, you can concentrate on the pachmarks in his face. You see them more clearly in 1080i.

As someone here explained to me, my TV is accepting the 1080i signal, but scaling it down to 1366x768. This is very common for sets that will do 1080i, but not 1080p.

The difference is a bit more dramatic (thought slight) if you have a 1080p set. I know this for a fact, because my last set was 1080p.

[degas]

It depends on which scaler does the better job - the TV/proj or the player.
In my case (Panasonic AE-700) 720p looked noticably better than 1080i.

[TJandBLU-RAY]

Okay, so I got to ask: If you have a projector, that says it does 'native' 720p, yet accepts up to 1080p, and thus, is downscaling the picture, do you think the average person will notice? Is the difference hardly there, or is it like going from B&W TV to COLOR? That dramatic?

[Blackraven]

With the new version 1.8 firmware update for the PS3, I don't think it makes much of a difference.

[Eve6insideandout]

You are not going to tell much of a diff. when the picture is at a stand still. I also asked this question a while ago (should look back in the forums first) and mathmatically 720p has more pixels. Also I can tell when you are watching action movie the 1080i didn't seem to keep up with the fast pace because they transfer acrossed the screen in different directions. 1080i (Interlace) travels vertically and 720p (Progressive) Travels horizontally. The 1080i seems to blur the image more with the fast moving images where 720p actually keeps more of sharper picture, IMO. I keep my PS3 at 720p.

[Greenmatiz2]

Guys, I go by what I see -- not some magazine's idea of pixel count.

For most movies, 1080i looks better than 720p. Period. Resolution is obviously higher.

I do see a difference.

[Stuie]

1080i here for me, looks clearer to me.

[partridge]

I had a play around last night, changed the PS3 to 720p and played EpIII on DVD with upscaler, and Superman Returns on BD, and lego SWII with upscaler

They all, to my eye, look better when the PS3 is set to 1080i, so that's how I'm leaving it.

One difference though was that my browser filled more of the screen when it was running at 720p, but that's not a problem, I use the zoom feature when browsing.

As for Full RGB, I can see a difference when I turn it on, but honestly I don't think it looks better, everything just gets a bit darker!

Got my eye on a 37" 1080p Toshiba, £800, which must be around $1400? Bargain!

[zombieking]

Originally Posted by Greenmatiz2

1080i is better, but if your display has a max of 1366x768 such as mine, the difference is very slight (but there is a difference). Here is how I can tell:

If you have Casino Royale, find the early scene where Bond first enters the hotel and goes to the video surveillance room. He looks at his phone very close-up. The numbers on the phone in the upper right corner are extremely small. I can make those phone numbers out slightly better with 1080i (scaled to 1366x768) than I can with 720p settings out of my PS3. There is also an overall "clearer" look to the movie in 1080i. You can also find the earlier scene where Bond is driving in his car, and looks at his phone. There, you can concentrate on the pachmarks in his face. You see them more clearly in 1080i.

As someone here explained to me, my TV is accepting the 1080i signal, but scaling it down to 1366x768. This is very common for sets that will do 1080i, but not 1080p.

The difference is a bit more dramatic (thought slight) if you have a 1080p set. I know this for a fact, because my last set was 1080p.

Your set displays native 720p like mine, which is what I leave mine on. I tried your test and found the images to be equally clear on 720p

[zombieking]

Originally Posted by Eve6insideandout

You are not going to tell much of a diff. when the picture is at a stand still. I also asked this question a while ago (should look back in the forums first) and mathmatically 720p has more pixels. Also I can tell when you are watching action movie the 1080i didn't seem to keep up with the fast pace because they transfer acrossed the screen in different directions. 1080i (Interlace) travels vertically and 720p (Progressive) Travels horizontally. The 1080i seems to blur the image more with the fast moving images where 720p actually keeps more of sharper picture, IMO. I keep my PS3 at 720p.

Exactly!!

[elwaylite]

I have a Sony 720p tv and have my Samsung 1000 on 1080i. People have stated that the sammy does not display as high a pq on 720p as it does on 1080i.

Personally I agree and feel that 1080i to my 720p tv looks better than 720p to 720p. I could just ba crazy.

One thing I have learned with tv and dvd calibration, once it looks good to you, leave it alone and enjoy your programming, if not youll spend 3months goofing around with it and end up with the same settings you started with.

[inaz4sun]

I originally had my PS3 sending 1080i to my Pany 50" LCDRP, which I believe is native 720p but accepts 1080i. It looks good. But I switched to 720p and things seemed to be a little crisper and sharper and contrasty. So I think it might be a matter of preference. Some things seemed to render more quickly in 720p mode as well. Now when I watch a Blu-ray I may switch it back to 1080i. Not sure. My Dish box lets me switch between the two settings as well, and the difference is really hard to tell, I would need a test screen to see the difference I think.

[TJandBLU-RAY]

Okay, I love the responses, but let me ask this: If your projector, like mine, only does 720p native (which means 1080p (and i) is downscaled), will I notice a difference? Should I just adjust my BD player to output to 720p until I can afford a native 1080p projector?

In my view, simplistic as this sounds, it's seems to me, that it should not matter if I am downscaling...but I don't want to compromise the picture quality any more then I am with the native 720p projector.

[degas]

Why don't you all just test the different settings and see which one you like best?
Different projectors/TV's will yield different results. There is no template.
As I said earlier, it all depends on which scaler is the best, the one in your TV/projector or the one in your Blu-ray player.