Playing 1080p Blu-ray on 1080i TV

[Cylon]

Hi All,

I'm new to blu-ray since buying a PS3, and was wondering if anyone could explaing exactly how the various definitions work.

I have a 50" Panasonic 1080i TV and rented Blood Diamond the other night. The specs say it is 1080p, so my question is this:

What does my TV actually output the movie in if it's upper limit is 1080i?

Quite honestly I just didn't see the quality I was expecting from it. I expected it to blow me away completely, given that 1080i (assuming it drops "down" from 1080p to 1080i) is a lot better than regular DVD.

Thanks
Ian

[GreenMotion]

I have a Panasonic 50 1080i set as well and although it accepts 1080p input, it will downsample it back to 1080i. I do really want to upgrade to a 1080p set soon, but on blu-rays with good transfers, the picture looks amazing. Even on my 1080i.

Try a couple other blu-ray movies. I.e. Crank.

By the way, why were you not pleased with the quality? A lot of movies contain artificial grain, if that's what your complaint is about.

[bootman]

The player's output should match the TV's input regardless of the movie's resolution.
This will ensure the best picture for your TV.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by Cylon

Hi All,

I'm new to blu-ray since buying a PS3, and was wondering if anyone could explaing exactly how the various definitions work.

I have a 50" Panasonic 1080i TV and rented Blood Diamond the other night. The specs say it is 1080p, so my question is this:

What does my TV actually output the movie in if it's upper limit is 1080i?

Quite honestly I just didn't see the quality I was expecting from it. I expected it to blow me away completely, given that 1080i (assuming it drops "down" from 1080p to 1080i) is a lot better than regular DVD.

Thanks
Ian

Your TV will never output anything more than 1080i. It will probably also output 720p; but I would usually go with what is considered the "native" resolution of your set. You should be using the HDMI connectors from PS3 to your set. You will then need to set your PS3 to output 1080i via HDMI to your set. If you try to pass 1080p to your set, you will usually just get a blank picture as your set will not accept the signal. Even 1080i Blu-ray is quite impressive PQ-wise. 1080p (particularly 24 Hz) is better, but how much better is dependent on your setup and screen size.

Assuming your source material has good PQ (check the reviews on this site or others to verify), then check your setup if your picture is less than impressive.

Good luck!

[crackinhedz]

Blood Diamond picture quality was bad to begin with.

[whoami]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

Blood Diamond picture quality was bad to begin with.

i agree it depends on the movie.... my best one is shooter i was one of the few who got it before paramount "SOLD OUT" and the picture quality is unbeleivable..... i also had my ps3 on a 1080i then upgraded to 1080p its like night and day.even the wife noticed the deiffrence.

[Waking Midnight]

any tv that says it is 1080i actually isnt. its pixel resolution is 1366 x 768. so even though it accepts 1080i it downscales it to 720p. the only tvs that resolve every line of resolution from a 1080 source is 1080p. and that is because it is the only tv with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Waking Midnight

any tv that says it is 1080i actually isnt. its pixel resolution is 1366 x 768. so even though it accepts 1080i it downscales it to 720p.

you do know there are HDTV's out there that are 1080i and cannot even recognize 720p let alone "downscale" to it. I can only assume youre brand new to the home theater industry, but yes, there are HDTVs that are 1080i/480p only. (as I should know, i have one. )

[WhoDat]

Originally Posted by Waking Midnight

any tv that says it is 1080i actually isnt. its pixel resolution is 1366 x 768. so even though it accepts 1080i it downscales it to 720p. the only tvs that resolve every line of resolution from a 1080 source is 1080p. and that is because it is the only tv with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

Yes, I noticed how 780p looks a lot better than the 1080i...weird. I'm receiving HD channels from the cable line and the channels between 780 are much better than the 1080i. This christmas I will be on the hunt for a 1080p tv for sure maybe a 42-50 inch.

[Mr. Joshua]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

Blood Diamond picture quality was bad to begin with.

That avitar is the shizzle mizzle dizzle, what I mean is way cool....

[Whytewash]

Cylon:

Welcome to the forums!!

[T-Wrecks]

is the biggest reason why I do not YET own a large library of Blu-ray movies. It really is night and day(i vs p), and, to be honest, the DVD upscaling is so close to watching Blu-ray on 1080i, it has me holding off and renting until I can afford a larger, 1080p TV (The difference is minimal in favor of Blu-ray, and I dare you to say otherwise, tech-heads).

I think it is the biggest reason why there is not a bigger attachment ratio for PS3 owners when it comes to Blu-ray. The majority of us simply cannot yet afford a PS3 AND our favorite movies on Blu-ray AND a new 1080p TV...

It will happen, but probably not until sometime next year. Fiscal responsibility means family first, and 1080p TV second.

[SamInNorthCakalakey]

Originally Posted by T-Wrecks

is the biggest reason why I do not YET own a large library of Blu-ray movies. It really is night and day(i vs p), and, to be honest, the DVD upscaling is so close to watching Blu-ray on 1080i, it has me holding off and renting until I can afford a larger, 1080p TV (The difference is minimal in favor of Blu-ray, and I dare you to say otherwise, tech-heads).

I think it is the biggest reason why there is not a bigger attachment ratio for PS3 owners when it comes to Blu-ray. The majority of us simply cannot yet afford a PS3 AND our favorite movies on Blu-ray AND a new 1080p TV...

It will happen, but probably not until sometime next year. Fiscal responsibility means family first, and 1080p TV second.

Upscaling is the biggest crock out there right now. There is no way you can get rid of banding on an image unless you blur the crap out of it. Compressions artifacts are all over DVD's and "upscaling" only accentuates that. Save your $150 on a "good" upscaler and put towards your kids college tuition.

I've tried several before going Blu and it's crap. and I asked several others there opinions as well. If you look long enough at the clouds you'll eventually see whatever you want to see, same thing with upscaling.

[Joe Cain]

is the only reason I've begun collecting BDs at all. Well, that and the PS3.

It's not a huge TV; it's CRT, and it's a year old---you can get LCD in the same size for the money now, but we only spent as much on it as we did on the SD TV it replaced; I think of it as a nice starter HDTV. The PS3 was admittedly a bit of an extravagance, but it came right after the price drop and a really bad year; sometimes you have to say "I could walk in front of a bus tomorrow---tonight I'm watching the movie in HD!"

For our solidly middle-class demographic we're a little ahead on the early adoption curve, I guess, but I think we've gotten good value for dollars spent on the HDM market. It helps that we're sentimentalists and Disney fans, and that Disney is solidly behind BD; if Disney were sitting it out or had gone HD-DVD exclusive, I would've settled on a nice upscaling DVD player for the next couple of years.

Clearly prices need to come down for TVs and players alike before HD will command a simple majority in the market. It will also help if adoption is made simple to the point of being stupid---the studios' embrace of a single format sure would be nice, which would help make 1080p the most attractive HDTV to sell at a mass market price point...

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by Joe Cain

is the only reason I've begun collecting BDs at all. Well, that and the PS3.

It's not a huge TV; it's CRT ...

Same here. CRTs still totally rule the field for contrast, colour and fast motion. In addition, a direct-view 1080i set will show more detail than a 720p display (esp. since horizontal resolution counts for more than vertical as respects what the eye can make out).

On the downside: image size is usually limited to 34" or under (mine is 26"), screen geometry is tough to get right and inevitably there's some overscan. And you can't display 24fps without the pulldown.

[KingDeezie]

I still can't believe anyone who would say that an upscaled DVD looks almost as good as a Bluray....

I recently just bought a 1080p projector for my HT room, but before that I was using a 55 inch Toshiba DLP at 720P that is now in my bedroom...

I was buying Blurays before making the switch to 1080p and I was upscaling with an Oppo and let me tell you that even at 720P the difference is night and day.

1080p is an great thing, but 720p will still let you see the difference.