October 31, 2009
1080i vs 1080p
It seems as technology expands, those of us today who are in search of a new HD TV are comforted with more buying options then ever. So what does it all mean?
1080p defined
1080p resolution is the latest HD holy grail. That is because they are theoretically cable of dispallying every pixel of the highest resolution HD broadcast. On paper, they should offer more tahn twice the resoltuions of today’s 1,280 x 720 or 720p.
1080i, the former king of HDTV, actually has the same identical resolution as a 1080p but conveys the images in an interlace formate. In a tube based TV, otherwise known as a CRT, 1080i source gets painted on the screen sequentially: the odd numbered lines appear on the screen first, followed by the even numbered lines - all within 1/30 of a second. Progressive-scan format such as 480p, 720p, and 1080p convey all the lines of the resolution sequentially in a single pass, which makes the pictures smoother and cleaner. Especially wtih sports and other motion intensive content.
So even if you do get a 1080p are there currently any channels available in a 1080p format. Not really because of the bandwidth issue. There will be some Blue-Ray and HD-DVD disc that output in such format but they will cost more as well.
The biggest difference between the two if you are watching with a 1080i signal is that if you sit really close to your TV you can see that the picture of the 1080p monitor will not have as much pixel structure. Such as stir stepping along diagnol lines or screen door effects. This advantage applies regardless of the quality of the source.
The bottom line: if you’re thinking of going really big, like with a 60 inch screen, the extra resolution may make it worth the difference - as long as you have a prestine, 1080l HD source to feed into the set.
