1080i vs 1080p?

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by thirteenth, Dec 31, 2008.

  1. thirteenth

    thirteenth Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    I've always been curious--is there that much of a difference between 1080i and 1080p television resolutions?
     
  2. Kryton

    Kryton Admiral Admiral

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    Progressive scan is ALWAYS better. At least at 720p. I can't seem to get my TV to accept a 1080p signal...only 1080i. <shrug>

    Interlaced video has always been...cost effective. But it's really not an issue anymore and no longer necessary to split up the frames like it was when NTSC was being developed.
     
  3. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Not a whole lot, no. Not with the distances that most people sit from their TVs. If you can afford it, go ahead and go with 1080p, but if money is tight then you will do just fine with 1080i (or even lower, such as 720p; with most viewing distances, 720p is as good as any).

    The only way you can even get 1080p is Blu-Ray (and some downloadable trailers). There are no broadcasts with that resolution, in cable or satellite, that I'm aware of.
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2008
  4. Outpost4

    Outpost4 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Both Dish and DirecTV are playing with PPV downloads at 1080p. It's still in its infancy, with very few titles and some bugs. They'll figure it out. Even though these are satellite providers, both download the 1080p movies over the Internet.

    The active pharase in your question, josephberte, is "television resolutions." Since all HDTV is currently broadcast in either 1080i or 720p, and will remain that way for the conceivable future, you won't notice a difference with 1080p on television. Yes, Blu-ray is 1080p. Other future digital formats certainly will be. But with this were talking movies, concerts or games, not television.
     
  5. Small White Car

    Small White Car Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    This is the heart of it. 1080p is better, but it's unlikely you'll make use of it much.

    Even with a 1080p Blu-Ray disk I'd still call the difference between an 'i' and a 'p' tv set "marginal."

    The ONLY time I'd say that 1080p is critical is if you're planning on hooking a computer up to the television.
     
  6. thirteenth

    thirteenth Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Okk, thanks all.. It's just been something I've been curious about. My Dad has a 1080i tv that does not do 1080p. I know the xbox 360 does 1080p, it's just that his tv only does 1080i, which is okay.. We don't even have a bluray player, though the upconversion on our Oppo dvd player is great...
     
  7. JNG

    JNG Chief of Staff, Starfleet Command Rear Admiral

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    I find these responses somewhat surprising. In a very real way, 1080i is HALF of 1080p. On a reasonably sized television (37'' or above), if the difference is not immediately apparent to you, maybe spring for new eyeglasses before the new TV. You don't have to run out and buy a superior HDTV if you already have an HDTV, of course, but let's not marginalize the difference.
     
  8. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    If you're sitting about an inch from the screen, then maybe. But at the distances that most people sit, they'd never notice the difference.
     
  9. Arrqh

    Arrqh Vice Admiral Admiral

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    No.

    You are correct that most people tend to sit at too far a distance that is "correct" for their TV... but even if you're being sarcastic, characterizing the distance necessary to see the difference between 1080i and 1080p as "about an inch" is wrong.
     
  10. Data Holmes

    Data Holmes Admiral Admiral

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    1080i is really the same as 720p, which is why most tv's that do 720p will do 1080i but not 1080p.

    The difference lies in refresh formats. Think of the screen as a brick wall. With interlaced, every other row is updated. So part of the past frame is still on the screen each time. This can cause the picture, especially lines like the edge of a building or person, to look "blocky". Progressive updates the entire frame, so it is a much better picture quality.

    If you get a tv which offers 720p or 1080i as the max settings, stay with 720p as the picture quality will be much better.
     
  11. Kryton

    Kryton Admiral Admiral

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    The difference is similar to that between uncompressed audio and mp3. SOME people can hear it (see it) but MOST people are willing to let the missing/lost information go by because it wasn't something they'd noticed in the first place.
     
  12. trekkerguy

    trekkerguy Commodore Commodore

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    It's a huge difference.

    If I had to choose between 1080i and 720P I would use the 720P and have.
    The Progressive scan is far better.
     
  13. Kryton

    Kryton Admiral Admiral

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    Oh, I agree the difference is immense. I was only pointing out that people (in large) are willing to discount such differences...especially if there is a dollar consideration involved. Otherwise HiDef would be ubiquitous instead of pretentious. ;)
     
  14. trekkerguy

    trekkerguy Commodore Commodore

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    I wasn't really debating your comment, just answering the OP. :)
     
  15. Deimos Anomaly

    Deimos Anomaly Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    If you're watching 1080p and the same thing at 1080i, you probably can't tell the difference, generally speaking.

    If you know what to look for, you may be able to tell the difference.
     
  16. trekkerguy

    trekkerguy Commodore Commodore

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    You really don't have to be looking for it.
    The colors are deeper and the image is smoother and it's definitely noticable.
     
  17. Tomato

    Tomato Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Just set your Xbox over to 1080i and I believe it will automatically upconvert all your games and DVDs into that signal.
     
  18. Mr. B

    Mr. B Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The resolution is actually identical but each frame of 1080p refreshes the entire image rather than every other line. The difference is remotely visible on 1080p televisions.

    Viewers who are further discriminating can tell the difference between varying frame rates at 1080p and detect such things as 3:2 pulldown if a display and output device are incapable of rendering 1080p24.
     
  19. Candlelight

    Candlelight Admiral Admiral

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    I've been making 1080p and 1080i shows for 4 years now, and after a while it just blurs into one another...
     
  20. Guartho

    Guartho Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Only when speaking temporally, and any Starfleet captain can tell you that speaking temporally is not worth the headache it brings on.