HDTV question!?!?!?

Question

I am buying an HDTV and I was wondering which is better 1080i or 720p? please give an explantation why!!!

Answer 1

Neither broadcast format is better.  They both have their pros and cons.  For TVs, the 1080 is better because it has a higher resolution.

Sports and fast action sequences take advantage of the higher frame rate of 720p, but suffer from lower resolution.  FOX, ABC, and ESPN broadcast in 720p.  Most other shows and networks use 1080i.  1080i is good for scenery.  National Geographic in High Def would use 1080i.

A 1080 display is always better because it is capable of displaying the higher resolution.  It can display video broadcasts from 720p or 1080i, it'll just scale up the lower resolution images.  Please note that there is no difference between 1080i and 1080p IF the original video content is progressive (true for film and most modern high def video cameras) AND IF you are not using a CRT HD television (note the two IFs).  LCDs, Plasmas, and DLPs are by nature progressive.  They can take the two halves of a 1080i frame (the even and odd fields) and reconstruct them for you.  You will essentially end up with 1080p at 30 frames per second.  This is not true if the original film source was from a video camera that captured half images at 60 times per second so in that rarer case, each frame is comprised up of two fields which represent two separate instances in time.  When the two halfs are not from the same instant in time, you can sometimes get jagged images when the fields are put together.  This really isn't a problem anymore (especially when you watch a movie which has the two halves taken from a frame of a film).  The broadcast of 1080i is at 60 fields per second (each field is half of one frame).  A CRT will only draw one half the picture as it scans up and down.  

1080 = 1920 x 1080 pixels = 2,073,600 pixels (1080 lines from top to bottom)

720 = 1280 x 720 pixels = 921,600 pixels (720 lines from top to bottom)

Both have an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 which means the width is 1.78 times the size of the height (1920/1080 = 1280/720 = 16/9 = 1.78/1).

720 has 44% fewer pixels than 1080 (2,073,600/921,600=0.44).

1080i is broadcast at 30 frames per second.  A frame is a full picture.  A full frame is comprised of two half fields of even and odd lines.  It is also correct to say that 1080i is broadcast at 60 fields per second.

720p is broadcast at 60 full frames / images per second.  This is because there are slightly less than 1/2 the number of pixels so with the same amount of information allocated per channel, they can update the image of the video twice as often (60 frames per second = 30 frames per second * 2).

Another option for you when selecting a TV is to have a display that is halfway inbetween with a resolution of 1368x768.  It's cheaper than a 1080, but has more pixels than 720.  You still get your shows from the cable box or antenna in either 720 or 1080, but the TV rescales everything to the native resolution of the display.  1368 x 768 = 1,050,624 pixels (14% more than 720 with the same 1368/768 = 1.78/1 = 16/9 aspect ratio of HD).

Answer 2

1080i is better. The bigger  the pixels the more color variations that will come through the screen. the pixels are teeny tiny dots that are different colors that make the image of what u see. The more you have the better the picture.

Answer 3

1080i is better for displaying pictures and slow-moving video.

720P is better for fast-moving video like sports and videogames.

Most 720P displays can support 1080i anyways sou you really don't have to decide between the two. But the holy grail of HD is 1080P which is the best possible picture.

Answer 4

the best possible is plasma, but sucks bc it goes dead quicker, lcd will last longer and the 1080p is the best to get, but good luck keeping it cheap to fully get the 1080p, b/c most hd convertors only support 1080i. but their isn't much of a difference in the 1080i, 720p and etc, at least not enough for the money to spend. i'd go w/ the 1080i if i could afford it, in a sony.