How does progressive work?

Question

I know that progressive is better than interlaced. But does the image always stay there or does it turn on and off all together, etc? please explain in detail.

Answer 1

Your computer monitor is a progressive device.

Your old standard def TV is an interlace device.

It has to do with how the image is painted on the screen.

If you look closely at the old standard def TV you will see horizontal lines. This is caused by the beam painting the odd rows first, then going back and painting the even rows.

The time delay lets the previous rows fade a bit causing scan lines.

But drawing the entire screen in 1 pass removes these scan lines and produces a sharper looking image.

"Interlace" was choosen back in the 1940's because it could travel farther for antenna use and had lower bandwidth requirements.