My HDTV is a 720p. But why my PS3 can auto detect my TV and have it set to 1080i ?

Question

Rumor has it that some game console or players could upconvert a game or movie from 720p to 1080i. Is that possible ? If so how much different would a 720p screen differ from a 1080i screen in terms of visual quality? Can someone use a simple anology to explain the difference? thanks!

Answer 1

You are better playing on 720p than 1080i.

On 720p it is called 'progressive scanning'

and

1080i is called 'interlaced scanning'.

With interlaced scanning it is 2 pictures that interlace together ( hence the name ) and with progressive scanning there is only one picture which means you will get a better quality picture with progressive scanning than with interlaced scanning.

Interlaced TV's were originally designed to receive interlaced signals being broadcast from the TV staions but that is now a thing of the past.