Why does my HDTV show 1080I or 780P or 460p when i change channels?

Question

It seems all HDTV channels send different HD. Thanks for any answers in advance. Bobby

Answer 1

Your tv is simply telling you the format that the television station you are watching is broadcast in.  Nice, huh?

Answer 2

Each channel is different and the TV has to adjust for each format.

Here's the differences:

480i (standard definition legacy broadcast format)

720p (1280x720 pixels sent at 60 frames per second)

1080i (1920x1080 pixels sent at 60 fields per second)

Note that 720p updates twice as fast as as 1080i, but it has half the resolution.  A field is half a frame.  Two fields make up an image.  The first field has all the odd lines and the second field has all the even lines.  They are interlaced.  The two fields together make up a full frame.

Answer 3

It depends on the broadcasting of those channels. Some broadcast in the high (1080i or 1080p) and some broadcast in the 780P or 460p (which i think is standard definition television).