720p vs 1080i - am I missing something here?

[pyrohydra]

I'm currently thinking about buying an HDTV. I have done some research on these, and based on the information I can gather, I need to consider the following:

The plasma, LCD, and DLP projectors have a NATIVE (read: fixed) resolution of 1280x720 (720p) or close to that. These sets will display only in the native resolution - non-720p content such as 1080i will be scaled to 720p.

CRT units are capable of displaying 1080i natively, and I PRESUME these are capable of displaying 720p natively as well, being a CRT and as such not so much limited to a particular resolution.

1080i content will look (slightly) worse on a native 720p display, since scaling/deinterlacing has to be done. Both 720p and 1080i will look their best on a CRT display, since no scaling needs to be done.

Based on this, why would I consider a fixed-resolution display? Am I missing something here?

[FulciLives]

That is why people with projectors get so "gung-ho" about having an HTPC (Home Theatre PC) because the computer can be used to do the scaling (i.e., match the native display resolution of the TV device) in a very nice way.

However if you are happy with a TUBE television I would go with a TUBE any day of the week.

I think SONY makes a 40" TUBE HDTV set if you want something BIG

As for PLASMA I hear for DVD playback you are best sticking with an EDTV model with a 16x9 ratio since it matches the resolution perfectly of 16x9 DVD format.

An DVD doesn't look as good on an HDTV plasma as an EDTV plasma.

Things to consider ...

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[baritony]

The HD format standard is NOT just one format.
Fox TV broadcasts in High resolutiontv which is the lowest quality of the HD strandard
There is 720 and 1030 and 1080.
Obviously, the 1080 is better quality but not everything is shot, transferred, or broadcast in 1080.

thing to note when thinking about buying an HD set. The plasma sets are usually the most hype an dhave the most models BUT the life span of a plasma tv is 5 years.
LCD is THE way to go. Projection is also a wonderful selection. Tubes are getting better but people seem to equate the 16x9 as small and feel they HAVE to go larger and the tube sets are just not as large right now.

Also, look into the types of inputs your potential set has. DVI is slowing gaining attention and with satellite tv, this may be the best method.

Just my 2 cents

[pyrohydra]

I suppose the question I really want answered - I didn't quite articulate it in my previous post - is: Can CRT sets display both 720 and 1080 natively, similar to a computer monitor, or are they limited to either 720 or 1080?

[FulciLives]

I suppose the question I really want answered - I didn't quite articulate it in my previous post - is: Can CRT sets display both 720 and 1080 natively, similar to a computer monitor, or are they limited to either 720 or 1080?

I think some TUBE televisions can do both 720P and 1080i but at the same time I think some can only do 1080i but I'm not 100% positive on that.

Best thing to do is go to company sites like sony.com jvc.com toshiba.com and check out the specs.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Ste]

I suppose the question I really want answered - I didn't quite articulate it in my previous post - is: Can CRT sets display both 720 and 1080 natively, similar to a computer monitor, or are they limited to either 720 or 1080?

It is very rare for CRT TV's (both direct view and projection) to display 720p natively. Many of the newers set's can accept 720p signals, but they always rescale it to 1080i. I've only seen one tube (by Toshiba) that can display 720p, and this TV has it:

http://www.digitalconnection.com/Products/DirectView/DM6552SW.asp

Typical consumer end CRTs that you find at Best Buy and Circuit City DO NOT have this capability. If you can find any others that can, let me know.

The HD format standard is NOT just one format.
Fox TV broadcasts in High resolutiontv which is the lowest quality of the HD strandard
There is 720 and 1030 and 1080.
Obviously, the 1080 is better quality but not everything is shot, transferred, or broadcast in 1080.

Fox's High Resolution Digital TV is actually a 480p signal, which is not even High Definition. This is an Enhanced Definition signal which is a subset of DTV (Digital TV). HDTV and EDTV are subsets of DTV. DTV resolutions can go as low as 480i.

It's hard to say what's better: 1080i or 720p?
First, let's go back to why there are two of these. When the High Definition signal standard was created around 14 years ago, there were only CRT TV's around. Only CRT's can display interlaced content and so they went with 1920 x 1080i. But as new display technologies emerged (Plasma, LCD, DLP, etc.) they needed to compensate for these fixed-pixel displays, which can only display progressive content. So 720p is kind of the progressive equivalent to 1080i....but not exactly.

1080i is superb for still images, but high motion content is where 1080i has problems. High motion scenes have a pixelated blurring effect.
720p is great for these high motion scenes but doesn't have quite as much quality as 1080i when dealing with still images.

CBS, NBC, the WB, and PBS all broadcast in 1080i while ABC uses 720p. Fox is currenty using 480p but will switch over to 720p programming within the year.

1080p is also starting to emerge. Terminator 2 and some other DVDs include an HDTV 1080p stream in Windows Media 9 format which can be rendered on a top notch PC. LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) is a new type of display technology that can display 1080p, and I read somewhere that Samsung is making a huge plasma TV that has enough pixels to do 1080p.

My advice on picking a TV:
1.) If you can manage with a 30" or 34" 16:9 direct-view CRT, then that's your best bet. I have a 38" RCA with a built-in DirecTV/Antenna HDTV tuner. They don't make this set anymore, but if you can find one then that would be cool.
2.) If you need bigger, go with DLP (front or rear projection). With the new HD2+ chip by Texas Instruments, this will be the closest you're gonna get to the amazing contrast levels of typical CRTs.
3.) LCoS is too expensive right now and nobody is broadcasting in 1080p.
4.) If you need to be able to hang it on a wall, I'd go with plasma over LCD but here are some facts: Plasma gives a lot better color than LCD. Both have the problem with dead pixels. Plasma can have picture burn-in's, but LCD does not. Life span on plasmas usually depends on brand, but most last around 25,000 hours (CRTs also last around 25,000 hours). Make sure you don't put the contrast level too high otherwise the life-span will be shorter. If you're looking for plasma, the new Pioneer plasmas at Best Buy are the first plasma sets to refresh at 72hz rather than 60Hz and those sets also have the best scaler I've seen on a plasma.
5.) I'm not a fan of CRT projection. The convergence problems due to the seperate red, green, and blue guns always annoy me. Screen burn-in's are the most dramatic on these TV's. The only advantage of these TV's is you get a great price for a big TV.

I'm sure you've all probably fallen asleep by now by reading this boring jargon, so I'll stop now.

[pyrohydra]

Ste:

Thanks! That's some good info there. I actually decided to hold off on the HDTV purchase for the time being. I think I'm settling on the DLP front projectors. However I would need to buy a house first . Maybe by the time I get one the 1080 projectors will be "reasonable".

[Guest]

The HD format standard is NOT just one format.
Fox TV broadcasts in High resolutiontv which is the lowest quality of the HD strandard
There is 720 and 1030 and 1080.
Obviously, the 1080 is better quality but not everything is shot, transferred, or broadcast in 1080.

thing to note when thinking about buying an HD set. The plasma sets are usually the most hype an dhave the most models BUT the life span of a plasma tv is 5 years. LCD is THE way to go. Projection is also a wonderful selection. Tubes are getting better but people seem to equate the 16x9 as small and feel they HAVE to go larger and the tube sets are just not as large right now.

Also, look into the types of inputs your potential set has. DVI is slowing gaining attention and with satellite tv, this may be the best method.

Just my 2 cents

Do you have any info or links on where that figure was derived?

[XrayDuke]

I have a Hitachi 32" CRT and it will do 480p and 1080i. 720p is converted to 1080i.