1080i v.s. 1080p

[The sound guy]

My Pioneer Elite PRO-1130HD 50 inch plasma display system has 1080i resolution and my seating distance is about 15ft away.

It's always exciting to get the latest equipment, like the new 50 inch Pioneer Elite that supports 1080p resolution, but with my given seating distance, would I really see much difference when watchiong HD or Blue-Ray movies?

I'm currently very happy with the sharp resolution I already have and wanted to know if I would be happier yet by upgrading?

Thanks for this 'families' advise.

 

[1tribeca]

At 15ft...good grief no! Don't waste you're money. You'd be hard pressed to notice a diff between 720p & 1080i at that distance. Especially with a Pioneer panel...the best right out of the gate...enjoy!

Far too much emphasis put on "1080p" "1080i" "720p" blah, blah...a huge component of PQ is video processing & proper colour/brightness/contrast. The Pioneer panels (especially Elite) have a bead on all of these big time!

At the store where I work, everyday I see a Panansonic PZ750 (1080p) right beside a Pioneer PRO-1150HD (768p) and there's a HUGE difference. Everyone customer who comes in swears the Pio is 1080...not so. The Panny is a beauty, but no match for the lower-res Pioneer.

 

[evilkat]

The Pioneers are legends...and u really shouldn't see a diff between i and p on the set since the Pioneers are reputed to have excellent deinterlacers...

 

[allargon]

The Blu-Ray/HD DVD discs will appear slightly sharper--albeit barely from 15 ft away. At that screen size and seating distance, you can still tell the difference between 720p and standard definition. However, you likely can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080i/p. IMHO, even 720p displays benefit from Blu-Ray/HD DVD. You will have fewer artifacts than with upconverted SD DVD's. Moreover, you will be able to see some the extra detail afforded by HD DVD, etc. It won't be as apparent as on a 110" 1080p front projector. You will still notice the difference.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/

For the way less than the cost of upgrading to a new plasma, you could at least try both HD DVD (Toshiba A2/A3) and Blu-Ray (Playstation 3) for under $600. (If you do, please make sure to look at the higher tiered movies, e.g., Hot Fuzz, Pirates of the Caribbean, Apocalypto before saying high def optical makes no difference.)

============
Not to nitpick, but according to Home Theater Magazine, you have a 768p display.

Pioneer Elite PRO-1130HD is listed as 1280x768

http://www.hometheatermag.com/plasmadisplays/906pioneer1130/

 

[no. 5]

...has 1080i resolution...

For what it's worth, a plasma cannot be 1080i; current fixed pixel display are natively progressive.

 

[The sound guy]

Thanks for the help. I do have a question regarding the resolution though. Directly from my Pioneer brochure it states:
'Display scanning format: Has active vertical scanning lines of 720 progressive (720p), 1080 interlaced (1080i) or higher.'

Doesn't this mean the monitor is a 1080i?

Bob

 

[avaserfi]

The monitor will have a native resolution of 720p and will actually scale all incoming signals to 720p. All fixed pixel displays such as LCD and plasma have a native resolution and this is the only resolution they will display at.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Doesn't this mean the monitor is a 1080i?

Bob

That meas it will accept the signal only but display it in 720p.

For the time, this is all the Tv stations will be broadcasting, either 720p or in some cases 1080i.