480p/1080i but not 720p

[Vancouver]

Can you help? I figured when I bought my HDTV plasma that it would accept all HD signals. Apperently this is not so, because it will not show 720p and after checking my manual it said it only accepts 480p and 1080i.

So does this mean when I buy a good upscaling DVD player I should play it on 1080i? Somsone one said that my plasma is actually 768p, or something like that. Does that mean if I by a DVDO or sometype of video scaler like that I will be able to upscale to that and it would look better?

 

[BMXTRIX]

That is VERY weird! What plasma do you have? I know my plasma accepts all ATSC formats (1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i) I really haven't heard of any that don't accept 720p so people need to be warned for sure.

Remember, anything you see on screen has been transformed into 1365x768 resolution (wide XGA). It already uses an internal scaler to make everything fit that size. So, an outboard scaler likely won't make things better. I wouldn't spend money on an outboard scaler unless I could test it and return it if I wasn't happy with the results.

Very weird about your display and 720p though.

 

[Vancouver]

I thought it was wierd too. It is a Panasonic TH-42PX20 Plasma. It says HDTV right on it, but does not display 720p. The screen just goes all funny looking. Should I call panasonic? What should i do if they say "sorry it only accepts 480p and 1080i?

 

[DSMCasey]

My RCA HDTV that I bought in 2001 will not accept 720p either. Only 480p, 480i, and 1080i. It also only has one set of component video inputs. I contribute it to the age and price of my TV. But all being said it will be another couple of years before I upgrade it.

-Casey

P.S.- My RCA is a 52" RPTV not a plasma.

 

[Vancouver]

I can understand it if your TV is old, but my TV is a 6th generation Plasma

 

[HookedOnSound]

I checked the Panasonice web site and according to the features described about their plasmas it looks like it should support 720p.

http://www.panasonic.ca/English/audiovideo/plasma/features.asp

Hope this helps.

 

[DSMCasey]

I found this under the description of your TV on the panasonic Website:

480p/1080i (720p via PC input only)



-Case

 

[Vancouver]

would PC input also include HDMI?

 

[docferdie]

Unfortunately for you the HDTV logo only requires that "high definition televisions" have a "vertical resolution from 720p to 1080i"
Your TV has a native resolution of 1024x768p. By accepting a 1080i image and scaling it to 768p the manufacturer has complied with the FCC definition of HDTV.
Tough luck. Buyers beware.

 

[Vancouver]

720p can't be scalled to 768p? wouldnt 768p be a better picture then 720p?How will I ever get 768p on my tv then? through an external scaller?

 

[BMXTRIX]

720p is 720p - it is 1280 pixels by 720 pixels. How do you make that fit cleanly into 1024x768 pixels? The answer is you do a lot of math and hope the answer is really nice to look at. Fortunately, it is commonplace now to do this conversion so yes, it looks really nice from most manufacturers - including (especially?) Panasonic. But, the BEST possible way really to view 720p is with a display that is 1280x720 pixels exactly. A lot of DLP and LCD technology is exactly that resoultion, and they look awesome.

Anyway, re-read your owners manual and you may need to hook up your HD recevier to the PC input on your plasma. Check out a 720p broadcast, and also look at 1080i HDTV and 480i SDTV to see how it looks through the PC input. It really, REALLY sucks that your display does not support all ATSC standard formats across any component/HDMI input.

 

[docferdie]

I looked through his owner's manual and he is out of luck as his TV really does not support 1280x720p as a valid input signal--they actually enumerate the valid resolutions for each input and 720p was not one of them--sort of how early samsung DLPs had a separate component input for 480i/p and 720p/1080i.

As far as viewing 720p programming most set top boxes offer the option to scale to 1080i precisely for the reason that some TVs do not accept some resolutions.

It's not that bad for the most part. I have yet to see any sports event actually broadcast at 1280x720 p at 60 fps, so scaling to 1080i 30 fps won't be that horrible.

720p can't be scalled to 768p? wouldnt 768p be a better picture then 720p?How will I ever get 768p on my tv then? through an external scaller?

It can if the manufacturer included the necessary electronics--which for your set the manufacturer did not. All the images you see on your TV are 768p since that is native for you--unfortunately there is no programming that has a 768p resolution so you will like never be able to view any entertainment content with 1:1 pixel mapping. The theoretical best image for you to see is something with a resolution of 1024x768 and image aspect ratio of 16:9--Unfortunately no channel, DVD, HD-DVD, or video game has these specs so you are stuck to viewing rescaled images. That being said your TV can still look stunning when adjusted properly and viewed at the right distance.
What are you watching on your TV by the way and what input source is giving you these problems?

But, the BEST possible way really to view 720p is with a display that is 1280x720 pixels exactly. A lot of DLP and LCD technology is exactly that resoultion, and they look awesome.

As a side note I actually like some of the displays that have a native resolution of 1280x768 and square pixels as they accept 720p and offer the option of presenting the image without rescaling to 768p so you get 1x1 pixel mapping with black bars on the top and bottom. At the same time you have true XGA 1024x768 if you ever needed it for whatever reason. Unfortunately not all 1280x768p displays handle 720p content like this.

 

[Vancouver]

What are you watching on your TV by the way and what input source is giving you these problems?


As a side note I actually like some of the displays that have a native resolution of 1280x768 and square pixels as they accept 720p and offer the option of presenting the image without rescaling to 768p so you get 1x1 pixel mapping with black bars on the top and bottom. At the same time you have true XGA 1024x768 if you ever needed it for whatever reason. Unfortunately not all 1280x768p displays handle 720p content like this.

The only time I tried watching 720p was when using my XBOX as a source through component cables. The screen when black and white crazy line everhwere. I turned off the 720p setting on my xbox and it worked fine (as 480P)

Would an external scaller allow me to watch 720p with black bars around the picture? Do any DVD players or scallers like DVDO have a pc output? The only thing is the PC input is on the front of my tv and wouldn't look good to have something plugged into it all the time.

 

[docferdie]

Do any DVD players or scallers like DVDO have a pc output? The only thing is the PC input is on the front of my tv and wouldn't look good to have something plugged into it all the time.

The short answer is yes

http://www.copperbox.com/lite/popinfo.php?lc_code=ISCAN-HD&uneek=234957974

But do you really want to spend 1200 dollars just to run your xbox at 720p? If I remember correctly the only games that support 720p worth playing are soul calibur and x-men legends. As it is some games have trouble running at a steady 60 fps at 480p. Because your TV has non-square pixels, I really wouldn't recommend using it with an HTPC either--you would have to do too much tweaking to make things look right. Stick to 480p for DVDs and and the XBOX and use 1080i for TV programming. You'll get a lot more enjoyment that way.

 

[Vancouver]

Thank you for putting me at ease. when I buy the Denon 2901 that upscale would I be better off upscalling it to 1080i? or keeping it at 480p?

 

[docferdie]

keep it at 480p for stuff that is natively 480p--most movies. You can use 480i or 1080i for stuff that is 480i--concert DVDs--and see which suits your eye better.