What exactly is "1080p", and why should I care?

[TABCON]

I hear everyone hear touting 1080p. That's fine, except I really don't have any idea how much visual difference there is between the 720 and 1080. I've only seen 720's. Since there are really no true 1080's to view right now (are there?), how is one supposed to make a decision?

More than that, can someone please explain to me what all this stuff means? If I don't have a 1080 in a year or so, will I be a loser? Will my wife leave me and my dogs bite me every day...will my dogs leave me?

Tabcon

 

[jonnythan]

There are plenty of displays with 1080 horizontal lines of resolution, and they display 1080i just fine.

1080i only shows 1/2 of the picture every 1/60th of a second. 1080p shows a full picture every 1/60th of a second, so you get twice as many actual pixels per second compared to 1080i.

720p and 1080p are ideally suited to fast motion, as in sports, because you get a more frames per second. 1080i has more detail than 720p but there may be blurring during fast action.

Anyway, as I understand it, there are no actual 1080p sources in existence at the moment, and I'm not really sure if there will be. I also think that no current sets can actually display 1080p programming, despite what the manufacturer claims.

 

[drzinc]

There are plenty of displays with 1080 horizontal lines of resolution, and they display 1080i just fine.

1080i only shows 1/2 of the picture every 1/60th of a second. 1080p shows a full picture every 1/60th of a second, so you get twice as many actual pixels per second compared to 1080i.

720p and 1080p are ideally suited to fast motion, as in sports, because you get a more frames per second. 1080i has more detail than 720p but there may be blurring during fast action.

Anyway, as I understand it, there are no actual 1080p sources in existence at the moment, and I'm not really sure if there will be. I also think that no current sets can actually display 1080p programming, despite what the manufacturer claims.

My set (JVC LT-40FH96) displays a 1080p picture when fed it. No one is broadcasting 1080p at the moment or may never do, but if you are aware that both of the HD dvd formats will output 1080p. I run my computer through this set at 1920x1080 for games and its jaw dropping during a driving game for instance.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I hear everyone hear touting 1080p. That's fine, except I really don't have any idea how much visual difference there is between the 720 and 1080. I've only seen 720's. Since there are really no true 1080's to view right now (are there?), how is one supposed to make a decision?

More than that, can someone please explain to me what all this stuff means? If I don't have a 1080 in a year or so, will I be a loser? Will my wife leave me and my dogs bite me every day...will my dogs leave me?

Tabcon

No, your wife and dog will not leave you even with 480p DVD playing

But, since the new HD DVD formats are about to happen, I saw one already for sale at 1Call, why buy a projector of a lesser quality for more $$$. I doubt you would be upgrading anytime soon to the higher format. Yes, choices and more choices

 

[rupertoooo]

In Laymans term the bigger the display, typically front screen projection, the bigger advantage 1080P will provide, its all about resolution.

 

[clayman88]

I hear everyone hear touting 1080p. That's fine, except I really don't have any idea how much visual difference there is between the 720 and 1080. I've only seen 720's. Since there are really no true 1080's to view right now (are there?), how is one supposed to make a decision?

More than that, can someone please explain to me what all this stuff means? If I don't have a 1080 in a year or so, will I be a loser? Will my wife leave me and my dogs bite me every day...will my dogs leave me?

Tabcon

There is literally dozens upon dozens of threads exhaustively covering this exact topic. There is also a wealth of information on this topic under the A/V Education section. No need to create another thread.

 

[Herr D]

PS3 in 1080P

An if you're a bit of a gamer like myself, it's worth noting that the PS3 should feed a 1080p signal to your screen. That's what Sony says anyway.

 

[TABCON]

That sounds great.

Is there an such thing as wireless game controllers?

Tabcon

 

[soundsfine]

Make sure not to confuse 1080p (a transmission standard) with resolution either.

To display 1080i without scaling you also need 1920x1080 native resolution. So, even if we never get 1080p broadcasts, there are already a number of 1080i broadcasts and they require the same resolution as 1080p.