720p or 1080i

[jaz33]

Hi, first of all I would like to say what a great forum with some equally great advice.

Ok, I've now plunged into the HD revolution and purchased a 42" JVC superslim 1080p HDTV. I have had the V+ box since before Xmas and have had no problems at all with. Could someone advise me on what setting I need to set the V+ box to: 720p or 1080i for a full HDTV. I have tried both and they look similar although it is difficult to tell because you can't keep a still image up on the TV while changing the settings.

Thanks in anticipation.

Ian

[Nikesh]

1080i is full HD, but a lot of people on here say that the V+ looks better on their TV with the 720p setting. It's up to you really, if it doesn't make much difference I would have it on 1080i.

[Stuart W]

1080i = 1920 x 1080 pixels
i stands for interlaced, which means the screen draws all the odd lines then all the even lines 30 times a second.

720p = 1280 x 720 pixels
p stands for progressive, which means the screen draws the whole picture 60 times a second.

Guess who's looking forward to 1080p broadcasting :p

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Originally Posted by Stuart W

1080i = 1920 x 1080 pixels
i stands for interlaced, which means the screen draws all the odd lines then all the even lines 30 times a second.

In the same way as a CRT does but the CRT obviously has fewer lines

---------- Post added at 13:24 ---------- Previous post was at 13:23 ----------

Originally Posted by Stuart W

Guess who's looking forward to 1080p broadcasting :p

You might get your pension first, given how long HD has been around and we're still just playing with it in this country

[harmitage]

I've read that 720p is better for programs with lot of movement, e.g. football but 1080i is better for picture quality dependent programs, e.g. nature programs.

I've switched between both but like you can't really distinguish.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by Nikesh

1080i is full HD, but a lot of people on here say that the V+ looks better on their TV with the 720p setting. It's up to you really, if it doesn't make much difference I would have it on 1080i.

1080i isn't really full HD as it is interlaced. 1080p is the only thing to full classed as Full HD.

I personally think that 720p looks better on my TV as the menus look good. At 1080i the menus looks really bad.

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Originally Posted by DarthYoda

1080i isn't really full HD as it is interlaced. 1080p is the only thing to full classed as Full HD.

I personally think that 720p looks better on my TV as the menus look good. At 1080i the menus looks really bad.

interlaced will always look worse for computer generated screens, like menus. However interlaced is based upon the fact that the human eye doesnt notice the refresh of only alternate lines in each scan if the scan rate is high enough. So yes progresive with fewer lines will look better on computer generated images, however on standard video the eye shouldnt notice to much difference with interlaced.

[Tali]

On my TV I think that 1080i gives a very slightly better picture, but the menus and on screen displays are really blurred so have it on 720p. It's all down to personal choice.

[SB_07]

I use 720p.

[Matt D]

Broadcast HD content is 1080i.

1080i / 720p on the box... depends on which is better at scaling - the STB or the TV...

My TV's native resolution is 1366*768.

If I set my Sky HD box to 1080i (matching the actual content), then my TV has to downscale to 768 & deinterlace.

If I set my Sky HD box to 720p (closer to my TV's res.), then my STB has to downscale to 720 & deinterlace... and then my TV has to upscale slightly from 720p to 768p.

To me... 1080i looks better.



But this really is, as already said, personal preference. The best setting is the one which you feel looks best

Originally Posted by Nikesh

1080i is full HD, but a lot of people on here say that the V+ looks better on their TV with the 720p setting. It's up to you really, if it doesn't make much difference I would have it on 1080i.

1080p is full HD

Originally Posted by Stuart W

1080i = 1920 x 1080 pixels
i stands for interlaced, which means the screen draws all the odd lines then all the even lines 30 times a second.

720p = 1280 x 720 pixels
p stands for progressive, which means the screen draws the whole picture 60 times a second.

Guess who's looking forward to 1080p broadcasting :p

Guess who's reading specs for the US.

In the UK the frame rate is 25Hz not 30Hz, and progressive is 50Hz not 60Hz.

[jaz33]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll keep trying them both to see if their is a noticeable difference. Might get a PS3 to find out how true HD really looks LOL

[Begize]

I have ours on 720 rather than 720 wide or either of the 1080 settings.

I find the menus look blurred in 1080 and I can't see a big difference in the picture quality.

I also find that setting it to be "not wide" makes watching old 4:3 programmes better because I can use the TV's smart setting to fill the screen, rather than it going to wide on it's own and not allowing it to be changed.

I thought most of the HD content on Virgin, certainly BBC HD anyway, was recorded in 720p, so I guess I'm not missing much. It's only really Sky making use of 1080i at the moment.

As for the PS3 - yes, GTA4 looks stunning in 1080P

Originally Posted by Begize

I have ours on 720 rather than 720 wide or either of the 1080 settings.

I find the menus look blurred in 1080 and I can't see a big difference in the picture quality.

I also find that setting it to be "not wide" makes watching old 4:3 programmes better because I can use the TV's smart setting to fill the screen, rather than it going to wide on it's own and not allowing it to be changed.

I thought most of the HD content on Virgin, certainly BBC HD anyway, was recorded in 720p, so I guess I'm not missing much. It's only really Sky making use of 1080i at the moment.

As for the PS3 - yes, GTA4 looks stunning in 1080P

BBC HD is broadcast by the beeb as 1080i - nobody has used 720p yet.

[shawty]

Originally Posted by Begize

I have ours on 720 rather than 720 wide or either of the 1080 settings.

I find the menus look blurred in 1080 and I can't see a big difference in the picture quality.

I also find that setting it to be "not wide" makes watching old 4:3 programmes better because I can use the TV's smart setting to fill the screen, rather than it going to wide on it's own and not allowing it to be changed.

I thought most of the HD content on Virgin, certainly BBC HD anyway, was recorded in 720p, so I guess I'm not missing much. It's only really Sky making use of 1080i at the moment.

As for the PS3 - yes, GTA4 looks stunning in 1080P

As far as Im aware, GTA4 is upscaled to 1080p and not native anyway.