I always thought the order from worst to best was: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. But is it actually the order: 480i, 480p, 1080i, 720p, and 1080p? I was confused about this. I had the 1080i and 1080p resolutions selected on my DirecTV. Should I change it to 720p and 1080p?
So is 720p actually better than 1080i?
- Thread starter edisonprime
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On my set ups I have 1080p, 1080i and 720p marked.
Remember, a progressive picture gives you the whole picture on the screen ... an interlaced one gives you only 1/2 the picture on the screen at a time but your eyes can't see the 1/2 picture most of the time, so you see the picture the way they want.
On most TVs it makes no difference, at least you won't see any. The idea that 720p is better for fast movement is great in theory but in practice the better resolution of 1080 is often better. I doubt that any of the providers using 720p would make the same choice if they had to do it again.
On your directv receiver, the optimum is in theory to set 720p, 1080i and 1080p, and set native to "on". Personally I set 1080i and 1080p and native to "off". There's no visible difference in the picture between the two on any of my three HDTVs, and native "off" gives you less handshaking between the receiver and the TV, so channel changes are quicker.
On your directv receiver, the optimum is in theory to set 720p, 1080i and 1080p, and set native to "on". Personally I set 1080i and 1080p and native to "off". There's no visible difference in the picture between the two on any of my three HDTVs, and native "off" gives you less handshaking between the receiver and the TV, so channel changes are quicker.
I'll challenge anyone to prove they see the difference in a double-blind test on a standard 42" TV sitting 6 feet away. However there are subtle differences especially if you are capturing the data stream and playing it back in slow motion.
720P is better for motion, sports, etc. Each and every shot is a still frame with all 720 line on the same frame/field.
1080i may have more total lines of resolution, but if you freeze-frame, you are only getting either 540 lines in a field, or if you capture the frame, you get two fields with pictures taken 1/60th of a second apart. If the fields are capturing fast motion it can cause jitter.
Right now ABC/ESPN and Fox broadcast in 720p, CBS and NBC are in 1080i.
720P is better for motion, sports, etc. Each and every shot is a still frame with all 720 line on the same frame/field.
1080i may have more total lines of resolution, but if you freeze-frame, you are only getting either 540 lines in a field, or if you capture the frame, you get two fields with pictures taken 1/60th of a second apart. If the fields are capturing fast motion it can cause jitter.
Right now ABC/ESPN and Fox broadcast in 720p, CBS and NBC are in 1080i.
Like I said. I'll challenge anyone who claims they can actually see the difference between 720p and 1080i on a standard 42" TV 6 feet away to prove it.
Keep in mind, the actual display will be in progressive mode at whatever resolution it was built. How well the signal gets processed into that rez means a lot. Sometimes your STB does it better, sometimes the TV does it better.
Man, can of worms.
If you want to set the DVR at one rez only, you need to know what resolutions your display best accepts for scaling/deinterlacing. In my case, I know my display is good at both, so I have the HR44 set to Native.
Most 1080p displays nowadays will do fine with 720p/1080i in and you wont see anything. As far as which is better in the same perfect situation, that isnt worth worrying about. Once again, how you set your box output should rely heavily on the performance of your display.
Some displays overscan ALL the time on 720p, and do not allow for 1:1 pixel mapping. That is effectively zooming. In that case, id send 1080i out all the time and let the display handle it to 1080p.
As far as broadcast 720p (ABC) vs 1080i (CBS), sometimes ABC looks good, sometimes it looks like crap. Same with CBS. How it is filmed or shot is out of your control so I would not even worry about that aspect of it.
If you want to set the DVR at one rez only, you need to know what resolutions your display best accepts for scaling/deinterlacing. In my case, I know my display is good at both, so I have the HR44 set to Native.
Most 1080p displays nowadays will do fine with 720p/1080i in and you wont see anything. As far as which is better in the same perfect situation, that isnt worth worrying about. Once again, how you set your box output should rely heavily on the performance of your display.
Some displays overscan ALL the time on 720p, and do not allow for 1:1 pixel mapping. That is effectively zooming. In that case, id send 1080i out all the time and let the display handle it to 1080p.
As far as broadcast 720p (ABC) vs 1080i (CBS), sometimes ABC looks good, sometimes it looks like crap. Same with CBS. How it is filmed or shot is out of your control so I would not even worry about that aspect of it.
who uses 42" tvs anymore 
but yes I agree very hard to tell a difference even in sports, I believe its all theories or should look better but in real world terms with real people you will not notice a difference. as for me I have 720p and 1080p marked, not 1080i.
but yes I agree very hard to tell a difference even in sports, I believe its all theories or should look better but in real world terms with real people you will not notice a difference. as for me I have 720p and 1080p marked, not 1080i.I'm just wondering if you or anyone else might know if there is any consensus here on how good the upscaling/conversion is on the Genie HR44, compared to an above-average TV these days. For capture purposes, I have been leaving it set to "Native" and capturing as-is. For viewing, I just match it to whatever TV I am using (I have a few Genie clients around the house).
You always hear that 720p is better for sports/motion and it makes sense because every line is refreshed in each frame instead of every other frame like 1080i. The resolution difference is actually pretty big between 720p's 1280x720 and 1080i's 1920x1080 though.
I'm using OTA instead of Directv but there is plenty of NFL football on OTA for me to make comparisons with. In my opinion NFL games look better on CBS and NBC than they do on Fox. That kind of flies in the face of the whole 720p is better for sports theory. Now maybe this is because I know CBS and NBC are higher resolution 1080i while Fox is lower resolution 720p and my mind is playing tricks on me. I think NBC and CBS handle motion just fine though even though they are interlaced.
I'm using OTA instead of Directv but there is plenty of NFL football on OTA for me to make comparisons with. In my opinion NFL games look better on CBS and NBC than they do on Fox. That kind of flies in the face of the whole 720p is better for sports theory. Now maybe this is because I know CBS and NBC are higher resolution 1080i while Fox is lower resolution 720p and my mind is playing tricks on me. I think NBC and CBS handle motion just fine though even though they are interlaced.
You can't do it that way because no 2 TV's are identical, no two are set up exactly the same.
Even in the Hi End A/V store I use, they have 5 salesmen and no two set up a TV the same, 1 likes it one way, the next another and so forth.
I have 2, 42" Pioneer Elite TV's one in a bedroom, one in another family room, my 60" PE is in the HT room.who uses 42" tvs anymore
That's definitely "wrong", because the DirecTv box does not convert 1080i to 1080p, so you are forcing 1080i signals to get converted to 720p....who uses 42" tvs anymore
On my 46" Samsung LCD TV, I have all the resolutions check-marked which sets the TV to 1080i on all HD channels on the STB which is an HR34 and I have the aspect ratio setting to "just scan" on the TV settings to make sure there is no overscan happening and that I can see the full picture. (Yes I am that picky). To me that makes the picture settings as perfect as perfect could be. That lets me know that if there's an issue with the picture that's it's either the channel or a particular show that does a lousy job with their HD picture.
Of course if I'm watching TV through OTA and I'm on a channel that's in 720p such as ABC or FOX, then the TV would overscan by default and I wouldn't be able to change it in the TV's settings.
Of course if I'm watching TV through OTA and I'm on a channel that's in 720p such as ABC or FOX, then the TV would overscan by default and I wouldn't be able to change it in the TV's settings.
It also largely depends on the encoders being used for each event being shot.
sec football on CBS has always looked fabulous to me, thats 1080i, howevr overall I still feel 720 is the way to go for Sports.
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