To tell you the truth, my old 1080i Mutt brand bought on a Black Friday sale had a more choppy image than my basement's Old Sony SD. That was Comcast and Dish (sorry never subbed to DirecTV) Now my Samsung 1080p gets a better image on 1080i (with Dish) than the previous tv, which is now in my bedroom. With Comcast, which I get locals with, it gets a really nice picture with 720p as well via FOX MLB and NFL games. Basically, I believe the TV has something to do with it as well. But, I'm not at strong with the tech side of things and you guys could blow me out of the water with tech information. I'm just going by what I notice.