Progressive scan (480P) Question
 

I searched for this topic, but didn't find my answer, if this has been discussed (answered) before please steer me to a link.

Most Progressive scan DVD players say that they are 480P. Okay - my question - My TV (I'm in Japan) has a 525P mode. What do the numbers mean? Will a 480P DVD player actually work correctly with a 525P TV?

Thanks in Advance.

It sounds like you have a PAL TV (525 lines of resolution) which I don't think will work with NTSC (US) DVD players.

Japan is an NTSC country. PAL has 576 lines of resolution, not 525. I'm not sure where that 525 number comes from.

The number stands for the lines of resolution and whether they are interlaced or progressive scan. NTSC DVDs are stored on disc in 480i format. When displayed in progressive scan, they are usually converted to 480p either by the DVD player or the television.

There are some television makers, such as Toshiba, that choose to display their progressive content as 540p. To achieve this they 'upscale' the image to that slightly higher resolution. 540 was chosen because it has something to do with sharing signal processing hardware with the HDTV's 1080i display capability.

I have never heard of 525p being used. Is this a new set of an older one?

IIRC, 480 refers to the number of visible scan lines, omitting the vertical blanking interval. When the VBI is included, NTSC does come out to be 525 lines.

Over the last few years, the 480 has become the standard was of referring to it.

Mr. Salty is right - the NTSC standard is 525 lines (625 for PAL), of which 480 are used for the actual pciture (576 for PAL)

Thanks
 

Okay, thanks much for your replies. The TV is 1 year old Sharp 28 inch and it is a 16 x 9 TV, so maybe this explains why 525 instead of 576. Yes - Japan is an NTSC country - most certainly. Anyway - thanksagain for your assistance, it seems like a 480 P progressive Scan DVD player will work just fine from what you all have said. I already have a Region 1 Player hooked to it, so I am absolutely certain that a USA DVD player works with it. Now I am considering getting a Region Free player so that I can play rental DVDs on the player. As it is now - I play region 2 DVDs on my computer and plug the computer into the TV - not a GREAT solution, but it does WORK! Anybody know about the reputability of zonefreedvd.com and their Sony DVP-NS715P for $369 (plus international shipping)?

Thanks again!
danwiz