help with info about 720p and 1080i when buying HDTV
 

I am looking to buy and HDTV and I noticed the models I am looking at are 720p but will play 1080i signals. should I be looking for a tv that is 1080i and not just 1080i compatible.

Well, it depends on what kind of tv you want.

There is not a huge difference in 720p and 1080i. Most of the current HD DLP/LCD sets have a native rez of 720 and they have to downscale the 1080i hd signal to 720p (fox, espn and abc broadcast in 720p though). My set downscales them and it still looks amazing.

Also, some new DLP sets are capable of 1080p, but you will pay a bit more.

BTW - As a side note if you get a tv with a 720 rez, alot of sat installers will tell you to set your sat receiver to 720p (or do it for you) since it is the native resolution of the tv.

Set it to 1080i FIRST and let the TV downscale the signal instead of the sat receiver. Most of the time, the tv will do a better job of downscaling. It is a VERY visible difference on 1080i broadcasts with my Sammy 61in DLP and Dish HD-DVR 942.

Just play around with it.

thanks for the info, the 1080p is too expensive for me right now so I will probably get and lcd\dlp with 720p

You will be happy with it...I dont regret my purchase at all.

My Sony GrandWega III has a native resolution of something like 780p. It downconverts/upconverts beautifully.

I'll bet on 768p.

i am now looking at the sony 50 inch 3lcd but the resolution is 1280 x 720 and I noticed the 55 inch has a resolution of 1366 x 768 and I was wondering how much of a difference this makes.

I would bet its not a noticeable difference.

A PC will more easily sync with the 1366x768 res. If you plan on using an HTPC, this can be good. But if not, the 1280x720 is native HDTV. So you wouldn't have to let the TV scale it a few pixels if using a standard HD cable/sat/OTA box (or upscaling DVDp), which can be good.

Interestingly, it seems that Macs don't do the 768 very well (never have), 720 would be better for using a Mini or other Mac as an HTPC. I have a feeling the next mini, with Apple's new software, will be a killer HTPC. Tiny, capable, solid, etc.

thanks for all the info, I am hoping to pick up the 50 in Sony a10 within the next week.

Is there going to be a huge difference between 1080i and 1080p? I have a 12% off coupon for Best Buy This weekend and I can probably get a 61" 1080i DLP set for under $3000. I'm looking online and the 1080p versions (Best Buy doesn't have any) are at least $1000 more. Is it worth the premium? Is 1080p going to be necessary for blu-ray DVD's? Sorry about all the questions, but I'm not too good with all this stuff. I stopped over at avsforums and my head almost exploded! Thanks

Same as the difference between 480i and 480p. I would call it huge. But it's pretty early for 1080p. I personally wouldn't buy one right now unless the TV can actually accept a 1080p signal over HDMI, most cannot. It's kinda silly, really, that they can't do this. But it requires a lot of bandwidth and they put out the TVs as soon as they could get LCD/DLP chips in 1080p and didn't wait for the processors to catch up.

1080p will not be NECESSARY for BD (HDTV won't even be necessary), but it may end up being preferred.

Oh, and there's no such thing as a 1080i DLP set. They are either 720p or 1080p.

Thanks for the heads up and info. Don't know where I got the 1080i thing from, since the little signs at the store has pixels instead. I'm assuming 1280x720 is 720p and 1920x1080 is 1080p? They did have a Sony 60" 1080p there. Of course it was $5000 :( I think I may wait a little while now.

DLP/LCDs are always progressive. So if the signs are correct and it is a DLP, they would be 720p or 1080p.

When reading specs and signs (since marketers like to lie), you also have to be careful about input and output resolution. DLP/LCD have only one possible output resolution, and that's what we've been talking about here. But the signs could also be talking about input resolutions, and there would many of these. So if you see something that says a DLP is "1080i capable", that means it can input 1080i, but it will always convert it to its native progressive 720p or 1080p.

Here is a good article about 1080p...

http://netscape.com.com/4520-6449_7-6361600-1.html

So far, its a bunch of hype. Who knows if companies will actually produce DVDs and games in 1080p. It looks like its far off still.

I know Best Buy has a 37" WESTINGHOUSE LCD TV with 1080p for under $2000. I know the brand is nto well known, but some reviews have been favorable. I may pick up the 26" for a LCD monitor..whne the price is right.