[F16 1UB]

If you're watching your conventional 27 color tv, ho hum, you would not believe the difference in clarity with a new HDTV 1080P. If you're in the market make sure you get a tv with the 1080P. All indications are the prices will drop dramtically Jan 08. We had to buy now because of an indellible mark in the lower right hand corner that was driving me nuts. LMN

Steve

[ripwho]

I hope your right about the price drop!! hold out til after the holidays .. I have a friend who reads up on all this tv (not TV!) stuff.. he's telling me go 1080.....

[F16 1UB]

My friend told me the same thing about the 1080. Maybe some local techeys on here could enlighten us about the operation without writing a book.

Steve

[DickY]

Since I got my HDTV last year I rarely watch anything that is not HD. Discovery Channel HD programming is fabulous. A lot of info can be found on CNET.com. Here is a quick thing on the two 1080 types from CNET.

Resolution, or picture detail, is the main reason why HDTV programs look so good. The standard-definition programming most of us watch today has at most 480 visible lines of detail, whereas HDTV has as many as 1,080. HDTV looks sharper and clearer than regular TV by a wide margin, especially on big-screen televisions. It actually comes in two different resolutions, called 1080i and 720p. One is not necessarily better than the other; 1080i has more lines and pixels, but 720p is a progressive-scan format that should deliver a smoother image that stays sharper during motion. Another format is also becoming better known: 1080p, which combines the superior resolution of 1080i with the progressive-scan smoothness of 720p. True 1080p content is scarce outside of Blu-ray, HD DVD and the latest video games, however, and none of the major networks has announced 1080p broadcasts.

[rdkent]

Steve:
Without writing a book - a tv picture is made up of a lot of lines scanning across the screen. The set of line that make up a complete image are called a frame. Resolution is defined by the number of horizontal lines displayed to make up each frame. Standare tv resolution uses 480 lines for each frame. HDTV uses either 720 or 1080 lines to make each frame. The "i" refers to interlacing. That refers to whether each of those frames contains all the lines of image or every other line. Interlaced signals take every other line from 2 frames, each lasting 1/60th of a second, and combine them into one frame lasting 1/30th of a second. Tricks your eye into thinking it's seeing twice the resolution actually displayed. In non-interlaced video, called progressive scan (or "p") frames are displayed every 1/60 second containing all of the lines of video. Most HDTV's now are 720p or 1080i, and 1080p is becoming more common. For the average viewer (like me) it is hard to really see the difference between the 3. Kind of like my hearing inability to really appreciate the difference between a $500 stereo system and a $5000 system. There is no doubt, however, that you can really see the difference between standard tv and HDTV. Hope this helps without TOO much detail.

Ron

[F16 1UB]

Thanks Ron & DickY

I knew someone would come through for me. Now what's a good stock to buy?

Steve

[rdkent]

Steve:

If I had the answer to that I would be sitting in TV loving it instead of sitting in northern Missouri sweating the stock market and hoping like hell I can retire in 3-4 yrs.

Ron

[Villages Kahuna]

There isn't any HD programming broadcast over-the-air, on cable or satellite that has 1080 horizontal lines of resolution. The most currently available from any broadcast source is 720 lines. That is what you're seeing when you watch High Definition, and I agree it is glorious!

The only 1080 input available is from DVD's created with that level of definition. Not all movies are--in fact, very few movies available for rent, other than the very newest, are created with 1080 lines. The worst part of the 1080 movie DVD's is that you will have to make a decision which DVD player to purchase--an HDTV or Blue Ray. There are some heavy hitter movie and hardware companies supporting each format and the market determination of which will prevail is far from being resolved. Because DVD players for either format cost about $1,000, it's a roll of the dice to buy one and bet that you picked the "right" format. If you pick one format, you won't be able to watch movies created with the other format. New movies are typically produced in one or the other formats, not both. So your selection of 1080 line "content" is even further limited.

In the meantime, the electronics retailers are making a big deal out of the "1080 sets" without telling buyers that they really have a very small selection of programming available in 1080, and to see anything in 1080 requires another $1,000 investment in one or the other DVD player formats.

You get the best picture currently avaialble with any newer TV that claims HD capability in 720 lines because that's really the maximum currently being broadcast. I'm not aware that any broadcast, cable or satellite provider is even thinking about providing 1080 resolution. It simply takes way more bandwidth than any of them have been authorized to use by the FCC.

Will the HDTV/Blue Ray competition be resolved soon? Will the cable companies or satellite providers broadcast in anything more than 720 lines soon? It's unlikely that answers to either question will be known before any 720 line set you buy is worn out. If you have no intention of rolling the dice on a $1,000 HDTV or Blue Ray DVD player, save your money and buy a High Definition TV set capable of displaying 720 lines of resolution. That's the most currently available. And you will find the picture magnificent!

[F16 1UB]

Hey Kahuna,

Again thanks for the info albeit a little late but anyone else could surely benefit from this. I can't imagine an even greater picture than what I'm watching now if/when the networks televise in 1080. WOW! I was taken back when I saw ESPN2 in HD and the 2 narrators looked as though I could have touched them. Then a reality check was made when I changed the channel back to Lifetime Movie Network. Did I mention I love my wife? :bow:

Steve

[Villages Kahuna]

If you want to see how much better "real" 1080 is, go to any of the big box electronics stores and ask them to show you a 1080i set hooked up to a Blue Ray DVD player playing a Blue Ray encoded movie. You can stand 2-feet in front of a 40-inch screen and not even see a pixel the definition is so great! Not that 720p on a new HD set is bad; it's just that 1080 is unbelievable!

But again, a new 720 set will probably wear out before the broadcast channels, cable or satellites provide a 1080 signal. A good example is the local Comcast programming. They have a lot fewer of the digital features available in TV than even in other parts of the country ("On Demand", phone service, etc.). Their explanation is, "we let the infrastructure fall so far behind that we need to upgrade it before any of those features are available here." If that's the case, you might only imagine how long it will be before they invest to provide the necessary bandwidth capacity for a 1080 resolution signal.

[Reggie]

I'm not sure what Comcast offers but Mediacom in northern Florida at least offers quite a few channels of HD in 1080i (interlaced) format.

[SteveFromNY]

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

There isn't any HD programming broadcast over-the-air, on cable or satellite that has 1080 horizontal lines of resolution. The most currently available from any broadcast source is 720 lines. That is what you're seeing when you watch High Definition, and I agree it is glorious!

The only 1080 input available is from DVD's created with that level of definition. Not all movies are--in fact, very few movies available for rent, other than the very newest, are created with 1080 lines.

Kahuna,

I think you may be confusing 1080i and 1080p. What I read tells me that 1080i is broadcast as an HD signal. My cable box lights up with which resolution it's receiving, and it does light up as both 720p and 1080i depending on the station and the show. 1080p is only available on BluRay and HD-DVD formats, but the HD-DVD players as of today only play 1080i. If you want to see a 1080p show, you need to watch a BluRay disk.

I recently purchased a DVD player that "up-converts" the normal DVD picture to 1080i and runs it thru my HDMI input on the receiver. That made a pretty visible improvement to the normally very clear DVD picture. It cost about $100 in March, and they are now cheaper.

Regards,
Steve

[rdkent]

Steve from NY

My HDTV both show 720p and 1080i reception.

Ron

[Villages Kahuna]

Maybe everyone posting above are correct with regard to "the 1080's". The format that is generally accepted as "the best" is 1080p because of the alignment of it's screen refresh rate with the source of the signal, resulting in a less "jerky" picture. It's the 1080p format that uses tremendous amounts of bandwidth and is unlikely to be broadcast anytime soon. But posters above are correct in noting that a few stations are providing a signal in the 1080i format, which is more manageable as far as bandwidth is concerned.

I should have been more specific. Check out the following C-Net article explaining the differences between 1080i and 1080p.

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

[LG]

Originally Posted by rdkent

Steve:
Without writing a book - a tv picture is made up of a lot of lines scanning across the screen. The set of line that make up a complete image are called a frame. Resolution is defined by the number of horizontal lines displayed to make up each frame. Standare tv resolution uses 480 lines for each frame. HDTV uses either 720 or 1080 lines to make each frame. The "i" refers to interlacing. That refers to whether each of those frames contains all the lines of image or every other line. Interlaced signals take every other line from 2 frames, each lasting 1/60th of a second, and combine them into one frame lasting 1/30th of a second. Tricks your eye into thinking it's seeing twice the resolution actually displayed. In non-interlaced video, called progressive scan (or "p") frames are displayed every 1/60 second containing all of the lines of video. Most HDTV's now are 720p or 1080i, and 1080p is becoming more common. For the average viewer (like me) it is hard to really see the difference between the 3. Kind of like my hearing inability to really appreciate the difference between a $500 stereo system and a $5000 system. There is no doubt, however, that you can really see the difference between standard tv and HDTV. Hope this helps without TOO much detail.

Ron

Thanks.. Now I know what i just purchased. Can't wait to install it as soon as I get a crane to remove my old 32" 130# monster.