Quote Originally Posted by quickdodgeŽ View Post
Knowing that a 1080p TV is better than a 1080i, is a TV that is rated at 720p better than one at 1080i? I have a 1080i TV that seems to be really acting up on me and may need to grab a new TV. I've seen some that are said to show at 720p. Would this be a better picture than 1080i?

Thanks. Later, QD.
Well my old school friend, A 720p signal is made up of 720 horizontal lines. Each frame is displayed in its entirety on-screen for 1/30th of a second. This is know as progressive scan (hence the 'p')The quality is like watching 30 photographic images a second on TV. A 1080i signal comprises 1080 horizontal lines but all the lines are not displayed on-screen simultaneously. Instead, they are interlaced (hence the 'i'), ie every other lines is displayed for 1/60th of a second and then the alternate lines are displayed for 1/60th of a second. So, the frame rate is still 30 frames per second, but each frame is split into two fields, which your brain then puts together subconsciously.Most of the time interlacing works fine, but for fast moving images, such as sports like baseball and hockey it can cause problems which manifest themselves as a 'stepping' effect on-screen. Progressive scan signals don't have this problem and so are better suited to sports.

A television that is rated for 720P can also play 1080i so that should not be a problem for you. Its just their progressive rating scan... but a 720P cannot play a 1080p which is 1080 horizontal lines all at the same instance.

Hope this helped