What can I play on my HDTV that is in 1080p, and is the higher resolution even worth it?

Question

1080p displays are the newest types of LCD displays on the market. Although broadcasters do not send a 1080p signal yet, the newest Blu-ray and HD DVD players do. If you want the highest possible picture detail and a display that will accommodate higher resolutions in the future, then the cost may be worth it.

Answer 1

TV stations will not send any 1080P signals out, the bandwidth requirements exceed the 6 Mhz bandwidth that the FCC allows per channel.

They can transmit 1080i, but cannot transmit 1080P signals due to this limitation.

But DVD players can send a 1080P signal...and if the demand exists in the Future....you may see 2160P.

Is there a REAL difference between 1080P and 1080i ?

You would have to Sit RIGHT ON TOP OF THE TV SET to actually see the difference.
Round objects are smoother/rounder on 1080P, of course it is limited by the FACT that all display panels use square pixels to create a round object...

So there are limitations to the roundness of objects anyways....

I would suggest SITTING BACK and enjoying the whole picture and letting our eyes process the "squared circles" into smooth round circles.
Persistance of vision is an amazing part of our human design.

Is it worth the money to get a 1080P TV set?
YES !

You have to understand that 1080P TV sets actually have a 1920 x 1080 display panel, rather than a 1280 x 768 display in them.

A 1080P TV set is actually HIGHER DEFINITION than ones that can only process 720P and 1080i.

Native resolution is a very important value, and that wonderful [[1080P]] sticker on most TV sets tell you that you have purchased the HIGHEST Native Resolution DISPLAY that you can get !!

Answer 2

This is an interesting questions which is really all based on situation and how you would like to use you TV.

Tehcnically the only difference between 1080I (interlaced) and 1080p (progressive) is simply a matter of how the image is displayed. The resolution of the image is technically the same being 1920 x 1080 pixels. The difference is 1080I is limited to 30 frames per second interlaced, (like a cartoon flip book) It essentially displayed the images very similar to flashing individual screens quickly specifically 30 frame every second.

Here is a more technical description of the differences between them. http://www.allformp3.com/dvd-faqs/38.htm

In reality though, since the resolution is the same, and only the method of display is different. If your sitting more than say 6 feet from your TV that is displaying progressive scan content, you will not see the difference because our (some claim otherwise) eyes cannot tell the difference in detail after little distance.

Progressive scan would be a better choice however if you are planning to use your large TV as a computer monitor. It would allow you to sit much closer to the TV and the resolution wouldn't suffer. Again though, I have a 46 inch TV at 1080p sitting about 8-10 feet away and the picture is idetnical when watching movies or playing games at that distance in either 1080i or P mode. Keep in mind when playing games, if the game doesn't support 1080p, you would never notice a difference even sittign 3 feet away, becuase all the TV would be doing toi upscaling to 1080p, which isn't really improving anything. Also consider that while the playstation 3 is the only real capable machine of displaying graphics at 1080p, there are no games currenty available that utilized 1080o, and if and when they do, it's a very resource intensive process so we'll likely never see such games in this generation.

Thinking about HDTV channels? Then consider my provider Verizon Fios only has 22 HDTV channels allof which broadcast at either 720P or 1080i, we have avery long time for broadcast TV to catchup to even displaying in HD to begin with, it'll be about decade before we start seeing 1080p television broadcasts in my option, so don't waste your money for now on 1080P tv's, unless of course your a tech buff who needs the best of the best gadgetry. Simply put, until we truly have more 1080i HDTV content,and let's not even talk about 1080p at this point, (not one channel is displayed in 1080p and won't be for a long time) It's just practical yet.

Regarding Blu Ray's and HDDVD's (I own both), again, I'm sitting back 8-10 feet, and watched spiderman 3 the other night. There was no determinable difference between 1080i and 1080p at that distance. It comes down to a matter of resolution and not how smooth the images are displayed, because I believe movies and TV is still broadcast at 24 frames per sec.

Hope it helps.

Answer 3

The XBox 360 Elite, but not the older XBox 360, Playstation 3, Blu-Ray, and HD-DVDs can all send a 1080p signal. However, some AVRs, like Onkyo's NR905 and SR875, can upscale all video signals to 1080p. I'm not sure of the capabilities of other new AVRs, I can only speak of the Onkyo products since I own one of their NR905 models. I know Denon has a new model that actually uses the HQV Realta processor, but that's an awfully expensive receiver. I know on my Onkyo, I can even take a 480i cable signal and upconvert it to a 1080p signal. However, do not expect that you can take an analog signal, like a 480i signal, upconvert to 1080p and have a hi-def picture...isn't going to happen. The picture will definitely improve, but it's not going to be anywhere near as good as a native 720p or 1080i signal. I have Direct TV with their HD package, and their non-HD channels are broadcast in 480p, while HD is 720p or 1080i. Upconverting the 480p signal to 1080p through the Onkyo improves the picture noticebly, but it's still not as good as the native HD broadcasts.

You also need to answer the question of whether or not you even really need 1080p. Most of the new HD tvs are 1080p sets, but realistically, if your screen size is anything less than 52 inches, you probably won't notice a difference unless you're standing about 2 feet away. The resolution you need is determined by screen size and your viewing distance to the set. 1080p is most noticeable on large sets, say 58 inches or better, but even then you're not likely to notice much of a difference. I have a 58 inch plasma and my viewing distance is 12 feet and I can't really tell much difference between 1080p and 1080i or 720p.

Answer 4

There are some games on the xbox 360 and playstation 3 that will support 1080p. Other then that blue ray and HD DVD are the only routes. Actual TV programs will not be in 1080p for many many years. I can tell you that because i work in the industry and 1080p just takes up way to much bandwidth, for the resolution to be cost effective to broadcast. I would say if your TV is between 50 and 100 inches I would say the cost may be worth it. Even 50 in is questionable. The main difference between 1080p and 1080i is that one is scan interlaced or you could say its scanned at 30hz as compared to 1080p which is scanned at 60 hz. Hz is a mesurement of frequency, so you could say 1080p has pixels scanned twice as fast. If you want the technical aspect of it. I personally have a 110 in Sony projector that displays 1080p and I will tell you that I can see a slight difference between 1080p and 1080i/720p. I also have a 42 panasonic plasma that has an awesome picture and I cannot tell the difference at all between 1080p vs 1080i/720p. My control for the test was a sony blu ray player connected with HDMI. I will tell you that what ever way you go whether it be the 1080p or the 1080i/720p you may want to invest in a blu ray player if you have a surround sound system. Blu ray sound is awesome. Oh and on a side note keep in mind you can set the settings on the blu ray player to what ever format your TV supports. 480i/480p/720p/1080i/1080p.

Answer 5

There will be no broadcast at 1080p in most of the worlds markets due to the 6MHz bandwidth limit of most HDTV spec's and their incorporation of the use of MPEG-2 in most standards. In fact, if we do upgrade the digital spec at some point (not sure it is really ever warranted), I'd predict it would be to QHD which works out to 2560 x 1440 or so. There will be technical demos at 4K/x2K in Japan in the next 5 years, but this means perhaps a decade beyond that for real use if ever. Buying a moderate sized 1080p LCD is not a worthwhile investment at this time as:


If you are watching a 42" TV, you will not be able to see the difference between a 720p and a 1080p display. Be careful with dealer demo's showing the virtues of 1080p, they are comparing the 1080p sharpness against conventional DVD resolution wich is 852x480 !!

Spatial resolution is not really at the top of the list of importance for TV use. Always #1 is real (not dynamic) contrast ratio. For TV/Movie viewing, I believe temporal resolution (how fast do the pixels switch) is #2 in priority.

In general, when speaking of LCD's, as you go up in spatial resolution, you loose performance in other dimensions (color gamut, switching speed, viewing angle...), I advise my friends looking at LCD TV's to buy a better quality 720p set and skip the cheapo 1080p sets. Resolution comes mostly for free when one speaks of LCD displays, color gamut, response time, luminous efficiency are much harder to improve. Spend your money on these parameters if you must buy an LCD. If higher performance becomes important, say in 5 years when Blu-Ray might have become pervasive, upgrade then, you'll spend less $ and have better and newer equipment.

Astrobuf

Answer 6

I personally own a 65" Panasonic plasma tv and use Direct TV dish with a HDTV tuner for watching television, and watch Blu-ray discs through my Sony Playstation 3. The high definition programming is awesome. The Blu-rays are absolutely outstanding. The picture quality is by far the best I have ever seen. The Direct TV tuner is 1080i, and the PS3 is 1080p with blu-ray and some of the games. One important thing to point out...Only use HDMI cables with components that will produce 1080p. Use component video for all others. There is a noticeable difference when connecting HDMI to cable boxes or dish tuners vs. connecting them with component cables. The component is much clearer and the colors do not blend.

After doing plenty of research, I came to the conclusion that plasma tv's are superior to lcd's as well as dlp's, also known as rear projection lcd's. I am able to watch a plasma screen from almost all angles, whereas lcd displays have a narrow viewing angle. There is no color bleed or color wash with the plasma. And there is zero lag with the plasma while playing games or watching tv or movies.

Here's some more info :
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/dlpvsplasmatv.html

Answer 7

I believe it's all about preference. Some people prefer to watch TV/Movies with a really sharp picture. It's no different than someone preferring a really fast car or the latest computer.

I just purchased an 1080p HDTV over the weekend and the picture is amazing. I think it was worth every penny. As the others said, the only time you're really going to get 1080p is with an HD/DVD, Xbox 360, PS3, or Blue-Ray. Other than that you're broadcasts are 1080i.

Personally I don't think you can tell a huge difference from 1080i and 1080p unless you have a large TV like 46" and above.

Answer 8

Key words: "Worth it?" This'll be different for each person. Consider
1. your vision (can you even see the difference?)
2. the size of the room and how far away you'll sit
3. the type of viewing (sitcoms, sports, nature, movies, gaming, etc) -- the higher the demand the better the display should be
4. cost ($5000 HDTV = 3hrs/day * 333 days/year * 5 years = $1/hr of viewing); first put $5000 in your 401-K or IRA, THEN buy the TV
5. because the price of electronics always drop, don't buy for future technology, buy for your immediate needs (btw, no one can say what's impossible in the future, I believe 1080p (and better) will EVENTUALLY be broadcasted in our lifetimes, maybe not in the lifetime of a TV bought today, say in 20-30 years?)
6. projected life of your HDTV. If you think you'll burn it out in a couple years, don't buy it thinking about technology that will come about in five years. Better yet, take care of it (hey, it cost you FIVE GRAND) and MAKE it last 15 years so you can put some money into retirement.

What can you play? Like many people already told you, XBox, PS-3, Blue-Ray, HD. But don't forget, more DVD players upconvert to 1080p so don't rule out lower (but not too much lower) resolutions.

Answer 9

At this time you are just getting ready, not much is in true 1080p beside some new movies and a couple games for Playstation 3. That is why when you go to a store to see Tv they all look the same because it is most likely broadcasting in 720p or 1080i. With 1080p being the future and Tv become a lot more "reasonable" I would say it is worth it.

Answer 10

Tehcnically the only difference between 1080I (interlaced) and 1080p (progressive) is simply a matter of how the image is displayed. The resolution of the image is technically the same being 1920 x 1080 pixels. The difference is 1080I is limited to 30 frames per second interlaced, (like a cartoon flip book) It essentially displayed the images very similar to flashing individual screens quickly specifically 30 frame every second.

Answer 11

Given that I usually keep my TVs for around 15-20 years or more ....

when I purchased my NEW Plasma HDTV This year -- I looked specifically at the features and what it contains -- PiP, PbP, HD, 1080p, the number of inputs, and their warranties -- including the weight of the item (since it will be either on a stand or mounted on the wall).

Given that I want to 'future proof' as much as possible -- I did get a new TV with that 1080p ... even though I do NOT use (or play) video games at all. I did also purchase an HD DVD player with the TV -- which has an "Upconvert" function -- to make my standard DVDs look 'better' (for lack of a better term) than standard DVD on my NEW HDTV.