1080p Vs. 720p Hdtv To Pc Connectivity – Major Difference?
I know that the difference between 1080p and 720p is subtle when it comes to video quality but I want to know in terms of a PC to HDTV connection, is there a major difference between 1080p and 720p LCD televisions? And if so what are the differences?
I want to use the LCD TV for gaming and graphic design. My PC supports HDMI output and I am looking at getting a 32 inch LCD.
Any help would be much appreciated,
Thanks,
Dru.
What’s so great about 1080p?
1080p resolution–which equates to 1,920×1,080 pixels–is the current Holy Grail of HDTV resolution. That’s because most 1080p HDTVs are capable of displaying every pixel of the highest-resolution HD broadcasts. They offer more than twice the resolution of step-down models, which are typically 1,366×768, 1,280×720, or 1,024×768. These days, HDTVs with any of those three of lower resolutions are typically called “720p.” Nobody wants to remember all those numbers, and “768p” doesn’t really roll off the tongue.
How much extra does a 1080p TV cost?
About two years ago, you had to pay a premium of about $1,000 to get a 1080p model at the same screen size as a “720p” set. In two years, the gap has closed somewhat, but in many cases, particularly when it comes to plasma, you have to pay significantly more for 1080p–usually anywhere from $500 to $800. Panasonic’s two 50-inch plasmas with antiglare screens are a good example. At Circuit City, the 1,366×768 (er, 720p) TH50PX77U costs $1,700 while the 1080p version, the TH50PZ77U, costs $2,500 (the two sets are otherwise nearly identical). The gap between same-size 720p and 1080p LCD TVs is typically narrower: at Amazon, the 1,366×768 Samsung LN-T4042H costs $400 less than its most affordable 1080p counterpart model, the LN-T4061F.
Why is 1080p theoretically better than 1080i?
1080i, the former king of the HDTV hill, actually boasts an identical 1,920×1,080 resolution but conveys the images in an interlaced format (the i in 1080i). In a tube-based television, otherwise known as a CRT, 1080i sources get “painted” on the screen sequentially: the odd-numbered lines of resolution appear on your screen first, followed by the even-numbered lines–all within 1/30 of a second. Progressive-scan formats such as 480p, 720p, and 1080p convey all of the lines of resolution sequentially in a single pass, which makes for a smoother, cleaner image, especially with sports and other motion-intensive content.
What content is available in 1080p?
Today’s high-def broadcasts are done in either 1080i or 720p, and there’s little or no chance they’ll jump to 1080p any time soon because of bandwidth issues. Even the much-vaunted high-def games on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 are usually 720p native (if not less), though they can be upscaled to 1080i or 1080p in the user settings of those consoles. Really, the only commercially available way to get true 1080p output–aside from hooking your PC to your HDTV–is to get a Blu-ray or HD DVD player. All Blu-ray players and some high-end HD DVD models support 1080p output, and–more importantly–the vast majority of discs are natively encoded at 1080p. .
What kinds of TV technologies offer 1080p resolution?
These days, everything but CRT (tube) TVs comes in 1080p versions. That means you can find 1080p-capable versions utilizing all fixed-pixel technologies, including microdisplays (DLP, LCoS, and LCD rear-projection/front-projection) and flat-panels (plasma and LCD). Of course, as specified above, more affordable entry-level models are still limited to 720p resolution. But whatever the resolution, all fixed-pixel (non-CRT) TVs are essentially progressive-scan technologies, so when the incoming source is interlaced (1080i, or even good old-fashioned 480i standard-definition), they convert it to progressive-scan for display. . At this point, I could just expand on that last point and specify that all fixed-pixel display TVs–all microdisplay rear-projection and all flat-panels–always display everything at their native resolution, which is all they can display. On a 720p TV, that means that all incoming video is displayed at 720p (or 768p, as the case may be); on a 1080p TV, all incoming video is displayed at 1080p. The process of converting resolution is called scaling–sometimes called upconverting or downconverting. A related factor is deinterlacing (see point no. 8, below). How well a TV does or does not handle both of these processes is a big factor in how desirable it is–and something that casual shoppers often overlook, since, compared to the screen size or resolution, it’s not as easy to show as a spec sheet bullet point.
I should probably put that whole previous paragraph in bold, though, because the message never seems to get through. So, at the risk of overkill, let’s restate it with specific resolutions:
What happens when you feed a 1080i signal to a 720p TV?
The 1080i signal is scaled, or downconverted, to 720p. Nearly all recent HDTVs are able to do this.
What happens when you feed a 1080p signal to 720p TV?
Assuming the TV can accept a 1080p signal, it will be scaled to 720p. But that caveat is important: many older 720p HDTVs–and yes, even some older 1080p models–cannot even accept 1080p signals at all, in which case you’ll get a blank screen. Thankfully, most newer HDTVs can accept 1080p signals.
What happens when you feed a 1080i signal to a 1080p TV
Yes there is a major difference. Visually, it may not be noticable at first, but when watching dvds, blu ray, or gaming, you will notice a huge difference. I garuntee you will regret buying 720 vs. 1080p. If you get 720, it is pointless to have a blu ray player because you will not get the advanced picture quality. If you are gaming, you will experience infirior quality because systems like the PS3 have blu ray games, only compatible with 1080p TVs. you can obviuosly still play on 720, it is just grainy.
To MARK, You sound like a 1080P Fanboy to me. Anyway, if you use HDTV 720P & Blu-ray player, you will get “HD picture” but not a Blu-ray picture. If you combine a HDTV 1080P & Blu-ray player, you will get “Blu-ray picture”. Hey @ least 720P is superior then 480P,1080i, & DVD. BIG DIFFERIENCE!