Fixed pixel display's handling of 1080i signals

[PurdueRy]

When a fixed pixel display receives a 1080i signal is it converter to 720p(roughly) by the scaler and then displayed or is the 1080i signal scaled to 720i(roughly again) and updated in a interlaced fashion.

My confusion comes from the way fixed pixel displays display their image. They don't "refresh" like we are so used to seeing when interlacing and progressive scanning is explained.

I have always thought the case to be the first....but I just want to see if someone knows for sure.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I think it depends on the resolution and the scaler of the display. I'm assuming you're talking about a display with native 720p (or close) resolution. I've heard some people say that on their native 720p LCDs that 1080i content looks noticeably better, while others say on theirs it is notably worse or indistinguishable. I would guess this is due to the way the scaler handles it.

I think I recall that some scalers will actually take 1080i content, make it 540p, and then upscale it to 720p. Others might just immediately downconvert it to 720p. Not too sure if they might go 720i first.