On a 1080p LCD TV, should I send a 720p or 1080i signal into it?

[Albis]

I just set up my Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD and I don't know what I should be doing. I know the tv upconverts things to 1080p. Would it be better to have my HD Cable Box / Xbox 360 send a 720p or 1080i signal into the tv?

 

[DeviousTrap]

1080i.

 

[her209]

720p.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
1080i.

agree.

de-interlacing is better than scaling. Best bet is to try both with high action and high detail video and film to see which you like best.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: her209
720p.

720p > 1080i IMO.

but 1080p > all.

 

[Albis]

i was thinking 1080i would be easier to upconvert to 1080p than changing resolutions of a 720p signal --> 1080p

i guess i'll boot up some fast action video games to test out later

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman

Originally posted by: her209
720p.

720p > 1080i IMO.

but 1080p > all.

he has physicalyl 1920x1080 pixels on his set. scaling the 1280x720 pixels to 1920x1080 would require for every 2 pixels to translate into 3 on the set producing lowering the quality of the image by a decent bit(try running 1024x768 on a 1280x1024 monitor, the image is filled with artifacts and in general looks blurred out). De interlacing is just a more elegant solution than scaling.

In fact you an try this, download a 1024x768 wallpaper and runi t on a 1280x1024 monitor, look at how blurred and deformed it looks.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Albis
i was thinking 1080i would be easier to upconvert to 1080p than changing resolutions of a 720p signal --> 1080p

i guess i'll boot up some fast action video games to test out later

should be noticably better with 1080i

 

[lozina]

720p > 1080i

 

[Wag]

Yes, 720p is mistakenly seen as "downscaled" from 1080i, ie: inferior, which it's not.

The problem with certain 1080p displays is the cheapo scalers/deinterlacers they use. Just try either one for yourself and decide which is better.

I have a Samsung 720p DLP which has Firewire and I let the display do all the work. Looks excellent.

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: lozina
720p > 1080i

It doesn't matter that it is better...because in this situation, 1080i should work better for the OP.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Excelsior

Originally posted by: lozina
720p > 1080i

It doesn't matter that it is better...because in this situation, 1080i should work better for the OP.

Yep, the misinformation on video spewn about on ATOT is astounding.

 

[QED]

Despite what most here are saying, it really all depends.

Some people believe that, theoretically, 1080i "should" look "better" than 720p. Others believe the exact opposite.

But in reality, a large factor in this decision is the equipment you have.

If you have a really crappy cable or satellite box, you might be better off letting the cable box output in native mode instead of forcing it to always output 720p or 1080i.

In fact, even if you have a really nice cable box, this might be your best bet.

If your cable box or satellite box doesn't let you output in native mode, you might have to experiment to see which setting works best for you.

If you output 720p, then your cable box has to deinterlace 1080i material and scale down to 720 pixels wide, then your TV will scale it back to 1080 pixels wide. In other words, 1080i source material will not look as sharp as it could. However, 720p material will look its best in this mode.

If you output 1080i, then your cable box has to interlace 720p material, and scale it up to 1080 pixels wide, then your TV will deinterlace it. Hence, 720p material will not look as good as it could in this mode. However, 1080i material will be mostly unaffected.

Only you know what programs and channels are important to you, and hence what format you need to optimize for in case you are forced to decide between 1080i and 720p constant output.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: QED

But in reality, a large factor in this decision is the equipment you have.

If you have a really crappy cable or satellite box, you might be better off letting the cable box output in native mode instead of forcing it to always output 720p or 1080i.

In fact, even if you have a really nice cable box, this might be your best bet.

Good point. I didn't know cable set top boxes could output natively these days. I'll have to check mine out.

Motorola 6412 III

 

[QED]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: QED

But in reality, a large factor in this decision is the equipment you have.

If you have a really crappy cable or satellite box, you might be better off letting the cable box output in native mode instead of forcing it to always output 720p or 1080i.

In fact, even if you have a really nice cable box, this might be your best bet.

Good point. I didn't know cable set top boxes could output natively these days. I'll have to check mine out.

Motorola 6412 III

That's the Motorola DVR, right?

I don't think they do-- at least not with the firmware I currently have... that's actually one of the things that is tops on my wishlist for these things.

 

[Wag]

Originally posted by: QED
That's the Motorola DVR, right?

I don't think they do-- at least not with the firmware I currently have... that's actually one of the things that is tops on my wishlist for these things.

None of the current Motorola HD/DVR boxes output native HD signals, they all output at a set resolution, except over Firewire- it's been that way for years.

 

[Albis]

my hd dvr box is the scientific atlanta and it allows me to choose 720p and 1080i outputs at the same time. does that mean the box will output channels that are in 720p in 720p and channels that are 1080i in 1080i?