what is the difference in 480i and 480p in HDTV?

[rivierra]

what is the difference in 480i and 480p in HDTV? I know 480i is interlaced and 480p is progressive scanning.
do I have to have both scanning modes in my HDTV?
does Toshiba 34" HDTV (CW34X92) have 480p?

 

[Eagle17]

 

[greenmachine33]

Yes, 480i is 480 lines interlaced, 480p is 480 lines progressive. 480i is basically your standard NTSC resolution (720x480 or 704 visible).

There are many modes of HDTV, commonly found in table 53 of the ATSC spec (or annex A/53) --- if you want to get into it, www.atsc.org is the official copy of the ATSC (aka HDTV) (this document is public property and available to all) If I remember there were something close to 20 modes, but in reality the popular ones are 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. That's because I believe these are the only ones being actively broadcast in the U.S (not 100% sure on that)

So does your TV need all modes? If you want to see the high res modes (720p/1080i) in their full glory, you bet. But you also need a 16:9 widescreen TV for these. If your TV only has 480p, you'll need some kind of down-converter to watch that ... but downconverters can convert to plain NTSC as well, so I don't see the point. Also realize, that just because your TV can display a 1080i signal, doesn't mean it actually has 1080 lines :-(

If your DVD has a progressive scan out, and your TV can take progressive scan in, try watching DVD in 480p that might be quite nice. That's the native format of most commercial DVDs. Reality is there are not a lot of HDTV signals out there, and you need to be in a good geographic location with suitably pointed antenna to pick up the signal (IE rule out probably 95% of the US

I'm sorry I don't know about your particular model - this forum focuses on PC-related video more than on consumer, so I'm not sure if anyone will know. If it is the shape of a conventional TV, you're probably out of luck. If it's a widescreen, then probably you have lots of modes.