Buying a new tv, do i really need 1080p

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I Totally Agree about 60" and higher

by mmayer54 Dec 16, 2006 6:44AM PST

I have the Samsung 61" 1080p DLP and looking at the 720p models, I would have had to limit my purchase to a 50" to get the same sharpness & contrast. The 1080p chip has FOUR TIMES the contrast ratio (10,000 vs. 2500) which makes an even bigger difference to the eye than the resolution. I just got throught watching "Bugs of the Rainforest" on Discovery HD Theater and it looks abosoutely Spectacular!

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1080P upscaling is, in my opinion, awsome!

by Jenkins318 Sep 16, 2006 10:15AM PDT

I have recently purchased JVC's HD61FH96. The picture quality is astounding! It integrates with the rest of my JVC equipment seamlessly and the A/V syncro is very conveniant for my family. The receiver and TV switch sources automatically when there is a DVD playback started or a tape is inserted into the VCR. It's a must if you plan to have HD programming. Go to an Electronics Store, look at 1080P and 720P side by side and you be the judge.

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agreed

by bevillan Sep 19, 2006 3:34AM PDT

I agree that upscaled images to 1080p look better than 720p and 1080i...at least they did on the Sony and JVC LCoS 1080p TVs that I was looking at before I bought the Sony one. It might look less amazing on SD, but for HD broadcasts the upscaling to 1080p looks great.

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The pros & cons

by jholmes20 Sep 16, 2006 12:12PM PDT

You can wait and save a few hundred dollars and you will still be able to view most HD content out there(even blu-ray-just won't be at 1080p).

The other consideration is to pay the extra hundred which will support the current highest form of HI-Def video.

While there will most likely in the future be many advances, by purchasing a tv that only supports up to 1080i it will still be incapable supporting the 1080p format when more media does come out.

You at this moment probably don't "need" it, however if you are making a significant purchase like a HI-Def tv your are spending a large amount on something you most likely won't purchase again for a while. I personally hate it when I spend a lot only to find it won't do everything I would like.

The choice is yours.

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Buying a new tv, do i really need 1080p

by mtmurdock Sep 18, 2006 1:25PM PDT

Since "no one is broadcasting in 1080p and won't be for some time.", I think you won't need to pay more money for the feartures that you can't use it. If you prefer to use this TV for Home Entertainmen instead of normal TV programs, it's OK. Otherwise, don't throw your money out of the window.

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You don't need 1080P broadcast

by breslin Sep 19, 2006 7:45AM PDT

If a broadcast is 1080i a 1080P TV will de-interlace the signal and display a 1080P picture. I doubt that any body will ever broadcast in 1080P, it would take up twice as much bandwidth for no reason. This is also true of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray DVD.

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Bandwidth...

by Jenkins318 Sep 21, 2006 3:21PM PDT

That's what they said about ''High Speed Internet''...

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So here's a question then....

by firstindian Dec 21, 2006 1:44AM PST

I have a Toshiba LCD HD (32"). It supports 1080i and 720p. It is connected to my cable DVR box (a Motorola DCT3416). The cable box can be set to output SD at 480i or 480, so of course I set it to 480p. But HD can be set to output at 720p or 1080i. It cannot be set to pass through whatever is coming in. So, do I set it to 720p or 1080i? I am thinking that 720p is the better way to go, as I believe most broadcasters are using that format over 1080i, so most of the time, the cable box is not rescaling HD. But, am I then losing out on the 1080i broadcasts? Now, of course, I tried using both and judging with my eyes, and the 720p setting does vastly reduce the weirdness you get when there is fast motion.

So, once again, So, do I set it to 720p or 1080i?

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Which ever looks best

by breslin Dec 21, 2006 4:35AM PST

You are going to display in 720P since that is the native display of your TV. So, either the cable box or the TV has to scale the 1080i broadcasts to 720P. If the picture looks better with the cable box doing the scaling, rather than the TV, then go with the cable box.

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I am missing something then...

by firstindian Dec 21, 2006 6:57AM PST

My TV will support 720p or 1080i, so then why is 720P my TV's native resolution? Is it because it's an LED and has a limited number of pixels? Also, the cable box is always doing the scaling because it can't just pass through whatever the broadcast is. So, I have the following 4 combinations possible. I want to make the best choice for how to set the STB, as that is what will always be doing the conversion. Of course, I could always change it as needed, but that would be a pain. So, what's my best choice overall for the STB, 720P or 1080i?

Broadcast->STB->TV
720P->720P->720P Okay, no problem!
1080i->1080i->1080i Okay, no problem!
720P->1080i->1080i Okay???
1080i->720P->720P Okay???

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Yes, your LCD display is fixed at 1280x720

by breslin Dec 21, 2006 8:07AM PST

Your LCD will accept a 1080i input, but it will scale it to 720P to display it. Since anything other than 720P will need to be scaled, the question is, where to do the scaling.

If the broadcast is 720P, it's easy, output in 720P and no scaling is needed. If you set the cable receiver to output 1080i you would get the worst possible situation, you would scale a 720P broadcast to 1080i in the cable receiver, and then, scale it back to 720P in the TV. This we want to avoid.

If the broadcast is 1080i, it will need to be scaled, either in the cable receiver or the TV.

Since you can not set the cable receiver to output whatever the broadcast is, I would suggest setting the cable receiver to output 720P. At least then you would not needlessly scale 720P broadcasts.

If you want to compare the quality of the 1080i to 720P scaling between the cable receiver and the TV, you could find a 1080i broadcast and try it with the cable receiver set to 1080i output (which would then use the TV to scale to 720P), and then change the cable receiver to 720P output (which would do the scaling from 1080i to 720P in the cable receiver) and compare the picture. If you find that 1080i broadcasts look better when you set the cable receiver to 1080i you would have to decide if the improvement with 1080i broadcast justifies the likely degradation you would get by outputting 720P broadcasts at 1080i and then scaling them back to 720P in the TV.

In summary, unless the scaling in the cable receiver is poorly done it would seem best to output in 720P from the cable receiver.

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Thanks!

by firstindian Dec 21, 2006 11:28AM PST

That was a great explanation. I have the cable box set to output 720P now, so I'll just leave it.

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Do I really need 1080p

by solliex Dec 22, 2006 5:31AM PST

The distance you sit from your TV will tell you.
For a really big TV say 71", you would need to sit about 9-10 feet away to see all the detail a 1080p type display (1920x1020 pixels)offers. But if you bought a 720p/1080i type display with only 1366x768 pixels you could sit 14-15 feet away and see all the detail the TV had to offer.
So unless you sit really close you don't need 1920x1080 pixels on TV's smaller than 50".

As far as the TV accepting 1080p input I don't think very many people can see the difference. The source material is not that good.

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Depends

by tiscpa Dec 24, 2006 1:51AM PST

THe best resolution availble from a broadcast is 1080i. Bluray players is 1080p. If you plan to get a blueray, then you will want to have a 1080p.The other thing you need to consider is the typre of tv you plan to buy. plasma has a short life span, so, unless you use a bluray it's very doubtful that you need a 1080p. I just bought a 1080p Sony 60" sxrp Xrb2, that life span should last as long as I can get bulbs.
It is best thou to get at least a 1080i. even thou there's very little difference between 1080i and 720p, there's still a diference.
Since the near future of technology is so unpreditable it's not certain how soon you need 1080p unless you do get bluray. bluray is 1080p. playstation 3 has bluray.
One tip about where to buy audio/ video is to go to Tweeter's. I see people shopping at circuit city, best buy walmart etc, but if only people knew better where to shop. Sop for the best prices, Tweeter does match. I bought a 60" there and a few days later I found the same tv at another location and they refunded $322.50. Tweeter's has a 30 day price protection program, also a better warranty.
MOst stores has a price guarantee, put what they hide to warn you is that they have the manufacterer to put the stores initials somewhere on the product, which makes it impossible to get a lower price elswhere for the same item. Circuit city, for ex, will have cc while walmart whill have w put on the product. Even though the items are exact, the stores intial causes enough difference in the product to refuse paying the difference, that's why you see them store's with those 110 percent refund price guarantee.
The government should ban that practice because that's so decieving and fraudulant. If a item is idenical then it's identical, reguardlees whose store initials are on the product.
That's one thing that surprised me about Tweeter, they didn't pull that scam on me. They confirm the product and refunded the money. I noticed that they didn't have the sign that adds the 110% refund.

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1080p for anything 60" & Up

by mmayer54 Dec 24, 2006 2:36AM PST

1080p sets have dropped way down. My beautiful Samsung HL-S6187 1080p DLP has a spectacular picture, 10,000-1 contrast and can now be found for just $1,999! (Was $3399 in August. I watch everything at 1080i and the sets internal processor "de-interlaces" it. Good idea to "future-proof" your purchase with the xtra resolution capability. Especially if yoo want that 60-73" HD experience.

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Don't Know

by joecav654 Mar 13, 2008 11:23AM PDT

I don't know if this is relevant to this thread but here goes. I purchased my 1080i projection sony tv from my brother after he bought an lcd 1080p tv. I then purchased a ps3. I got 5 free blu-ray discs that I didn't want anyway so I traded them in. I should have kept one and tested it myself to answer my question. Anyhow here is my question. Will the blu-ray 1080p disc play in 1080i on my 1080i tv or will it just not play? I didn't like the choices they offered anyhow thanks for your help.

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Answering my own question :P

by joecav654 Aug 30, 2008 1:10PM PDT

ok well I tested a blue ray disc on my tv and it downgrades the picture to what you have. So all you ps3 users out there you don't have to rush out and get a 1080p tv just yet. I think there are other reasons not to rush out if you don't have to. 1) Tv only brodcasts in 1080i max. 2)games on the ps3 that are advertised as 1080p look better with 1080p but will play at 1080i. So don't spend any more than you have to, want to.

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