Boro

iTrader: (1)

Since getting the PS3 and finding out (the hard way) that my TV and PS3 arent compatible using a HDMI cable, i went and bought a component cable which gives me 1080i quality.

My question is, would i benefit greatly by getting a TV that IS compatible an gave me 1080p quality.

Also, its only a 32" TV, not sure if thats makes any difference in terms of picture quality or not.

Any help/advice appreciated.

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

HDTV Displays and Technologies - Digital Spy Forums

Another forum that might be some use matey, seems to answer most tech questions really quick.

RichardS2005

I read on AVforums somewhere that you can't actually tell the difference between the two unless you have a screen over 42" (I think). Something to do with the eye's ability to pick up the extra detail.....

Not sure if its true though?

spectrum48k

1080 refers to the number of horizontal lines being drawn every 'frame'

1080p mode
draws 1080 lines every frame
processor does more work than 1080i, so game may run slower
best visual detail available
"p" stands for progressive - all 1080 lines are drawn progressively every frame

1080i mode
draws only 540 lines every frame (half the ammount 1080p does)
on frame 0 the odd lines of the 1080 image are drawn
on frame 1 the even lines of the 1080 image are drawn, and so on
hence "i" stands for interlacing
your eyes are fooled into thinking its drawing 1080 lines - most can't tell difference
processor is doing less work, so game runs faster

to answer your question, its a subjective choice - best to go and witness 1080i and 1080p and see if you think its worth buying the more epensive 1080p capable TV

ex-webby

The resolution is the same, so it's only the difference between progressive (no flickering) and interlaced (may see flickering).

The real question is can you see the difference between 720 & 1080 natively(as most set's can not display 1080i natively either)?

I have the ability to display both natively on different screens. Unless you sit very close to the screen or it is a very big screen, it is not worth upgrading at present. Regardless of what you may be told by others, 720p as a normal standard is here to stay for a very long time yet.

Save your money, until the prices drop dramatically.

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Cheers guys.

spectrum48k

I confess I haven't witnessed them both on PS3 or XBOX360, but I'd like to think a 50% increase in vertical resolution going from 720 to 1080 would come in handy for a game like an FPS ?

eg. on the PC and assuming framerate wasn't an issue, would you play your game at 1024x768 or 1280x1024 ?

ex-webby

Yes you would see the difference.... but that is on a computer screen that you would be sitting 2ft away from.

Make that a 42" screen and then sit 18ft away from it.... would you see double the detail between 720p and 1080i/p on a screen that size, that distance away.... i doubt it unless you had the hubble telescope lens as part of your eyeball.

Look.... of course there is a difference between the 2 resolutions, but unless you desperately need a new screen and can't wait until things mature a bit (on the assumption that this is a main room display), I would personally hold tight.

If you want the latest and best...... just buy it though!

spectrum48k

Its interesting the jump from 480 (normal TV) to 720 (HD) is the same 50% increase - obviously you could tell the difference between those modes on your TV, sitting 18ft away.

Agreed though, on a small screen you'd be hard pushed to notice, but gimme an HD projector and its a different story.

Iain Young

The difference is in the level of detail. It's much easier to see the difference between 480 and 720 than it is to see the difference between 720 and 1080 simply because of the level of refinement. 480 on a largish screen can look "blocky" (for want of a better term) whereas 720 on the same screen has a much higher level of detail and so looks more impressive.

The leap to 1080 on the same size screen again adds more fine detail, but to be able to actually see this, you generally either need to sit closer to the screen, or get a bigger tv. The difference is nowhere near as obvious as the 420-720 difference.

To use an analogy, take billboard posters. These are made up of lots of small dots which when viewed from 200ft away look like a single image. If you halved the size of those dots, doubled the number of them, and viewed it from the same distance would you notice any difference in the image? Probably not.

leonpoole

Isn't normal T.V 568 (50hz). I thought 480 was the resolution for 60hz

spectrum48k

you're quite correct - I was just generalising.

leonpoole

I Can't belive I knew something about T.V's

spectrum48k

Yeah, I understand why - its just interesting its the same 50% increase. Obviously the pixels get much smaller, the higher the res. and to see those small pixels needs a big viewing area - like an HD projector!

spectrum48k

I think its 576, not 568!!

leonpoole