You’ve been to the electronics store and a few department stores, you’ve read the brochures and you’ve listened to the spiels. You want a new TV and you’ve heard all the hype regarding HDTV. So, what do you do when you’re torn between two TV’s and the only thing you know is that one employs 1080i technology, the other, 1080p technology? What’s up with that? Depending on your TV viewing habits – a lot.
The first thing to realize is that both TV’s have the same screen resolution. They each operate by refreshing each of 1080 pixels in 1920 horizontal lines through a process called scanning. Pixels are the tiny points or dots of light that make up an entire TV screen image. The more pixels, the higher the definition and thus the higher the quality of the screen image. So, no matter what you hear, both technologies have the same resolution. The scanning is what makes the difference.
Scanning could be called the “rate of refresh” for each line of pixels. The two rates of scanning are “progressive” or “interlaced.” These different scanning methods are best understood when talking about the timing involved. Full HDTV’s have a 60 Hz sample rate, which simply means that the image is updated 60 times a second, fully line by full line. With interlaced scanning, not all 1080 pixels in each line is refreshed for each sample interval, only the alternate rows are refreshed (odd rows on one refresh and then evens on the next refresh and so on). As a result, the alternating refreshment rates produces a jitter, especially when there is lots of action such as in sports, action movies and some video games. This is because the lines being displayed at any one time don’t quite fit together.
Since it is not always possible to watch Full HDTV input from broadcasters, movies, or games, what happens when a Full HDTV (1080p) encounters a 1080i signal. The images are “de-interlaced.” This process separates the images into moving and still parts. The still parts are maintained and the moving parts are interpolated. The result is that the images don’t suffer in quality for the still parts, but there can still be some flutter in the moving parts.
Ask a technician at your store to show you examples of each so you can make your own decision after seeing the results with your own two eyes. And consider your viewing habits. Though Full HDTV, 1080p is the best, you might be able to settle for a little less with the 1080i technology.
You Might Also Enjoy:
- Comparing Plasma And LCD Televisions
- Finding the Perfect Image for Your Business
- LED Versus LCD TVs – Quick Comparison Guide
- Forex Currency Trading | MACD
- Are Multifunction Printers Required To Scan Documents?
