Chapter 2: HD Formats

720p vs. 1080i vs 1080p - I probably should have put this definition to the top of this guide! I know alot of questions have come up around the internets about which form of HD is better, but I think that television companies have made their decision. The versions being produced the most are the 720p and the 1080p format.

So what do all these numbers and letters mean? Let's start with the basics:

TVs before high definition had 480 lines within the screen. Each line was scanned odd numbers first, then even numbers 30 times every second. This type of scan is called interlacing. This is also called 480i.

Following so far? Good! :) When high definition televisions were just hitting the market, there were DVD players that were called progressive scan DVD players. Progressive scan is the opposite of interlaced, meaning that the signal from the DVD sends lines of picture in sequential order, i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. This caused the picture to look better than sending the signal in interlaced fashion, thus 480p was born. I'm sure you can guess what the p means now ;-)

So far we've discussed 480i and 480p, now it's time for the HD formats. Since we now know that there are 480 lines in a standard television, or SDTV, you can therefore see that 720p means there are 720 lines in progressive format, 1080i means 1080 lines in interlaced format and 1080p means 1080 lines in progressive format.

Over 1000 lines of image compared to only 480 is a HUGE difference in picture quality! So why are 720p TV's being made more than 1080i TV's? Not sure, but when I tell you that there is minimal difference between the 2 formats, you won't even care which format you get!

Honestly, the difference between 720p and 1080i are very very small. So feel free to purchase either.

Now 1080p is now being touted as "True HD". Many feel that this is just a marketing ploy to get consumers to purchase a more expensive TV, and I sort of agree. The only reason to purchase a 1080p is when buying a larger television, primarly larger than 40". Even then, the differences between 720p and 1080p and really only be seen in the 50" or larger area.

Final thought: When shopping for an HDTV, 720p is your best bet if you are purchasing an HDTV of any size. If you find a 1080i set cheaper than a 720p set, go for it as long as it's a widescreen format. If you want a super huge TV, then go for a 1080p set if you have the cash.

Stay tuned for chapter 3 tomorrow where I discuss which brands are best and worst, as well as chapter 4 on Thursday with setting up your new TV :)