Can you see any differences in 1080i vs. 720p?

[Shane]

If you currently watch 1080i and 720p HDTV programs, can you see any differences in image quality between them?


(This question is among a batch of questions that were asked at the DisplaySearch HDTV Conference 2005. For more information, you can click the logo below.)

[gn2]

With a larger display(crt front projection) I find *most* 720p material to be soft in comparison to the same in 1080i, PROVIDED, the 1080i is high enough bit rate to prevent MPEG artifacting in any scene with a bit of motion...

[videograbber]

This is not a meaningful poll. Why? Because most folks currently have 720p displays, so it's unlikely they'll be able to perceive the PQ improvement (at least in resolution) from 1080i.

And those with 1080i displays won't be able to see the potential benefits from 720p, because unless it can handle 720p native, it will need to be upconverted (or downconverted to 540p and then interlaced).

Only those who can display both rates in native form (i.e., not fixed-pixel display devices) can give a realistic evaluation of the differences between the two.

- Tim

[Richard]

Wow! Great response! Not sure if the majority are 720P displays though but I find that interesting as well due to the death of CRT in the market over the last 2 years. The bigger question which would have been so much more instructive for this poll is a second question...

What is the native scan rate of your display?

480P
720P
1080I
1080P
multiscan

But even that would not clear up things because some folks will set the STB for 1080I because it is the bigger number even though the display is 720P. So yet another question is required...

If you use a cable or satellite STB what scan rates do you have it set for?

480P
720P
1080I
native

And with those two questions we are clearly at a point where many would be hard pressed to come up with the answers...


This poll is more about consumer perception than reality or performance...

[gn2]

My preference for good, high bitrate 1080i comes after viewing both resolutions on my multisync CRT based projector and direct view presentation monitor.
I think I'm getting an accurate image, and 1080i has more detail(which I prefer) when the bitrates are high enough.

[jcrobso]

It has 540p, 720p and 1080i scan modes.
The biggest difference between 720p and 1080i becomes apparent on fast moving video.
For example a NFL game, the camera follows the runner with the ball.
On a 1080i set the runner will look OK, but everything else will look fuzzy. The grass will just become a green blur. When the camera stops moving and MPG2 encoding catches up the everything looks sharp again.
On a 720p everything stays sharp. The grass stays sharp looking, the difference between still and moving is very small.
Maybe the is the reason the ABC and FOX use 720p. John