A consumer looking at various HD TVs, whether they’re plasma or LCD, must also choose the resolution of the set. The market currently sells televisions peak resolution capacity at 1080p, 1080i, or 720p. What does this mean?
The first number in the description tells you how many lines will make up the picture on screen. For instance, a 720p television utilizes 720 lines to compose a picture, as compared to standard televisions that utilize 480 lines. This means you have twice the detail as a standard television.
The second number in the description tells you how the lines of the television will be rendered. The i stands for interlaced. The image on the screen fills in odd line order from top to bottom. To illustrate the process, a person who interlaces their fingers would have the fingers drawn in the left hand first, then the right hand. This all happens so quickly our eyes cannot perceive anything but a clear picture.
The p in 1080p stands for progressive, as in progressive scan. This means the whole picture fills at the same time. The quality of picture greatly exceeds the comparable 1080i with almost twice the pixels in use for a progressive scan image.
Clearly a 1080p television would present a substantially better picture than a 1080i television. What about the 720p and 1080i resolution. The 720p television would present a progressive scan of the image, meaning the picture composed of 720 vertical lines would appear at the same time. The 1080i television would present the same image in odd lines from top to bottom. The resulting picture on both sets would look relatively identical to the human eye. The pixels for each setting would be closely the same, as a 720p picture would have more information packed in with the HD signal, while the 1080p picture would be creating two fields to make one picture. The resulting image on either screen would be hard to tell a difference, unless you had a very large screen, like over 65 inches.
What about the 1080p television? This new breed of HD TV definitely stands above its technological companions. The steep price for the resolution also triggers desire in many mediaphiles. While 1080p resolution TVs clearly have twice the information packed into the picture as a 1080i, this breed of HD TV also needs to find media to
support its gargantuan resolution capabilities. Broadcast and satellite HD signals only present 1080i programming. Let me state that again – HD signals are currently only available in 1080i, not 1080p. So why would you even want a 1080p television?
A 1080p HD television works well for use as a very large computer monitor. The progressive scan presentation of the computer interface looks very clear and crisp, making this type of television good for conference rooms. Computer gaming looks phenomenal as well, but the PlayStation 3 is the only console to take advantage of the high resolution. And, of course, BlueRay disks utilize progressive scan technology. As for in the future, there’s no real push in today’s market to present cable programming in 1080p, but it may be coming. We’ll have to wait to see.
Where to Buy Your HD TV
An HD TV is an exciting purchase. The broadcast programming, gaming consoles and media making use of 1080p technology should make great strides in the coming years. The decision on which television to buy largely depends on your independent needs. How will you use the television? How long will you keep it? What type of space will it occupy? Once you answer these questions, you’re ready to begin shopping.
Most major retailers have HD TV displays in their electronics department. The big players, like Best Buy or Circuit City, carry the cutting edge technology, while other retailers like Target and Wal-Mart have slightly older models and possibly even trimmed down features. Online retailers have emerged as a viable alternative to brick and mortar stores, but the cost of shipping may deter you from venturing online. Ultimately, the best price with the features and technology you want can be found almost anywhere. Do your research before plunking down a few thousand dollars and you’ll be happy with yourself and your
television for years to come.
Conclusion
High definition televisions are here to stay. The options available to us will only get better as technology improves the media and the HD broadcasting capabilities. Before you run out and buy the latest television, consider the different technologies behind the plasma and LCD displays. You’ll also want to consider the peak resolution for your new television. For those with a penchant for the best on the market, the 1080p HD TV will be the easy answer. The rest of us can weigh the benefits of the 1080i and 720p resolution and be happy about our informed decision.