1080i v 1080p

[pat clancy]

hi ,whats the difference between these 2 picture formats,thanks pat

[sbowler]

The difference between "i" and "p" is that the "i"is interlaced. In that the picture is displayed in two fields, the first field of 540 lines is scanned onto the picture display and then milliseconds later the 2nd set of lines are scanned. Thereby giving you the picture you see. In the "p" or progresive mode the lines are displayed simultaneasly in one scan. This creates a much more stable and flicker free image, and is the way all computers display images, thats why they always look better. Progressive images are sent to displays via component outputs comprising of three phone style outputs on the rear of DVD players and inputs on TVs.

[pat clancy]

hi sbowler thanks for the quick supply,so as you say p gives the better picture through analogue component,is i also analogue,

[sbowler]

Yes, picture quality ascends as follows. Composite then S-video, Scart RGB. component and then HDMI.

[gandley]

though HDMI is not always better than component more so when a few HDMI chips have the HDMI clipping BUg which limits the dynamic range.

In short though with the new formats both are stored on disc at 1080p24 native for film content so both HD-DVD and Blu-ray are 1080p capable except HD-DVD launch machines were desighned before the 1080p addon was available. Which means launch machines can only do 1080i out. However if you have say a 1080p display then you should not see any loss in quality with 1080i out from HD-DVD

[welwynnick]

hi sbowler thanks for the quick supply,so as you say p gives the better picture through analogue component,is i also analogue,Interlaced and progressive can both be either RGB or component, and either digital or analogue. This is not that much difference either way, it's largely down to the particular implementation. HDMI should be best, but it is still somewhat immature, and is not always well implemented.

Nick