V+ 1080i or 720P

On a nice 1920 x 1080 screen like that I would go for 1080i. All HD transmissions are 1080i at the moment so you don't want to go through a 1080i to 720p to 1080 conversion IMO. For SD the V+ upscales very well, again I can't imagine a 576 to 720 to 1080 scaling being better than 576 to 1080 in one go.

regards

Brian
 
I found 720p better for the menus and text but 1080i better for everything else.
 
I use 1080i at full pixel on my Sony KDL40W2000.
 
I use 720 as it seems more 'solid'
 
Opinions on above topic please, being used on a 46W.

Theory says that you should choose whatever the native resolution on your TV is. (i.e. if your tv is 1080i [or 1080p] then go 1080i). The reason being simply that there is one less scaling process going on (in the TV).

However in my experience it is not as simple as that.

I have two 720p screens, one a projector one a LCD TV.

On the LCD TV 720p looks great from the TV Drive.

On the Projector however it looks very soft (it is not the projector per se, as the same projector using the same input makes my 720p DVD look pin sharp)

I have to use a scalar to sharpen up the image.

So the answer is - suck it and see. Try theory, but believe your eyes, before you believe the manual.
 
my tv says 1280x720, can someone tell me what this means. thanks
 
Exactly.

There is no point setting the box to 1080 as it has to downscale to 768 to match the TV so you're better off using 720p.

Does it downscale to 768 even if the W is 1920x1080?
Sorry for the Dumbass question.:oops:
 
my tv says 1280x720, can someone tell me what this means. thanks

1280x720 means 1280 pixels wide and 720 pixels deep, more commonly known as 720P. This is the same format that most projectors use (most of those uder £3K anyway). It allows a full HD signal (ie 1920x1080 pixels) to be scaled down quite easily. Your V+ box will allow you output in 720P which will allow you to get the best out of your screen.

HD broadcasts are either 720P or 1080i, but currently almost always 1080i in the UK. The "i" stands for interlaced which means that althought here are 50 pictures broadcast each second each individual frame only contains half a picture (every second line) and 2 frames are combined to make a complete picture, hence only 25 pictures a second. However, 720P broadcasts are progressive "P" frames where each frame contains a whole picture and thus in the UK a 720P signal would have 50 complete frames per second.

I say "in the UK" because in USA they have different frame rates where 25 and 50 would be replaced by 30 and 60 respectively. However, your tv will almost certainly support both UK and US formats should you ever wish to display US sourced content, perhaps via your pc.
 
I'm in the same situation as the OP of this thread. I'll (soon!) have a V+ box and a 1920x1080p Samsung M87 TV, which I currently plan to connect via HDMI.

I guess 1080i material is a no brainer in that it should be output at 1080i - but what about upscaling SD material? How does the V+ box upscale a PAL 576i picture to 1080i? As I understand it, upscaling interlaced video looks nasty so most systems convert to progressive first, then upscale, and then re-interlace. Which sounds a bit nasty to me - especially that last step, as the TV has only got to convert it back to progressive again to display it.

As the V+ box doesn't seem to have a 1080p output mode, might I be better outputting any SD material directly to to the TV as normal PAL 576i, and just letting the TV do all the deinterlacing/upscaling? And can I set the box to do this intelligently (i.e. HD material outputs at 1080i over HDMI, while PAL SD material outputs at 576i, presumably via the RGB SCART)

It all used to be so simple - colour set or black and white set mate?

Andre
 
It all used to be so simple - colour set or black and white set mate?

Andre

Yes - but..

Logie-Baird or Marconi?

405 or 625 line?

If there'd been the internet in the 30's can you imagine the usenet wars - the Logie Baird Fanboys vs. the Marconi-Boys..

That Logie-Baird picture was more warm, and showed much more depth. The Marconi picture was far to bright and shrill.

And the wood panelling was better finished...
 
I guess 1080i material is a no brainer in that it should be output at 1080i - but what about upscaling SD material?

The V+ box is very good at upscaling SD material, I think you'll find you will end up using 1080i for best quality.

Only downside is the menus look rather soft, but I for one am not interested in the menus, would rather have the programmes looking their best.

regards

Brian
 
As the V+ box doesn't seem to have a 1080p output mode, might I be better outputting any SD material directly to to the TV as normal PAL 576i, and just letting the TV do all the deinterlacing/upscaling?

I would have thought so. Like you say, it's usually better to let one box do all the de-interlacing/upscaling, rather than two - so that leaves the TV, as the V+ doesn't output 1080p (an update for the distant future maybe-?) ;)

And can I set the box to do this intelligently (i.e. HD material outputs at 1080i over HDMI, while PAL SD material outputs at 576i, presumably via the RGB SCART)

A great idea, but I don't think the V+ can do this intelligently. If you set it to 1080i/720p - it'll output both HD & SD material at that resolution. You can obviously switch between HDMI for HD & RGB SCART for SD in the settings - although, I imagine this might become annoying if Virgin add any more HD channels ;)
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom