I’ve been checking out HDTVs a bit more seriously and finally went to look at some in person last night. While all the HD sets look good, the ones that really popped with detail were the 1080p ones playing high definition DVDs. To translate from geek-speak, that’s 1080 horizontal lines being drawn at once versus the 480i drawn in alternating passes on a standard TV. Most HDTVs on the market do 720p.
As impressive as full 1080p HDTV is, it doesn’t seem worth it at the moment. The selection of sets is still limited, and there are no broadcasts in that high a resolution. Even of the two competing HD DVD formats only one currently offers it, and that’s still a $1000 BetaMax gamble. You get a lot more options and better deals in the meat of the market where there’s plenty of 720p competition.
November 10th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
CNet has some good info the 1080i broadcast standard in their HDTV glossary:
They also note that while standard TV has 480 lines, its sources frequently have less with 240 for VHS and 330 for cable.