General Forum

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

TheMajor — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:41:05 GMT

I just flicked through my guide and everything on now is 1080i. There are some 1080p things on, I know the space program is (I can't remember it's name). I will dig into this week and gets some info to you.

I am starting to think I could be mistaken.

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

camshaft — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:18:04 GMT

I don't really understand how this is "official" now? I personally prefer 720p myself also, but the article still sounds a little something like:
"Car Industry Confirms that Red Cars are Officially Better than White Ones"

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

soundproof — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:28:03 GMT

From last year's CES sensation when LG was demonstrating test 1080p broadcasts. Kind of surprising if such broadcasts now are "standard."

While we're sure to see plenty of high definition on display at next week's CES, LG is hoping to cause a stir of its own by broadcasting something other than finely tuned HD DVD / Blu-ray loops. Reportedly, the company will demonstrate "full HD" 1080p content on a series of 37-, 42-, 47-, and 55-inch LCD TVs, but the imagery seen will actually be experimental television footage from Nippon Hoso Kyokai. NHK, a public broadcaster in Japan, will be showing off content captured with 1080p "high speed motion cameras," and while most of its HD footage thus far has been beamed out in 1080i, this could potentially spark up more interest in getting 1080p to the home. Of course, none of this matters if you believe ole Mossberg's take, but we'll take all the televised HD content (especially in 1080p) we can get.

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

soundproof — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:58:15 GMT

Japan is a special case. They're already looking into 8K Super Hi Vision, which has sixteen times the resolution of Full-HD ...

And the Japanese are serious about optical cable - which is a gamechanger as far as transmission bandwidth is concerned. Regular broadcasts "over the air" do not take place in 1080p, unless as stand-alone test cases - there just isn't enough bandwidth. And even with cable, when they do state 1080p you're probably looking at heavily compressed material. HD-Net in the US is satisfied with 1080i for its transmissions, for instance.

I could have been clearer above - having the same number of channels we're "enjoying" today, in 1080p, is not an option. Having just a few will really crowd available bandwidth, and is also the reason why even with cable and satellite we're only seeing a few such channels today.

(Compressing is going to be a problem. I was really surprised at the improved quality of the sound of my downloaded LOST episodes from AppleTV, compared to the same episode through my STB. My cable provider is running an extra round of compression to fit the channels, evidently.)

I'd like to know more about the Japanese 1080p broadcasts ...
I thought the Japanese ISDB-T standard was limited to 1080i for now.

This will give you an idea of why bandwidth is an issue in that respect.

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

Bingo — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:36:26 GMT

I did not know that there are already 1080P broadcasts available in the world.

WOW !!!

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

TheMajor — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:16:31 GMT

soundproof:
1080p will never have the requisite bandwidth available for broadcast, and will be reserved for optical and harddisk storage media, as well as for pre-ordered downloads.

I hate to argue with you soundproof as you seem to know far more than I ever will about technology. But in Japan 1080p TV has been standard for about a year or so. I have about 25 channels: 2xSD and the others are 50/50 1080p/720p (it depends when they were made). All new programs are 1080p and if they are older than a few years they are nearly always 720p. All movies are broadcast in 1080p, it has been that way since I moved here in 2006.

I guess Japan is special but it is possible, I have dish for 12 of the channels and the others come from a normal arial high up on my building.

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

soundproof — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:21:13 GMT

Spent some time comparing 720p and 1080i on my Kuro, from various sources. From my AppleTV I prefer the 720p, as decided by my eyes -- the image seems more stable/right.

1080p will never have the requisite bandwidth available for broadcast, and will be reserved for optical and harddisk storage media, as well as for pre-ordered downloads.

Today, with AppleTV, I can begin watching a movie or TV-series just a few minutes after beginning download, even when they are in HD-ready/5.1 Dolby Digital. With Full-HD that wouldn't be possible, because the file is so much bigger. (15x bigger at least if also with full resolution multi-channel audio.)

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

Robert — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:14:43 GMT

I prefer 720p myself, certainly seems to help when watching sports and the like. My brother plays his XBOX 360 in 720p as well, and he seems to prefer it. Not really surprised by this outcome tbh.

Robert.

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

Flappo The Grate — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:55:05 GMT

as has been mentioned before , you need a MASSIVE screen to see much difference between 720p and 1080p , and most people don't want a 55"+ behemoth cluttering up the front room

most games on the 360 and ps3 run in 720p and look amazing too , plus the appletv's hd is in 720p

nuff said

Re: NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

Karel Uyttendaele — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:53:10 GMT

I never realy understood why 1080i was launched and always have found 720p better than 1080i... no looking at specifications but by watching the screen...

NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

Bingo — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:34:39 GMT

NEWS: Industry declares 720p better than 1080i

High-definition is a great leap forward, but the various forms of HD have long been the subject of intense debate.

Industry insiders at the DTG (Digital TV Group) are attempting to definitively resolve one issue: when it comes to broadcasting HD pictures, they say, 720p 'is better than 1080i'.

Greg Bensberg, Principal advisor on broadcasting at Ofcom, says that studies show 720p to be the preferable format, especially once any kind of compression is used. 'The compression combines with the interlaced signal to produce more problems,' he says. 'At that stage, the progressive signal is clearly superior'.

Of course, the best solution would be 1080p, already available via Blu-ray discs and upscaling. Bensberg agrees. 'Yes. we hope that in the future we'll be seeing 1080p broadcasts, so people should still think about future-proofing when they buy a TV.'

Nonetheless, we appear to have a definitive answer – at least from the broadcast industry's point of view - on an important aspect of the high-def debate. In the words of Phil Laven, former technical director if the EBU (European Broadcasting Union): 'It's a simple message. 720p now, 1080p later, 1080i never.'

http://whathifi.com/television/archive/2008/03/11/news-industry-declares-720p-better-than-1080i.aspx