dvd matters

[admin_exported]

Would anyone explain the difference between 1080i and1080P in DVD speak? im waiting to replace my

DVD player to match my Panasonic plasma TV.

 

[professorhat]

Basically, you can split 720p / 1080i / 1080p in to two parts:
1. The number indicates the number of horizontal lines in the signal, so a 720p signal has 720 horizontal lines from the top to the bottom of the screen, whereas a 1080i and 1080p signal has 1080 horizontal lines. In this sense therefore, 1080i and 1080p are exactly the same.
2. The "i" indicates an interlaced signal and the "p" indicates a progressive signal. An interlaced signal divides the screen into odd and even lines and updates them alternately 25 times a second (assuming we're talking a 50Hz signal here since I'm in the UK!) whereas a progressive signal refreshes each and every line 50 times a second. As a result, a progressive signal will look smoother.
In terms of DVD, a DVD signal in the UK is encoded as a progressive PAL signal, meaning it is made up of 576p signal (i.e. 576 lines and progressive). So when you are upscaling a UK DVD to 1080i, the DVD player will have to interlace the signal (i.e. convert it so it only updates the alternate lines 25 times a second) and then "fill in" the other missing lines to make the signal 1080 lines to fit the TV's resolution. How good it is at doing this depends on the capabilities of the upscaling chip, hence why people spend a lot of time trying to find the best way to upscale their DVDs and other standard definition sources on a high definition television. For 1080p, since the DVD signal is already progressive, it doesn't need to change this, but it does still need to upscale the 576 lines to fit the 1080 resolution of the TV.
Hopefully that answers what you were looking for!

 

[Anonymous]

Isn't it standard practise to encoded DVDs as interlaced field pairs and them flag them as interlaced or progressive? In my experience there are far more interlaced flagged PAL DVDs than progressive.