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What's the Difference Between 1080p and 1080i

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You may get familiar with 1080p and 1080i in recent years. 1080p seems to be all the buzz in the electronics world today. I know that you’ve heard the term before in commercials for High Def TV’s, Blu-Ray Disc Players or Full HD camcorders. It is true; 1080p resolution will give the highest picture quality possible. While, do you know the difference between 1080i and 1080p. In this page, we will figure out in detail.

What about 1080p or 1080i

The big difference in the terms, of course, is the i (for interlaced) and p (for progressive), which indicate how the image is stored and how it is displayed.

Resolution

Both 1080p and 1080i have 1080 horizontal lines of vertical resolution which with a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9 results in a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels (2.1 megapixels). It is not true that 1080i has a lower vertical resolution than 1080p.

Interlaced Resolution- a method of scanning vertical lines onto a TV picture by scanning the odd lines first and then scanning the even lines to create a uniform picture.

Progressive Resolution- a method of scanning vertical lines onto a TV picture by scanning the lines in one consecutive pass allowing for a sharper picture. Flat Panel and most Digital Projection televisions use Progressive Resolution.

Frames vs. fields

1080p is a frame-based or progressive-scan video where you are dealing with frames. You have frame rate and it is expressed in frames per second.

1080i is a field-based or interlaced or interleaved video where you are dealing with fields. You have field rate and it is expressed in fields per second.

A field contains half of the lines of the frame, either even lines or odd lines, and if one field is composed of even lines, then the next one will be composed of odd lines and so on.

Frequencies

1080p has a frame rate of 25 frames per second for TV in PAL countries, 30/1.001 frames per second for TV in NTSC countries and 24 frames per second for cinematography.

1080i has a field rate of 50 fields per second for TV in PAL countries and 60/1.001 fields per second in NTSC countries.

(Note that it is not 30 frames and 60 fields per second for NTSC but actually 30/1.001 and 60/1.001which is approximately 29.97 and 59.94 but the difference is important.

Tips and Tricks:

If you want to remove interlace on your movie(convert 1080i to 1080p) for better enjoyment or easier editing, Brorsoft Video Converter can help you achieve your goal.

The deinterlacing option with the video converter allows you to convert interlaced video into a non-interlaced form, so that you can enjoy a better and clearer video effect. Apart from that, the program also provides various other features like trimming, cropping, adding watermark, applying 3D effect, adding subtitles, etc. If you are on Mac, please turn to Brorsoft Video Converter for Mac.

Useful Guide: How to Deinterlace 1080i video footage

Applications of 1080p or 1080i

New HDTV

New HDTV's are inherently progressively scanned devices. Their circuitry displays video all at once, so if they receive interlaced signals, those signals are de-interlaced to progressive signals before they are displayed. Few HDTV's could accept a 1080p signal due to cost savings or other technical limitations. Until recently, some 1080p support HDTVs have been developed.

Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD

Also, keep in mind that with both Blu-ray and HD-DVD (although HD-DVD has been discontinued there are still players in use), the actual information on the disc itself is in the 1080p/24 format (Note: There are some instances of content being placed on a Blu-ray disc in either 720p/30 or 1080i/30, but those are exceptions, not the rule). Most Blu-ray Disc players have the ability to output 1080p/24 to a compatible TV in that native form.

Conclusion

There is no one clear winner here. How the image looks to you in the real world with your specific HDTV, in combination with your source devices. Short of having a tech come out and doing actual measurements, or comparing results using different TVs and source components yourself, even if you don't have a 1080p input capable Television, as long your HDTV has 1080p internal processing, you may still be able to get the benefits of 1080p. The key is in the processing, and, of course, not all HDTVs and video processors are created equal - let your eyes be your guide.

Reference

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