Is "native" resolution ALWAYS the best way to go?

chris_clem · 09-29-2007, 12:53 AM

If a Pioneer Plasma has a resolution of 1365 x 768 but accepts both 1080p and 720p, will 1080p actually look better over 720p on a plasma like this? The scaling still has to do something to the signal if you feed it 1080p right?

If 1080p will look better, how does that happen given that no resolution increase is actually possible?

If 720p will look better, why would they bother putting in the 1080p support (Is that all just marketing?)?

(I heard that strictly speaking 720p is actually 1280x720 but for the sake of argument 1365x768 is roughly equivalent to 720p thus I assumed that to be its "native" resolution.)

GeorgeAB · 09-29-2007, 01:07 PM

Generally speaking, in scaling it's better to reduce resolution than increase it. Therefore, 1080I and 1080P signals should look better on your display than 720P. These are theoretical principles. The true test will be actually viewing such material on your panel and comparing the real world results. Initially, the only primary source for 1080P signals will be HD DVD and BD. Have fun verifiying what works best.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

JeremyErwin · 09-29-2007, 06:18 PM

But with 1080i, will you be at the mercy of your set's deinterlacer?

Gregg Loewen · 10-01-2007, 10:05 AM

Steve_Pannell · 10-01-2007, 10:24 AM

Gregg, are you saying:
Yes, native resolution is always best, or
Yes, you will be at the mercy of your set's de-interlacer?

I wouldn't ask but I wanted to chime in because I have a similar situation. I have a HD-XA2 and a Samsung HL-S4666W (720p) display. I have tried setting the HD-XA2 to output 720p or 1080i and to be honest I really can't tell much difference.

**HTF Ads**

ChrisWiggles · 10-02-2007, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeorgeAB

Generally speaking, in scaling it's better to reduce resolution than increase it. Therefore, 1080I and 1080P signals should look better on your display than 720P. These are theoretical principles. The true test will be actually viewing such material on your panel and comparing the real world results. Initially, the only primary source for 1080P signals will be HD DVD and BD. Have fun verifiying what works best.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

I agree completely. You can test for yourself and see what differences, if any, are visible, especially using some resolution plates, etc. It can depend on what processing is in the system, so it could go either way.

PaulDA · 10-03-2007, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeorgeAB

Generally speaking, in scaling it's better to reduce resolution than increase it. Therefore, 1080I and 1080P signals should look better on your display than 720P. These are theoretical principles. The true test will be actually viewing such material on your panel and comparing the real world results. Initially, the only primary source for 1080P signals will be HD DVD and BD. Have fun verifiying what works best.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,
G. Alan Brown, President
CinemaQuest, Inc.

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

Do you consider this to be true only when you cannot exactly match the resolution or in all cases? For example--I have a 720p projector (not 768p). In that case, would it be better to feed it 720p output from a hi-def player (HD DVD and/or Blu-Ray)? As I understand it (and correct me if I'm wrong), the following order would best to worst (worst being relative).

A native 720p to my projector.
1080p to my projector (only has to scale down)
1080i to my projector (has to deinterlace and scale down)
480p to my projector (only has to scale up)
480i to my projector (has to deinterlace and scale up)

There are caveats, though.

One--Apart from some HD channels, there are few, if any, native 720p sources.

Two--the deinterlacer and scaler in the projector might be better than in the DVR and/or players (so far, my projector looks better when I let it do all the deinterlacing and scaling for both my SD DVD player and my HD PVR)

So, in the end, one should try all the different ways and choose the one that looks best.

JeremyErwin · 10-03-2007, 02:20 PM

some early 768p sets took 1080i, dropped one frame and upscaled the other.

So, 1080i-->540p-->768p.

Certain titles are good for testing deinterlacing-- Outland, Monty Python's Meaning of Life, The menus in Futurama....

PaulDA · 10-03-2007, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyErwin

some early 768p sets took 1080i, dropped one frame and upscaled the other.

So, 1080i-->540p-->768p.

Certain titles are good for testing deinterlacing-- Outland, Monty Python's Meaning of Life, The menus in Futurama....

From what I've read, there are 720p and 1080p TVs that are currently available (not including 768p TVs) that do what you describe (I've seen a rather lengthy list somewhere, though it escapes me where at the moment on the web). If the reviews of my PJ are to believed, mine does not do that. It takes a 1080i signal and deinterlaces to 1080p first before down scaling to 720p (which, as I understand it, is the proper way for it to be done).