Question about 1080P in HDTV etc... (1 Viewer)

Howdy,
I was just reading the latest HDTV etc issue and the informative article about the battling formats for HD-DVD and it raised an interesting issue.

If the goal for HD-DVD is 1080P, how is that going to work with current HDTV technology.

My Loewe set is only capable of up-to 1080i...and looking through the buyers guide in the back of the magazine, I don't see a single other TV that does 1080P.

So when HD-DVD comes along how is it going to work? Will we all have to buy new 1080P TVs, will it be downconverted etc.?
How is this going to work?

Darren, with a good (read: expensive) outboard scaler and a stuiably capable projector, you can have 1080p images now (though, of course, you have no 1080p source material as yet). Over the years, you can expect high-end video hardware and applications to "filter" down to more pedestrian prices and equipment. We'll sort of morph into a 1080p world in a low-key way.

But let's let the writer of the story or another HDTV Etc. contributor address your good question.

Hi Darren,

If I were a betting man, I would expect to see HD-DVD players with a progressive (1080p) / interlaced (1080i) toggle in their system menu, similar to what we have with today's 480p/480i players. I think it's highly unlikely that an HDTV you buy today will be incapable of displaying HD-DVD content. But of course, TV makers will definitely time the release of new "HD-DVD Ready" 1080p models with the debut of the sure-to-be-a-hit HD-DVD format.

Of course, if you read this article just released last weekend, 1080p is for suckers. Where are the 4000p TV's? That's what I want to know...

article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/mo...l?pagewanted=1

Hope that helps.

So in other words, 1080P will leave thousands of people with highly expensive obsolete equipment in two years?

Good grief.

Hi Darren,

I certainly wouldn't put it in those terms. And truth be told, I don't know that 1080p discs will actually become a reality at any point in the near future. I think mass-market availability of such high quality transfers is still making a lot of people in Tinsel Town very nervous. We'll be sure to keep an eye on HD-DVD though and keep our readers in the loop.