720p Vs 1080p - Native Resolutions Compared

In this series of articles, we will give you some insight on basic issues regarding an objective comparison between 720p and 1080p resolutions. We will start by comparing native resolutions, "as is", in order to understand better the technologies on which the progress in resolutions stands its ground. 720p vs 1080p - Native resolutions compared is the first article in the series, and it will approach the differences between the two, while explaining why we should consider a better resolution when it comes to enhancing our TV watching experience.

What are you watching?

This question is very important when we want to know if the extra cash we should pay for a higher resolution will really pay off in the end. Content resolution matters, because, even if you have the greatest HDTV on the market, you will get nothing more from a content that cannot simply perform better in terms of resolution and picture quality. This is where we need to talk about what native resolution and content resolution are all about.

720p Vs 1080p - Native Resolutions Compared

Native resolution vs content resolution

It does matter what we feed our HDTV screen with. If the program we are watching has a resolution that matches our television resolution, than we will be fine. But how do 720p and 1080p (which are native resolutions) behave, when compared one against the other? The answer is quite simple. High quality content, like Blue Ray, will be seen on screens with 1080p resolution, in all its glory. With a 720p display, you will, too, be able to watch Blue Ray content, but you will only get 720p quality and nothing more. So, it is not a problem whether you can see the content displayed on the screen, but at which standards.

Another aspect is with low quality content. If you watch SDTV or EDTV (regular DVDs) on your HDTV, it won't matter if the TV is 720p or 1080p because SDTV and EDTV will not be able to rise at the level of quality and detail the HDTV is able to provide. No matter how good the TV is, if you feed it with poor quality content it will not look great. Flat screen TV's have the ability to resize the content according to their own native resolution, and we are not hindered to watch any content we want; but we will get only what we paid for. Which brings us to the next point of 720p vs 1080p guide regarding native resolutions: what's the point of having a higher resolution?

Why 1080p is superior

While both 720p and 1080p represent standards in HDTV signals, 1080p is considered to be superior. Resolution is calculated, for a TV screen, as the number of pixels per inch; more pixels in one inch mean more quality for your picture shown on the screen. These numbers: 720 and 1080 represent the number of vertical lines on the screen. It is not hard to imagine why 1080p is more than 720p.

And this is not only a talk of numbers: as seen earlier, content resolution matters, and you will not be able to enjoy it to full quality, unless you have the HDTV screen to perform for it.

i versus p

The letter "p" that comes after the numbers describing the resolution stands for "progressive" and it represents a mode of building the picture onto the screen; "i" is another type, and it means "interlaced". More important is the fact that these terms refer to the way the video source resolution is shown on the screen and not the native resolution. If you want to compare 1080p with 1080i, from a viewer's point of view, you will be able to notice some differences. For instance, if you are a sports fan, you will get a better experience when you watch fast moving images from a game, with a 1080p display, while the 1080i display will show a little blur on the edges.

50 inch 720p tv

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