HDTV: 720p, 1080p <-- Means?

[DjmUK]

Alrighty then, since I'm always looking ahead etc. etc.

I've found the following trailer typed (H.264) on Apple's site:

480p 852x480

720p 1280x544

1080p 1920x816

Although, on some other films the resolutions are the same width but a different height. Obviously getting the 1080p is larger in filesize and larger on screen which is fine. But what's the official resolutions each can perform? Also, isn't there a 1080i (what's this?).

Further more, what's the 'p' at the end of the HDTV type mean? (1080p).

Thanks in advance, and yes I did google it but didn't find any that makes clear sense.

P.S.

Just downloaded Fantastic 4 (720p) for QuickTime 7 (WinXP) and OH MY the quality is awesome!

[Fred Derf Veteran]

p=progressive scan

i=interlaced

regular tv is 480i

[brucebeh]

I'm personally not too impressed with quicktime 7 for windows.

maybe because its a preview release, but it does not seem to be optimized for windows at all.

I can't even play a 480p movie properly on my machine with quicktime 7, but a windows media high def 720p looks absolutely amazing.

btw, im running

amd athlon xp 3200+

512mb ddr ram

windows xp sp2

Geforce mx 440 agp 8x (yes it sucks)

Keep in mind, wmvHD 720p plays perfectly on my computer. so i'll have to wait for the official release and they better fix things up.

[Fred Derf Veteran]

That helped a lot. I didn't know the difference between your progressive and interlaced, so google showed me the differences between them. Progressive Scan is the better one :)

586026567[/snapback]

Here you go. I didn't want to type too much because I knew there was a good site out there:

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/what_is_ATSC.html

[DjmUK]

p=progressive scan

i=interlaced

regular tv is 480i

586026549[/snapback]

That helped a lot. I didn't know the difference between your progressive and interlaced, so google showed me the differences between them. Progressive Scan is the better one :)

[JimmyT]

And it's called 1080 because the correct resolution for this one is 1920x1080 for european widescreen 16:9 and 1440x1080 for 4:3. I don't know about the cinemascope (american widescreen 2.35:1) though. I guess it should be 2538x1080, but since most graphics cards are able to display up to 1920 pixels wide, they reduced the height proportionally, and as a result, we're getting for 1080p a clip that is 1920x816 pixels.

[ryanmcv]

I'm personally not too impressed with quicktime 7 for windows.

maybe because its a preview release, but it does not seem to be optimized for windows at all.

I can't even play a 480p movie properly on my machine with quicktime 7, but a windows media high def 720p looks absolutely amazing.

586026573[/snapback]

There have been a lot of mixed feelings with this new QuickTime release. Some people love it, some people can't stand it, and I think 95% of it has to do with the hardware aspect. A 480p QuickTime movie plays fine on my machine, but 720p starts to get a little choppy but is still watchable. I've never really been a fan of Windows Media High Def. Hopefully the final version of QT7 will show improvement.

Anyways, I'd always been wondering what the p's and i's meant and what the different resolutions meant, etc. Thanks for asking this! :yes:

[IGx89]

And it's called 1080 because the correct resolution for this one is 1920x1080 for european widescreen 16:9 and 1440x1080 for 4:3. I don't know about the cinemascope (american widescreen 2.35:1) though. I guess it should be 2538x1080, but since most graphics cards are able to display up to 1920 pixels wide, they reduced the height proportionally, and as a result, we're getting for 1080p a clip that is 1920x816 pixels.

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Actually, in America widescreen is usually 16:9 also. But with certain "epic" movies (like Star Wars and LOTR), the directors have decided to go with 2.35:1 (source).

WMV-HD 720p plays back fine even on my AMD XP2000+ computer, and my AMD A64 3200+ can handle 1080p just fine also. Surprisingly though, a dual-core 3.2ghz P4/ATI x850 computer I've worked on has slight hiccups in a couple parts in some 1080p clips I've tried. I'm waiting to try Quicktime HD until Quicktime Alternative supports it ;).

[thetman]

where can i get wmv hd content

[JimmyT]

On Microsoft Windows Media page.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsme...lm/hdvideo.aspx

[Yazoo]

Widescreen is 16:9 full screen 4:3 used mainly for TV. That is the same in Europe and USA. That is only the aspect ration. However european tends to have a higher resolution than the US.

Anything else is non standard and used for theatre released movies. Watching these on a 16:9 TV will result in the black bars along the top and bottom. As long as you get to see all the picture its all good.

[nekrosoft13]

1080p is nice, i have a tv that is native 1080p

the only problem is that standard signal, looks rather bad. and even dvds look bad at points

but thats because of the resolution,

when i play real HD signal comming from the computer it looks amazing.

so i'm future ready (at least for a whle) when xbox 360 comes out i'm ready. and when HD DVD and or Blu-Ray comes out i'm ready too.

[benjeeeboy]

1080p is nice, i have a tv that is native 1080p

the only problem is that standard signal, looks rather bad. and even dvds look bad at points

but thats because of the resolution,

when i play real HD signal comming from the computer it looks amazing.

so i'm future ready (at least for a whle) when xbox 360 comes out i'm ready. and when HD DVD and or Blu-Ray comes out i'm ready too.

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You know the xbox 360 is only 1080i right?

[frission]

Actually, in America widescreen is usually 16:9 also. But with certain "epic" movies (like Star Wars and LOTR), the directors have decided to go with 2.35:1 (source).

WMV-HD 720p plays back fine even on my AMD XP2000+ computer, and my AMD A64 3200+ can handle 1080p just fine also. Surprisingly though, a dual-core 3.2ghz P4/ATI x850 computer I've worked on has slight hiccups in a couple parts in some 1080p clips I've tried. I'm waiting to try Quicktime HD until Quicktime Alternative supports it ;).

586027815[/snapback]

At least for WMV HD content, the hiccups have a lot to do with your video card and how much RAM is on it. I had a 64MB card and it hiccuped (bad) at 1080p, then I recently upgraded to a 256MB card, and it plays everything beautifully.

[dougal.s]

I think one of the reasons that the H246 media is rather slow even on powerful machines is that it isn't support by hardware. Most graphics cards, and some on-board chipsets support the hardware decompression of MPEG2 and DVD. The support will come eventually for H246, we'll just have to wait....

Dougal.

[Vice]

You know the xbox 360 is only 1080i right?

586029594[/snapback]

That wont mater, his TV can do the rez and will more then likely have a lil switch for Progressive / Interlaced.

[JimmyT]

nekrosoft13,

what brand/model is your TV?