Difference between 1080p and 1080i hdtv

I just bought a tv off of Craigslist and it boast a 1080p resolution. The tv is a JVC HD-52FA97. I've looked online about the difference between the "p" and "i" and all it did was confuse me. The article I looked at said "p" was the best available to consumers to date. This tv is five years old and a dpl type. What is the difference between the two? Did I get a good tv? It was cheap and I got a complete surround sound system to go with it for $250 usd. The bulb was bad and will be here in a few days so I honestly don't know if it even works. Also I was told by the owner NOT to plug it into a surge protector because once you turn it off the fan will run for a while to cool the bulb and a surge protector will prevent this from happening. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Wish I could help, but all I know is these tvs give me a headache and cannot watch them.

i will explain with what i learned from my friend who worked with TVs.

Assume a waterfall...

1080i is like 2 different tiles falling in the waterfall, but attach themselves before hitting the bottom of the fall(picture on your screen).

1080p is like 2 tiles, already combined when falling.

..

You wont see the different until you see a HIGH frame rate content is playing at a high speed. for example, a soccer ball is getting hit at high speed while all the crowd is cheering. 1080i would kinda "blur" the overall picture BUT its not too much blur, and you would not notice...much.

But i would get a 1080p. just because i know it can be flawless even during that high demanding scene.

Overall benefit of 1080p is smoother performance(during high graphic scene) because pixels comes in full package instead of 2 different packages that combines later(1080i).

reply to post by theduke269

1080p is the latest and provides the most pixels for your eyes. 1080i is basically the older technology with two interlaced frames being merged.

Interlaced scanning

Interlaced scan-based images use techniques developed for CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) TV monitor displays, made up of 576 visible horizontal lines across a standard TV screen. Interlacing divides these into odd and even lines and then alternately refreshes them at 30 frames per second. The slight delay between odd and even line refreshes creates some distortion or 'jaggedness'. This is because only half the lines keep up with the moving image while the other half waits to be refreshed.

Interlaced scanning has served the analog camera, television and VHS video world very well for many years, and is still the most suitable for certain applications. However, now that display technology is changing with the advent of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), Thin Film Transistor (TFT)-based monitors, DVDs and digital cameras, an alternative method of bringing the image to the screen, known as progressive scanning, has been created.

Progressive scanning

Progressive scan differs from interlaced scan in that the image is displayed on a screen by scanning each line (or row of pixels) in a sequential order rather than an alternate order, as is done with interlaced scan. In other words, in progressive scan, the image lines (or pixel rows) are scanned in numerical order (1,2,3) down the screen from top to bottom, instead of in an alternate order (lines or rows 1,3,5, etc... followed by lines or rows 2,4,6). By progressively scanning the image onto a screen every 60th of a second rather than "interlacing" alternate lines every 30th of a second, a smoother, more detailed, image can be produced on the screen that is perfectly suited for viewing fine details, such as text, and is also less susceptible to interlace flicker. The primary intent of progressive scan is to refresh the screen more often.

Long short of it yep P is better for watching

This article may help:

1080i v 1080p

I think you did just fine.

reply to post by Toromos


Haha that's the article that i read before I posted. It does sound like i got a good deal on the tv tho. What do ya'll think of the dpl? I know i have to replace a bulb ever so often but thats not a big deal to me as it only cost $33 on ebay, I bought two just to be safe.

p plasma
i interlaced

To be honest I don't have hd content on my directv. The only hd I watch is on my ps3, either blu-ray or the games themselves. Other than that its all sdtv for me. I have noticed some tv's look pixilated when they aren't hd. I have a cousin that complained that she couldn't tell a difference between her hd and SD tv. What would cause that? I've been to best buy and the hd look a lot better than the "tube" type tv's.

reply to post by article


So is my dpl a plasma? I didn't think so. There's lcd plasma dpl and others out there. Mine isn't a slim screen. Let me try to upload a pic. It's a "fat" back.

Originally posted by theduke269
To be honest I don't have hd content on my directv. The only hd I watch is on my ps3, either blu-ray or the games themselves. Other than that its all sdtv for me. I have noticed some tv's look pixilated when they aren't hd. I have a cousin that complained that she couldn't tell a difference between her hd and SD tv. What would cause that? I've been to best buy and the hd look a lot better than the "tube" type tv's.

She probably did not hook it up properly. Most people I know that bought HDTV hooked it up through scart, RF or composite cable instead of hdmi/dvi/component. If you hook it up wrong it will look even worse than a old crt.

reply to post by juleol


My ps3 is hooked up VIA hdmi. The dvd is thru an s-video cable. She probably did have it wrong. I couldn't understand what she ment when she said it looked worse. I stood there dumbfounded.

reply to post by theduke269

1080p - progressive scan, all 1080 lines refreshed in one scan.
1080i - interlace scan, two scans of 540 each.

The 1080i is prone to blurring as each scan is slightly "out" with each other. This can be done with slower cheaper chips than 1080p.

The quality of 1080p is higher than 1080i but requires higher spec tech hence it is more expensive.

That said, the cost of 1080p today has dropped to 1080i of a few years ago.

And then TheDuke was banned.

Originally posted by Novalis

And then TheDuke was banned.

lol wth happened?

1080i has illuminati symbolism (Hence the i in 1080i) and 1080p filters it out (hence the p for purity).

A more important factor is how many Hz the screen refreshes at. 60Hz is standard. A high quality HD LCD refresh rate is considered 120Hz. OLED refresh at 240Hz and plasmas refresh at 600Hz

Also HDMI cable makes a huge difference as well. The 3D capable 24k gold HDMI are the best.

reply to post by theduke269


replied from my phone... progressive sorry

Also, keep in mind that outside of Bluerays, your satellite and cable systems do not broadcast in 1080 (p or i) very often, if at all. If the incoming signal isn't in 1080p, your television will not show it in 1080p.

Originally posted by theduke269
Also I was told by the owner NOT to plug it into a surge protector because once you turn it off the fan will run for a while to cool the bulb and a surge protector will prevent this from happening. Any advice will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

That's not true at all. I have a Samsung 61" DPL plugged into a surge protector. The fan does run for a few seconds after the TV is turned off, and the surge protector does not prevent this. Mine is now 8 years old and still runs and looks fine.