1080p vs 720p (1080i). Is 1080p worth it?

Reviewer: William Becker

The question I am most frequently asked about this resolution comparison is, "Should I get 1080p resolution in my LCD Television?" There are a few obvious questions I ask in response:

What size is the TV?
Are you using it for professional editing?
Do you have a Sony Playstation 3 or XBox 360 for gaming (both consoles have 1080p games and the PS3 is also a Blu Ray player)?
Do you have a Sony Blu Ray DVD player?

Generally, the answer to the above questions is, "no" and the answer to whether or not the consumer should get a 1080p display is usually no as well. It's just not worth the extra $$. Here's why:

The 1080p question is really the result of a technology battle between LCD and Plasma. Higher resolutions are easier for LCD manufacturers to produce, and more cost effective. It's a specification bragging battle as in, "we've got the 1080p resolution and you don't." Now that plasma manufacturers have caught up let's analyze what is does for you the consumer.

Unless you are into video editing, or extreme graphic computer use, 1080p does hardly anything at all except hit you in the pocket book! It took years of pressure for broadcasters to finally produce 1080i or 720p and there are NO plans to pump out 1080p on cable, satellite, or broadcast. There is ONE DVD format that puts out a 1080p signal and that is Blu Ray. Blu Ray, is a great DVD technology and the picture quality is awesome, however it's no better than 1080i or 720p in my opinion. I base this opinion on some pretty thorough testing. Recently, our staff reviewed a 65" Panasonic 1080p plasma, a 52" Sharp 1080p LCD and a Sony 46" 1080p LCD TV. We viewed several movies via the Sony Blu Ray player which conveniently has a resolution toggle button on the remote control. In order to perform a fair test of 1080i vs. 1080p we sent participants out of the room after having shown them the DVDs with both resolutions several times. Then we called them back in with one of the resolutions displaying and asked them whether it was the 1080p or 1080i signal. We repeated this process 10 times and, guess what? They had no clue and could not differentiate at all between the two. This feedback came from a team who knows TVs. In fact they seemed to favor the 1080i signal slightly (60/40). It's incredibly difficult to see the difference even in a side by side test.

So why make it? Why produce 1080p? So you'll pony up and buy it crazy!! Spend more money! Open up that billfold! The manufacturers need to produce products that will sell for more in an environment of ever falling TV prices. That, and the aforementioned LCD vs. Plasma battle.

So what to buy? Find yourself a nice 1366 X 768 TV produced by a Tier 1 manufacturer and let it go at that. Put the $1000 you will save into a good set of speakers and receiver for your home theater. A 1080p display does not look any better than a 720p (1080i) TV when viewing 1) A High Definition signal via cable, satellite or broadcast 2) a DVD signal 3) And the biggest question of all, "Does it even look better with the limited Blu Ray content available?" 4) A lowly non-HD cable or satellite signal may view better on the lower resolution 1080i (720p) LCD TV due to the fact that a 1080p display will have to perform some extreme up conversion to get to its native resolution.