1080p - The Future is Now!

First, we all watched NTSC video at 480i, and we liked it, because we knew no better. Then some intrepid(and well off) home theater enthusiasts were lucky enough to enjoy 480p, thanks to the Faroudja LD-100 line doubler or Runco IDTV set ups. Because the Faroudja units cost $20, 000.00 in the early 90 s, and only worked with data or graphics grade projectors, they were not exactly mass market. As technology improved, prices decreased, and more people could enjoy progressive scan video in their home theaters.

Fast forward 15 years or so. Now you can get a DVD player with Faroudja progressive scan technology on a chip for under $200.00. Just about every TV and projector you can buy takes progressive scan video. Indeed, digital TVs and home theater projectors will convert video to progressive scan, because they require progressive scan video at the sets native resolution to function. If the video is not in the proper format, it will be converted inside the set. Most DLP or LCD imaging chips used in consumer TVs and projectors now have native vertical resolutions of either 480, 576 or 720 lines. Most LCD and plasma displays have 480, 720 or 768 lines.

In the fall of 2005, manufacturers started showing the latest generation of video products. Behold! 1080p! Why all the fuss? Because 1080p is the top dog in HDTV, that s why. It has the highest resolution of all the 18 approved HDTV formats, with 1920 x 1080 pixels. There are two 1080 resolutions approved for HDTV, 1080/60i and 1080/30p. The advantage of 1080p over 1080i is that, like a computer monitor, a 1080p display will show all 1080 lines with every video field, whereas a 1080i device will only show at a time. Digital displays require progressive video, so any 1080i program material is deinterlaced inside the set, converting it to 1080p. Up until the advent of 1080p displays, it was also down converted to the native resolution of the imaging chip or flat panel.

One caveat at this point, amazingly enough, many of the first generation 1080p TVs do not accept a 1080p input. Huh?? You read that correctly. It s true, of the first 1080p sets introduced, only the HP units will actually accept a 1080p input. The Mitsubishi will accept 1080p, but only through its computer input. Most of the flat panel displays don t seem to have this limitation and will accept 1080p.

At this point in time, there is no commercially available 1080p program material, with the exception of some Microsoft Windows Media HD discs. With respect to HDTV you can get 720p or 1080i, but no 1080p at this time. Fox, ESPN and ABC broadcast in 720p. while CBS, NBC, TNT, the WB and HD Net all use 1080i. Soon, however, Sony will release Blu-Ray Disc and Toshiba, DH-DVD. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Disc will have the capability to support 1080p. When the time comes, you ll be able to just buy or rent a disc and enjoy 1080p in all it s splendor. Good News! Netflix has announced they will rent both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD as soon as they are introduced.