LCD, 1080p, Componite, 420i....what?

[twistedlegato]

Ok..... I have been looking around Gaming sites lately and i want to know what this 1080p thing is!

I have a TV, an oldone, with a curved screen, but it works for me! It resolution it pretty good too! Pictures are below!


But thing i dont get about TVs....

1.180p, 1080i,720i, 720p, 420p, 420i......WHAT ARE THEY?
2. Then there this whoel HD TV thing! What with it?
3. Composite, componite, HDMI...what the hell????
4. Then finally there is an LCD and a Plasma TV, what is the freakig differenfe
5. And why should i care about any of it? Not trying to sound mean but my 10 year old Tv neets my standereds but i just want to know what this other stuff is!

 

[jsw]

The number in the standards (1080. 720, 480, etc.) is the number of horizontal scan lines in the images which are sent/broadcast. The higher the number, the better the resolution.

The "p" stands for progressive, which means each sent/broadcast frame has that many lines. The 'i' stands for "interlaced", which means two consecutive frames make up one image - the first does the odd-numbered scan lines, and the second does the even-numbered ones. 'i' therefore takes, in essence, half the bandwidth of 'p' and looks about as good for most broadcast images, but not so for the discerning eye, very active sequences, etc.

Composite input puts all of the video into one line. Component separates it into three and thus provides better color. HDMI is essentially DVI ( like a monitor connection) plus sound and included some copy-protection mechanisms at the end point (inside the TV) typically.

Your 10-year-old TV likely has fewer than 400 scan lines.

Why change? No need if you like what you're seeing already. HDTV (which, in true form, is 1080p) is vastly superior to standard-definition TV, but... if you don't need it, you don't need it.