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720p vs. 1080p HDTVs: 2009 update

By David Carnoy

A few years ago I wrote a column about HDTV resolution and whether you should just buy a "standard" 720p/1080i set or pay the extra bucks for a higher-resolution 1080p set. The column was very popular, but people wanted me to update it as the market for HDTVs changed. So I did. The new column was called "720p vs. 1080p: The final word". Alas, it was probably a poor title, because folks asked me to update that one as well.

Eventually, of course, manufacturers will completely phase out 720p TVs. But it may take a few years. While the number of new 720p models is dwindling, several manufacturers, including Sony, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic, are putting out entry-level lines in 2009 that feature 720p TVs and we're getting a lot of readers asking whether they should save some dough and buy them. With that in mind, here's the word on 720p vs. 1080p, updated for this year.


XGA LG 42PG60D (right), WXGA Toshiba 42AV550 (right) and 1080p Pioneer KRP-500A (top)



1. What's so great about 1080p?

1080p resolution--which equates to 1,920 x 1,080 pixels--is the current Holy Grail of HDTV. That's because most 1080p HDTVs are capable of displaying every pixel of the highest-resolution HD broadcasts and Blu-ray movies. They offer more than twice the resolution of the step-down models, which are typically 1,366 x 768 (WXGA), 1,280 x 720, or 1,024 x 768 (XGA). These days, HDTVs with these three lower resolutions are typically called "720p". Nobody wants to remember numbers and "768p" doesn't really roll off the tongue.


Tags: 1080p, TV, LG Electronics Inc., HDTV, manufacturer
 

 

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