1080p technology is the newest and best thing for HI Def viewing. It offers the highest resolution possible for all of your HD needs. All the new Blu-Ray players play the movies in 1080p format. They also have the ability to upconvert you old dvds to near 1080p definition, making for a whole new viewing experience.

But before we get into what 1080p is, we have to look back at the older forms of definition.Standard TV from the days of black and white to the present color images we watch every day on television are made up of a series of still images displayed at 60 frames a second in the US.  These still images consist of individual lines of information that move horizontal left to right across the screen followed by more lines moving versicle down the screen. With a standard definition TV there are 480 of these lines and 640 sets of dots or rectangles on each line. Each set of dots or rectangles consist of three color dots (Red Blue and Green) and the power or intensity of the electron beam determines how bright each color will be. This is part of the old CRT or cathode ray televisions in it there are three beams moving together across the face of the screen, each changing in intensity as they cross the phosphor dots or rectangles.

Since the invention of plasma, LCD, and DLP among other technologies we can look a high definition picture. Ranging from mostly now 720p, 1080i, and the best 1080p. Mostly between 1080p and 720p the difference is resolution, meaning that 720 has 1,000,000 pixels, versus 2,000,000 for the 1080p. But both are progressive scan versus interlaced picture of the 1080i. The main difference is the way that they render the final image on screen. With 1080i, the image is interlaced, with odd numbered lines appearing a split second before the even numbered lines. This painting effect happens incredibly quickly, all within 1/30 of a second.

Now comes progressive scan or 1080p. With 1080p, the image is scanned progressively. Meaning all the lines are conveyed sequentially in one single pass. Without having to use versicle and horizontal lines, progressive scan creates the entire image at once, giving you 60 new still images on the screen every second. With twice the frame rate.twice the resolution and a flicker free picture.