Difference Between 1080i and 720p

Back in the days we just used to watch our videos at will and no one really cared about resolution except for the people that actually needed to care about that. Ever since high definition (HD) came into play, things got a little different. All of a sudden, we are now able to control the quality of our videos, and the different is just incredibly big.

It’s In The Name

To understand the difference between 1080i and 720p we need to understand the difference between the i and p in these two. The i in the 1080i represents interlaced, while the p in the 720p represents progressive. The difference between these two is pretty much like the difference between night and day.

Images

Even though they both give you the image you want, they do it in different ways. While interlaced images are essentially two images rapidly exchanging in front of your eyes to give you the video you want to see, the progressive image is something that is always in front of you, it is there.

Interlaced images are essentially lines, both vertical and horizontal, that exist. One of the images has horizontal lines and other one has vertical lines. Then, these two keep on exchanging so fast in front of your eyes that you are unable to perceive this change, but it is happening. As such, you get the video you want in front of you.

Progressive image, on the other hand, is something that is always there in front of you, it is the real image. There is no change going on in front of you and, as such, you get a better image quality.

You can detect interlaced images if you have a fast moving object on screen. The movement of the object is going to be detected with some blurry lines with the shape and color of the object around it – this is the change occurring right in front of you. If you see a moving object on a progressive image, you won’t be able to see these lines.

What The Numbers Mean

The number right before the letter simple refers to the number of lines that the image has. Quite obviously, the bigger the number, the better the quality of the video you are going to get. More lines mean that the amount of detail and focus is going to improve significantly.

As such, 1080i means that you have 1080 lines worth of interlaced image going on in front of you, while 720p means that you are going to have 720 lines worth of progressive image in front of you. Even though 720p has a smaller amount of lines when compared to 1080i, it is believed that the image quality is better due to the fact that it is progressive.

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