720 or 1080

[Daimo Mac, The Blue Light of Hope]

So I got a Ps3 for Christmas plus an influx of cash, enough to warrant me spending some of it on new TV (plus some games) so I am browsing through the TV section and I need to know, what is the difference between a 1080p TV and a 720p TV.

[Eldezar]

The number represents how many vertical lines are on the screen, the p stands for progressive scan, meaning non-interlaced.

Basically, higher numbers mean there are more spaces on the tv to create the picture, resulting in a better quality picture.

an interlaced screen is good in that it decreases bandwidth, but has a tendency to create flickers on the screen, kind of like this.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Indian_Head_interlace.gif

I forget how progressive scan works off of the top of my head, I just know it is good. A quick google search will tell ya what it does.

[Eltargrim]

Interlaced screens alternate the odd horizontal pixels with the even horizontal pixels when it refreshes the screen. Progressive screens refresh the whole thing in one go. For maximum image quality, 1080p is the way to go.

[Nique]

Since a 1080p tv will support all resolutions lower than 1080p including 1080i and 720p, it really is the best bet.

[MasterOfMagic]

Definitely go with a 1080p TV, as everyone has said. The picture is much better.

[Yumil]

How big a TV are you getting?
Larger than a 32", get a 1080p, 32" or smaller, get a 720p.

http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.png

If you are going to be real close to the tv, 1080 all the way, but if you mostly sit back, any tv 32" and smaller Id say stick with the 720.

[MasterOfMagic]

Man, I don't know if I believe that chart. I notice a difference on my 32" TV, and I don't sit within 7 feet of my TV.

[Aerozord]

sometimes I think higher resolution can hurt you as you start to notice those imperfections. We just got a high def 42in and watching typical cable broadcast you notice the pixelation and poor shading. If this is mostly for gaming thats a non-issue of course just saying there is overkill with this. We are still at the point alot is still in 480p

[Azisien]

With the graphics you can get on consoles its not like 1080p will change your life or anything anyway.

[Preturbed]

These high-def TVs are not miracle boxes. Standard definition television and DVDs actually look worse on them than they did on projection screens. Unless you are getting digital cable and/or a blu ray player, the perceived quality will actually drop, so in that case I'd say go with 720. On top of that, I've seen some of the latest XBox 360 games on my 32" 720p TV, and I can't imagine wanting a whole lot more detail. Honestly I don't think there's a whole lot of reason to get 1080p unless you just want bragging rights or to take a look at football players' sweat glands.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Yeah I have a 1080p 19" tv in my room (I sit only a few feet away from it, so it looks ok), but I've noticed with normal tv viewing and dvds the picture quality drops a lot. I actually have to drop the contrast and colour on dvds because otherwise when there's a hint of darkness on the screen, it looks absolutely awful. Blu-Rays look fine of course, as do games, but dvds, not good.

[Daimo Mac, The Blue Light of Hope]

I have a Ps3 so i will be watching Blu-Ray on that. If I want regular DVD's, I'll watch it on my PC.

[Nikose Tyris]

Mac: You need glasses anyway. Go with 720p for your budget and save the rest.

[Daimo Mac, The Blue Light of Hope]

Mac: You need glasses anyway. Go with 720p for your budget and save the rest.

What!? Who said that?