720p, 580p, 1080i...help!

[dickalp]

I am looking at an Olevia/Syntax 532h 32" LCD TV.  It says broadcast format displayed....720p, broadcast format supported, all of 'em.  Is that bad?  Do I want 1080I displayed?

Also, a Toshiba 30" tube set... it says broadcast format displayed....580p, 1080i, broadcast format supported, all of 'em.

Which is said to be better?

[Mikey]

At that small of a screen, 720p vs. 1080i doesn't matter.  They will look identical.

Don't let the resolution weigh in on your decision of which to choose at that little of a screen size.

Check AVSforums and do a search (need to register I believe) on the models you are looking at to see if there are any concerns/issues with those models.

Also, it depends what you plan on doing with it.  If you are into gaming and want to hook up a 360 or something to it, you will need to pay attention to the refresh rates of the LCD to avoid ghosting.

Hope this helps a little.

[AndrewP]

Resolution matters much only if TV is 50" or more.
With smaller TV the main factor is widescreen vs. regular screen.

[Gregg Lengling]

I am looking at an Olevia/Syntax 532h 32" LCD TV.  It says broadcast format displayed....720p, broadcast format supported, all of 'em.  Is that bad?  Do I want 1080I displayed?

Also, a Toshiba 30" tube set... it says broadcast format displayed....580p, 1080i, broadcast format supported, all of 'em.

Which is said to be better?

The Toshiba decoders that take what ever signal you give to it and then convert it to their best display format favors 1080i for an input.  I've done tests with a lot of models of TV's when I sold them and found that Toshiba's processors like 1080i better than anything else.  (This does not include 1080p sets which use a different processor.)

[picopir8]

1080i does have a slightly higher pixel count over 720p but I prefer 720p over 1080i. This is because I cant stand how the picture separates when the action on the screen is fast (sports).  Regardless, you should always set your cable/satellite box to output to your TVs native resolution.  I you have LCD/DLP that will be 720p or 1080p, if its a tube TV then it will be 1080i.  Your TV will take just about every signal but will always display it in the native resolution.  Also, a TV channel will always broadcast in one resolution but then your cable box may up/down convert it.  The worst case scenario is that your satellite/cable box up/down converts the signal, sends it to your TV, then it has to down/up convert it to the TVs native resolution.  You get two conversions that way.  If its set to your TVs native resolution though then at most you will only get one conversion.