a basic question on HD

avguygeorge,

Regarding "480p is part of HD. i.e.Can't do 480p without a hdtv", 480p is EDTV, although I don't know if they still sell EDTV sets. But I do agree that a regular TV cannot do 480p, only 480i. You need either EDTV or HDTV to display 480p.

Bruce

apparently B&O is coming out with a 1080p compatible screen in a month or so...

This STARTS at (a minimum!) 1920x1080

Absolutely agree with Elizabeth. That is why I have still have a Sony HD CRT that can acommodate for a variety of signals. The pixel issue is a big problem until standards converge. If you ever tried using the wrong resolution on a computer LCD screen (i.e. other than the native pixel resolution) then you will know what I mean - it goes all blurred. This means an LCD or a plasma will have an OPTIMUM input signal resolution and will not be as good for signals that do not match this OPTIMUM resolution.

If you still have many DVD's and still watch ordinary TV channels then an EDTV with a native resolution suited for DVD's may be your best choice in the interim (until old signals have disappeared and only 1080p exists)

Downscaling High Def 720p to DVD quality works well. Upscaling ordinary TV signals (less than DVD quality usually) to 720P or 1080P may actually look worse than ordinary TV!

Actually your 1366x768 screen will display max height of 768 pixels. So your screen will display HD 720P (progressive scan) or 1080i (interlaced) but not 1080P (progressive).

720P progressive is higher resolution than a 1080i. A 1080i is equivelant to half the interlaced value or 540P). So 720P has higher resolution than a 1080I, but not higher than a 1080P.

1080P is the highest resolution but a 768 screen will not show its capability.

Furthermore, if you use a DVD player or processor that up converts to 1080P you will need a plasma or projector that will display this.

The future is 1080P but it is pricey at the moment. This is good news for those of us with modest means, because plasma's and LCD with 728 vertical pixels will be coming down to working man prices.