My understanding is it goes like this-
(from best to worse)
1. HDMI - Digital Signal, allows true 1080p on any HDTV
2. DVI - Digital Signal, not all TV's have it but it keeps the signal digital and broadcasts up to 1080p
3.Component - Analog Signal Allows up to 1080i on any HDTV and 1080p on some TV's (tend to be Samsung)
4.VGA- Analog Signal, does up to 1080i some tv's will allow support 1080p from it. Disadvantage, I've heard that colors tend to be more "washed out", or not as vibrant over VGA, though the picture still looks sharp..
5.S-video- Analog, does not support HDTV..I've never really been very impressed with its difference from composite but in the grand scheme of things, its supposed to be better.
6.Composite- Analog, does not support HDTV...basic video connection that seperates video from audio..
7.Coaxial- Most basic of video through wire, does not Support HDTV, will show worst picture of all 7 as far as definition goes
Digital signals will always tend to look the best and is your best bet to see 1080p. When using analog, the tv has to down convert the digital signal (supposing whats being broadcasted is digital and not off of an old antenna) to analog and thats where you lose the progressive scan and it goes to 1080i...
for best results stick with HDMI, DVI, and Component...VGA is still a good HD choice but most things don't support it....
*
sidenote (not sure if you know this stuff)
resolutions go like this
480i (Standard Definition) Resolution- 720x480 Aspect Ratio- 4:3
480p(Enhanced Definition)Resolution- 720x480 Aspect Ratio- 4:3
720i (High Definition) Resolution- 1280x720 Aspect Ratio- 16:9 (widescreen)
720p(High Definition) Resolution- 1280x720 Aspect Ratio- 16:9 (widescreen)
1080i(High Definition) Resolution- 1920x1080 Aspect Ratio- 16:9 (widescreen)
1080p(High Definition) Resolution- 1920x1080 Aspect Ratio- 16:9 (widescreen)
The p in 1080p stands for progressive
The i in 1080i stands for interlaced..From what I understand its not as sharp a picture as 1080p because of how it refreshes the picture..for example picture the lines of pixels on a tv like this
1
2
1
2
1080i will refresh all odd lines first then the next frame refresh all the even...so for a full refresh it takes two frames, this causes some of the sharpness to be lost..With 1080p it will refresh all the lines of pixels at the same time so you gain a bit of sharpness to the picture. This is why you'll hear people say if your watching something very fast paced 1080i may not look as nice as 720p...Though you lose some or the resolution you gain refresh rate.
Edited by Caffiene_Powered, 04 October 2007 - 02:37 PM.