Should I set my settings to 720p or 1080i?

[Onlybrief]

I have a 37-inch TV that is 1080p. Should I set my DirecTV settings to 1080i or 720p?

[jefbal99]

I have my box on my 1080p LCD set to display at 1080i. However, you should look at Native On as well. See if your TV does a better job of scaling the native 720p programming vs. the DirecTV IRD.

Everyone has their opinions as to Native on or Off

[Hutchinshouse]

My 2 cents, set your DIRECTV box to native and be done with it. Channel changing a tad slower. However, slightly better picture in my opinion.

[Clemsole]

I have all our sets set to native on and 1080i only and both tv's look great, all others are disabled.

[Bill Broderick]

How much non-HD content do you watch? I find that my TV has better options for dealing with 4:3 content than my DirecTV boxes do. There is very little SD content that I watch. But, because I do watch some, I prefer Native On.

[Wisegoat]

I have all our sets set to native on and 1080i only and both tv's look great, all others are disabled.

By forcing your reciever to output at 1080i only, you have effectively turned Native Off. You need to have all of the resolutions checked so that the receiver can display them correctly. It will change to the appropriate resolution as indicated by the broadcaster.

I use Native On. I hate the soft look of 480i programming at 1080i. And my TV does a much better job of scaling than the receiver does.

[dcowboy7]

1080i / native off.

Most HD channels are 1080i + channels changes are even slower with native on.

[Onlybrief]

How do you tell what resolution you're looking at?

[Xsabresx]

How do you tell what resolution you're looking at?

With native, on the lights on the right side tell you.

[davring]

Your TV should also display the resolution it is receiving.

[Paul Secic]

1080i / native off.

Most HD channels are 1080i + channels changes are even slower with native on.

There aren't any 1080P channels anywhere.

[Beerstalker]

There aren't any 1080P channels anywhere.

Channels 125, 126, 127 :)

Just kidding, you are right there are no national cable or OTA channels in the US sending out 1080p at this time. Only PPV and video on demand stuff.

The original poster should turn all resolutions on that his TV supports and turn on native and flip around to a few different channels (especially ESPN since it is one of the few 720p national channels). He should then turn off native and only select 1080i, flip through the same channels, and see if he can see the difference. If he can't see the difference I would recommend leaving it that way as channel changes are significantly faster.

[hdthebest]

I recently checked 480p,720p,1080i to my 1080p DLP and IMO I like leaving the native on.. reason being you loose the sharpness on the 720p if you have native off or only select 1080i..Yes 1080i is better but I like for my sports or shows to show native resolution...