Swapping 720p & 1080i

[georgeorwell]

When my installer set up my HR20, he quickly set it up to only output 720p. Is there any way for me to add 1080i without going back through the initial set up?

Also, the reason I want to try 1080i is because I'm going from a 720p display to a 1080p. Anyone have thoughts on which format looks best on a 1080p display?

[compnurd]

Menu>Setup>HDTV Add 1080i

[Michael D'Angelo]

When my installer set up my HR20, he quickly set it up to only output 720p. Is there any way for me to add 1080i without going back through the initial set up?

Also, the reason I want to try 1080i is because I'm going from a 720p display to a 1080p. Anyone have thoughts on which format looks best on a 1080p display?

Every TV is going to look different so you will have to do some testing and see what looks the best to you. You can also turn native ON and have both.

[Michael D'Angelo]

You may want to check out this thread.

http://dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=80659

[boltjames]

When my installer set up my HR20, he quickly set it up to only output 720p. Is there any way for me to add 1080i without going back through the initial set up?

Also, the reason I want to try 1080i is because I'm going from a 720p display to a 1080p. Anyone have thoughts on which format looks best on a 1080p display?

You shouldn't "try" 1080i, you need to set it at 1080i. Some math:

You have a 1080p panel, meaning that you have 2 million pixels that need to be filled on the glass. Your old 720p panel only had 800 thousand physical pixels.

The same numbers apply to the HD broadcasts from the networks. When a 1080i signal comes through the HR20 into your TV, it's also a 2 million pixel signal. Each pixel gets projected right where it belongs on your screen. Spectacular resolution. Near perfection.

When a 720p signal comes through the HR20 into your 1080p TV, only 800 thousand pixels are available, so you've got a problem. Either the HR20 or your TV needs to "paint" the missing 1.2 million pixels that are necessary to fill your panel. This "scaling" process is good and it does a good job of filling in the empty pixels, but you'll be able to see the difference between a 1080i broadcast (NFL on CBS, Today show on NBC) and a 720p broadcast (NFL on FOX, ESPN).

Since 90% of all HD networks use 1080i as the standard (only FOX and ESPN use 720p), what you want to do is make certain that all 1080i broadcasts make it to your TV in 1080i. Otherwise, you'd be letting the box chop out 1.2 million pixels of brilliant HD clarity needlessly.

So, make sure that you check the 1080i box on the settings screen so that the HR20 doesn't chop it down to 720p.

BJ