First, some background on how a TV set works. The CRT (cathode ray tube) televisions that some of us grew up with displayed a picture because a gun fired a stream of electrons across the screen in lines from left to right, starting at the top of the screen and moving down. . The phosphors lining the screen would glow when struck by the stream of electrons.
Since early televisions could not display the full picture on the screen without the top fading when the bottom was viewed, manufacturers devised a system where only half the lines on the screen were refreshed each cycle. while the alternative lines were updated in the next cycle. This is called interlacing and sometimes produces distortion if the images are of a fast-moving subject. Television images are normally generated at 50 cycles per second.
TV technology has advanced significantly and progressive scan was developed. This is what the “p” stands for in 1080p, as opposed to 1080i, where the “i” stands for interlaced. A 1080p TV does not display an image with odd and even lines, but instead displays the entire image at once, similar to movies.
The 1080 refers to the resolution of the TV. While old CRT televisions used to display 576 horizon lines, newer digital high-definition (HD or high-definition) televisions have 720 or 1080 lines that make up the displayed image, giving higher resolution. In fact, digital images may be four times sharper and clearer than analog.
Today, 1080p HD TV gives you the best picture available. Its resolution is 1,920 x 1,080 pixels, and all lines of the image are visible at the same time. Since it’s smoother than 1080i, it does a better job, especially when capturing sporting events and other action footage.
