Home audio & video forum: Upgrade To 1080p from 1080i - Is it worth the expense?

If you are like me and watch more HD TV than BluRay movies, then do not spend the money on upgrading. The difference is small as it is and you can only take advantage of 1080p with BluRays and PS3 games.

1080i, the former king of the HDTV hill, actually boasts an identical 1,920x1,080 resolution but conveys the images in an interlaced format (the i in 1080i). In a tube-based television, otherwise known as a CRT, 1080i sources get "painted" on the screen sequentially: the odd-numbered lines of resolution appear on your screen first, followed by the even-numbered lines--all within 1/30 of a second.Improve golf swing

http://blog.hometheatermag.com/geoffreymorrison/0807061080iv1080p/

Its not so much the 1080p classification that's going to make a difference in quality (I see very little difference between 1080p and 1080i signals on my 46" Sony). Rather it will be other factors such as a larger screen, higher refresh rate, local dimming, better black levels, etc that will really make the difference.

Especially black levels. I think far too many get bogged down in resolution when it has a very minor effect on picture quality compared with contrast ratio (and I mean static contrast ratio, not any of these ridiculously high "dynamic" numbers some manufacturers claim.

no

nowhere even close. you'd not be able to tell which was which.

if you were buying now, i'd say get the 1080p. it's 60 hz rather than 30, screen is refreshed twice as often. i is a holdover from almost a century ago when the (analog) hw was not fast enough, so they split it into two.

besides, if you re-purchase everything every time they improved the product, you'll be back to the store every few months. for every product. until you go bankrupt. with high-tech products, by the time you get it home, it's out of date. learn to live with it.

http://www.abt.com/product/24947/Sony-KDF46E2000.html
Here is info on you HDTV. It is 720P set that will accept a 1080i input and rescale it to 720P.
How old is the TV? It looks to be about 4~5 years old, rear projector that has a lamp that will have to be replaced soon, or maybe you have done that all ready.
Today's back-lit LCD HDTVs will have better picture that your current HDTV, but 46" is just that starting point that you can see the difference. 5 years ago Rear Projection sets ruled, but not today.
In your case you do have a lot to gain by getting a new HDTV.
Sadly your old set does not have a lot of value as a trade in, maybe you put the old one in a different room?

I have a 5 year old CRT RP HDTV that will do 1080i. Large screen LCD's just weren't in the market 5 years ago or at a reasonable cost.
So much has changed in 5 years, LCD tends to rule the market, costs have come way down. One of my daughters just got a 47" LCD (for around $900 and this is less than I paid for my RP set)and it has a better picture than my RP CRT. Direct view HDTVs tend to look better than RP ones, because you are looking at the image directly on the screen instead of a projected one. Rear projection TVs have a problem with ambient bright light, direct view LCD have much less of a problem.
Go to the store and spend some time looking.