720p vs 1080p
My HDTV cable box display always shows HD 720p, even when viewing NBC and CBS, which supposedly broadcast HD 1080i. My TV is a 55 inch Samsung 1080p capable set. All this is very confusing to me.
Forum Discussion
2 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
What kind of cable box do you have? Also, what are your local affiliates? Also how do you have the box connected to the TV?
What resolution does your TV report? Usually TVs have an Info screen to display properties, such as input device (cable, HDMI, DVD), picture format (1080i, 720p, 480i), display mode (Normal, Custom, Game), aspect ratio (16:9, 4:3), etc. On your remote, press the TV button...don't turn it off but switch the remote to control your TV and not the cable box. If your cable box is reporting 720, your TV might still be up-converting/up-scaling the signal to 1080.
What's the Output Format set to on your cable box, such as 480, 720, 1080? It might have 1080 deselected.
You won't get 1080p from Cox...nobody broadcasts in 1080p. The only 1080p devices are Blu-ray players, some game consoles and, so they claim, some streaming media sites.
The numbers game is easy: the higher the number...the better picture. Your cable box gets the signal from Cox and then up-scales the resolution. Your cable box then gives the signal to your TV. Depending on the output resolution of your cable box, your TV can up-scale the picture.
Fiddle with the output formats on your devices while watching an HD nature channel. Nature channels give the best detail for longer periods of time to judge images, such as a cheetah stalking a gazelle in high grass.
