Probably touched on somewhere, but I would not know where to look. I have a native resolution of 1080i on 5 year old tube tv. On my cable box I have the ability for it to display in 1080i or 720p, which would be better. I sit way too far away, (about 12 feet) but that's the way it is. Tv size is 30". Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Is this a trick question? If you have the means to output 1080i to a display capable of 1080i, then that's the way to go. I assume the cable box doesn't upconvert and will output 720p if that's what the source material is?

I really don't think it would matter much. On a set that small you wouldn't see a difference anyway.

It's a fair question -- there were so many debates about whether 720p or 1080i was a better broadcast format, so...

Anyways, as pmbuko said you're generally best off feeding the TV with its native resolution to minimize the amount of processing along the way.

What makes the answer non-trivial is that the TV could conceivably be better than the cable box at converting from 480i/720p to 1080i -- in that case *if* there is an option to output whatever format the broadcast was in then that would be worth trying as well.

If the box outputs HD at broadcast resolution (ie 720p programs are output at 720p and 1080i programs are output at 1080i) and your choice only affects what happens with SD(480i) broadcasts then definitely go with 1080i.

CRTs don't really have a native resolution, though.

The best answer is to just experiment and see what looks best to you.

But I suspect you won't be able to tell a difference, especially since you're viewing a 30" TV from 12' away.

I have a 50" RP LCDTV with native 720p resolution and I cannot tell the difference between 1080i and 720p either. 1080p is another story, but the difference between these two has always been negligible in my setup.

Jason

Some of the earlier CRT's(mine included) ONLY output HD in 1080i. 720p was not an option. I am assuming that your set can do both in which case it is just a matter of personal preference since the HD cable boxes generally give you the multiple choice option of video output. In my case if I switch to 720p on the cable box and try to output that to the monitor, I just get a blank screen.

Yep Casey, my set offers both (not that I'd know which one I'm watching)

Jason

I remember reading somewhere that if you watch a lot of fast moving shows, i.e. sports, etc. that the 720p is a little smoother. My cable box will output 1080i and 720p and I run mine on 720p.

But with fast women, 1080i is definately better.

With fast women, everything is better!

That's only if you can keep up

and if you can't keep up, just relax and enjoy!

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/products/consumers/userguidepdfs/4003114.pdf This is my cable box. It can apparently be setup for all resolutions except 1080p. It has formatting capabilities as fixed, pass through, upconvert-1 and upconvert-2. The cable company says it broadcast in 480p and 1080i. However if I format it to pass through, the analog (or non HD channels) show up as 480i. Fixed, not so sure. With the upconvert on the HD channels could apparently be 720p 0r 1080i, depending on the upconvert. Is it I don't know, can I tell a difference, don't think so.
Side note, This all going through my Onkyo 606 Have it set to 1080i, but I don't think I can tell a difference, between a known 480p and a 1080i, regardless of what I set it to. I think I am getting off track, if so I apologize. The instruction manual of the 606 says it only upconverts with component inputs. So be it. Would this be because of the tv or the 606. (480p,1080i)