- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
1080i is a higher resolution while 720p displays all the pixels on screen at the same time (1080 is 1920x1080 while 720 is 1280x720, however i means interlaced so only half of the pixels of 1080 are displayed on screen at a time, normal TV is 480i so normal TV is also interlaced) the obvious best choice is 1080p which is 1920x1080 AND displays all its pixels at each frame, however, only high end LCDs, DLPs and projectors (and very few other technologies) support 1080p right now and they are very expensive (best 1080p LCD out now is the LG 45in but its way over $4000 now) personally I like 720p the best since I cannot stand interlaced, not even normal 480i interlaced which is why I hardly play Xbox/PS2 games or watch TV any more.
EDIT: Also, when a TV supports a standard such as 1080p or 1080i, it also supports all the standards below it and you can switch between them depending on what source you're using.
For reference when I say below I mean in this order;
TOP
1080p
1080i
720p
480p
480i
BOTTOM
Note that there is no such thing as 720i.
[Edited on 6/8/2006]