# Is 1080i supposed to look grainy?



## wil11o6 (Jun 24, 2010)

I recently bought a ps3 so this is my first time experiencing blu-ray movies. I have a 5-6 year old 32" Samsung 720p HDTV but it can display 1080i for some reason. I bought some blu-ray movies and I set it in 1080i and the picture quality looks very grainy. I even set the sharpness down to 0, and I see little grainy pixels. Is it because it's 1080i and not 1080p? There is also a little grain in 720p. Also, I see bars from top to bottom whether my TV is set to 720p or 1080i.

So two questions:
Is 1080i supposed to look grainy? Even 720p is a little bit. If not, do I need a new TV?
How come I see bars from top to bottom when it's wide screen format? It's 16:9 in TV settings and ps3.

Edit: I think my HDTV may be 1366x768 resolution for some reason, because I think when I hooked it up to the PC, it had scaling issues and had to set HDTV at 1366x768 or something. So does that mean my HDTV isn't true 16:9?


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Your TV is displaying whatever its native resolution is. If the native resolution is 720p, the TV will down-convert a 1080i signal to 720p or up-convert a lower resolution to 720p.


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## nholmes1 (Oct 7, 2010)

The bars from top to bottom indicates something isn't setup right, as Mike said your tv will convert to its native resolution no matter what you feed it, that said I would set the PS3 to 720p or auto for video out to get the least amount of conversions.


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

The size of the screen on your television determines if it is 16:9 or not. If it is a widescreen monitor (as opposed to being squarish) it's widescreen 16:9. The pixel count doesn't directly relate to that.

Given that your screen is indeed a widescreen, a 720p or 1080 image should fit it assuming your source material is 16:9 (some movies are not and will show bars running horizontally above and below the picture). Start with a movie that you know is 16:9 (or has a aspect ratio of 1.78). That should completely fill your screen. Look in your source menu and be sure your outputting a 720p picture. This should be 1280x720 pixels.

You should be able to go to your monitor menu and select a 720 widescreen display and get the best results, but if your monitor isn't 1280x720 native, it will have to convert to its native resolution and that might create some "graininess", as you describe. If you select a 720p mode on your monitor, you don't have much control over this conversion if it takes place.

Ideally, a display should have a native resolution of 1280x720 OR 1920x1080 to get the best results with an HD picture. It's a fairly simple conversion between the two that produces few artifacts. If your display is something else (i.e., a computer monitor) it may involve an odd conversion that could be "grainy". Your monitor sound's like an HD monitor with native 1280x720 resolution. It may list a 1080 display mode, but it is actually down-converting a 1080 input to its 720 resolution. This, in itself, shouldn't create too much graininess. Showing vertical bars, however, means something else is going on. Probably a monitor menu item relating to resolution or 16:9/4:3 display modes.


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## gsmollin (Apr 25, 2006)

1366x768 resolution has been used on a number of sets. Obviously, it isn't 1080. The set is down-converting, and that is causing the graininess. It is best to run the set at its native resolution, and let the PS3 convert the BD to that resolution, which it can do without introducing graininess.


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