What is 1080p

1080p resolution which is 1920x1080 pixels is the latest HD state for the art resolution. Digital signage display supporting 1080p displays are capable of displaying every pixel of the highest resolution HD broadcasts. In reality, they offer more than twice the resolution of today’s 1280x720 or 720p. Companies refer to this kind of resolution as true or Ultra HD

1080p Vs 1080i

1080i, is the first generation of HDTV technology, this technology can actually display 1920x1080 resolution but the 1080i generate the images in an interlaced format, (now we know what is the “i” for “interlace”). In a the old technology Tube base or projection TV technology, mostly called CRT, using 1080i technology where the frame get drawn 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. In 1080p (P refer for progressive such as 720p, and 1080p) all of the lines of resolution are drawn sequentially in a single pass, which makes a faster, cleaner image, especially with sports and other fast motion content, as opposed to CRT tubes display technology.

This rough animation compares progressive scan with interlace scan, also demonstrating the interline twitter effect associated with interlace. On the left are two progressive scan images. Center are two interlaced images. Right are two images with line doublers. Top are original resolution, bottom are with anti-aliasing

How much extra does a 1080p Display cost

Today the 1080p technology is getting cheaper fast. If you take a look at the product lines of Samsung and LG you can see that, on average, you can expect to pay about $500 extra for the progressive technology.

Why you should buy or not buy a 1080p display for Digital Signage

Obviously, the quality of the content you’re viewing is very important, but so are screen size and how far your audience from the display. Indeed, our digital signage guru, reports that the extra sharpness provided by the 1080p technology is noticeable only when watching 1080i content on a very large display. Comparing a 50-inch 1080p to a 50-inch 720i digital signage display, for example, you’ll be hard-pressed to notice more detail with 720i sources, especially from farther than 10 feet away. Even if you can see the difference, it will be much less obvious. In reality the performance of 1080p is not the extra sharpness you’ll be seeing, but rather, the smaller, more densely packed pixels.
If you are using 1080p for your digital signage player , you should be aware that you may not necessarily get to use all that extra resolution even if you have the right high-end graphics card. For instance, the Sharp set we tested allows you to max out at only 1,280x1024 resolutions.
If you’re thinking of deploying big digital signage signs like 60 inch or larger , the extra resolution may make it worth the difference as long as you have a high quality 1080p content to feed into the player