HEVC Coding

High efficiency video coding

What is HD Video and Difference between 720p,1080p and 1080i

HD follows from standard definition (the level of detail in analogue colour TV that most of us grew up with), cramming in even more pixels in order to produce sharper, cleaner images when playing video.
Confusingly there are three different types of ‘HD’ resolution out there, so it’s worth knowing a bit more when shopping around for high definition TV sets and related gear. Just because a TV set or monitor has ‘HD’ slapped on the side, it might not be exactly what you want or need. So let's take a closer look at 720p, 1080i and 1080p here, and what you need to know.

720p,1080i and 1080p HD - What’s the difference?

720p, 1080i and 1080p are all versions of HD, but they’re all different. It’s important to note that you can’t actually buy a TV set with a 1080i display, for reasons which we’ll go into a bit later. So to begin with, we’ll just look at 720p and 1080p and the differences between those.

720p vs 1080p

In the analogue TV days, all UK TVs used the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) broadcast system, which used the standard definition of 576i. In other words, video content came in a 720 pixels wide by 576 pixels tall resolution, also known as ‘standard definition’ or SD.
A 720p screen is 1280 pixels (wide) x 720 pixels (tall). That's more than twice the detail of standard definition, which makes for reasonably sharp video playback on a standard TV. However, 1080p goes even further, racking up the pixel dimensions to 1920 x 1080 - that's five times more detailed than SD.