720p, what is the proper resolution?

techead

techead

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right, so I download a lot of HD movies... :o

in days gone by, if it was labelled 720p it was usually 1280x720, end of story.

now these days I see MOVIES is coming out with black bars when I watch it, which most of the time is res 1280x528.

then I hop across to the HD series section and everything labelled 720p is 1280x720 and is fullscreen when I watch (rightly so, like the movies used to be!)

I see people arguing back and forth in the comments section saying that 1280x528 is still 720p but I cant see how this is possible :confused:

your thoughts and opinion please
 
Nope 720p is the minimum required to be called HD, this can be 1024x768 (plasma with rectangular pixels), 1280x720 and 1366x768 resolutions, 1280x528 has the correct horizontal but the incorrect vertical res.
 
Lupus said:
Nope 720p is the minimum required to be called HD, this can be 1024x768 (plasma with rectangular pixels), 1280x720 and 1366x768 resolutions, 1280x528 has the correct horizontal but the incorrect vertical res.
Click to expand...

so why are these retards uploading 1280x528 and calling it 720p

:confused:
 
I'm not sure, unless the 720p standard has not shifted to include horizontal only.
 
Movies often have a wider aspect ratio than 16:9, so a 1080P bluray might not be 1920x1080 but instead 1920x800 or something. So the same logic applies.
 
its still HD ready, just like 16:9 content.

1280:720 = 16:9

1280:544 = 2.35:1
 
HTC_guy said:
so why are these retards uploading 1280x528 and calling it 720p
Click to expand...

Maybe it''s because they are maintaining the original aspect ration which is higher than 16:9 and the black bars are part of the 720i image. So the image is letterboxed in a 1280x720 resolution.
 
HTC_guy said:
1280x544 is NOT 720p
Click to expand...

As the guys above are saying, you are probably downloading a 2:35:1 movie.
Instead of encoding the black bars at the top and bottom, they are just leaving them out, so you are getting the same quality as a 2:35:1 movie encoded to 720p with the black bars included in the video stream.
 
This
KromozIII said:
As the guys above are saying, you are probably downloading a 2:35:1 movie.
Instead of encoding the black bars at the top and bottom, they are just leaving them out, so you are getting the same quality as a 2:35:1 movie encoded to 720p with the black bars included in the video stream.
Click to expand...

It's a 2:35.1 aspect ratio movie with the black bars cropped out of the picture. If the black bars was encoded with the movie you'll get your 1280x720 res again but still see the same picture, at the cost of increased filesize. So yeah, it's still 720p.

Oh, and to add: All TV series is recorded in 16:9. Most movies is shot in 2:35.1 with a couple of exceptions being shot in 16:9.
 
Last edited:
So the SOURCE of the movie is 720p but the end result most defnitely isnt.
Watching that 1280x528 on a screen will give inferior video quality as it will have to stretch the vertical (528) to fill the screen to make up for the missing black bars. Unless you playback on a PC with some media player that can add black bars at the top and bottom.
 
SeRpEnT said:
So the SOURCE of the movie is 720p but the end result most defnitely isnt.
Watching that 1280x528 on a screen will give inferior video quality as it will have to stretch the vertical (528) to fill the screen to make up for the missing black bars. Unless you playback on a PC with some media player that can add black bars at the top and bottom.
Click to expand...

But if you stretched it, it would look awful, and then over and under scanning comes into play, adding to your woes.
If you watch the 1280x528 on a Mede8er or an ACRyan, and there are black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, and your kit is set up properly, you are getting 720p quality.
Rule of thumb ... if it is 1280 across, unless it has been mucked up some other way, it is 720p quality.
 
Qwikslver said:
Yes. Most movies are 22:9. Not 16:9.
Click to expand...

I have never seen that term before, but that way 2.35:1 films are actually 21.15:9.

There are a lot of films in the cinema filmed in 16:9. Most romantic comedies for example where it is not a big factor, but your big summer blockbusters are usually 2.35:1.
 
My brother works in the film camera industry (they hire the cameras to all the film companies) and cleared up the whole issue with me. The HD720p is actually the shorthand for 1280×720 in the movie industry.
 
SeRpEnT said:
So the SOURCE of the movie is 720p but the end result most defnitely isnt.
Watching that 1280x528 on a screen will give inferior video quality as it will have to stretch the vertical (528) to fill the screen to make up for the missing black bars. Unless you playback on a PC with some media player that can add black bars at the top and bottom.
Click to expand...

All PC software I know of insert black bars.
 
SeRpEnT said:
So the SOURCE of the movie is 720p but the end result most defnitely isnt.
Watching that 1280x528 on a screen will give inferior video quality as it will have to stretch the vertical (528) to fill the screen to make up for the missing black bars. Unless you playback on a PC with some media player that can add black bars at the top and bottom.
Click to expand...

Most TV's have the "Auto Stretch" picture enabled by default, which is why it will 'fill' the black bars instead of maintaining the aspect ratio. You should be able to turn this off.
 
Oh ok. So PC mediaplayers will automatically fill in the black bars. Didnt know that. So it kinda makes sense then why they are distributing the movies with the blackbars cut out.
 
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