768p "High Definition"?

[empyreal100]

Forgive me if this is too basic a set of questions......I am still learning the details of HD......

I just found out that my Panasonic HDTV (TH-50PX60U acquired in Spring '07) actually has native format of 768p. This detail is carefully omitted from the owners manual and box labels. It says it "accept" 1080p/60 signals; then I found out it downconverts them to 768p to display them.

Questions:

1. Is or was 768p really considered "High Definition"?

2a. How significant is the difference from 1080i or 1080p with a HD DVD input?
2b. ...with a SD DVD input?

3. If I upgrade to a high-end HD-DVD player with Reon chipset, such as (upcoming) Toshiba XA3 or the Onkyo HD805, would it be worth it given the limitations of this TV for either upscaling of SD-DVD or playing of HD-DVD's?

4. Is there a way to select a 768p output from these players to match the TV, rather than have the questionable chip in the TV downconvert a 1080 signal to 768?

Thanks for your opinions!

[Sehnzeleid]

Originally Posted by empyreal100

Is or was 768p really considered "High Definition"?

"Yes", but there isn't any native 768p material available. So you'll either always be scaling up 720p or scaling down 1080i/p sources to 768p.

How significant is the difference from 1080i or 1080p with a HD DVD input? ...with a SD DVD input?

If you're sticking with your current Panny, the difference is meaningless.

If I upgrade to a high-end HD-DVD player with Reon chipset, such as (upcoming) Toshiba XA3 or the Onkyo HD805, would it be worth it given the limitations of this TV for either upscaling of SD-DVD or playing of HD-DVD's?

I think so, I can see differences between the various quality of DVD performance of the couple players I own on my 720p set.

Is there a way to select a 768p output from these players to match the TV, rather than have the questionable chip in the TV downconvert a 1080 signal to 768?

No, but I'd research what scaling chip your Panny has. 720p/768p displays can have pretty fantastic (or pretty lousy) scaling capabilities depending on their chipset. Considering your model, I would bet it's not poor at all.