OT: HD TV nerds

If you get an HDTV with 1080i resolution, but a 100Hz refresh rate, will you
actually notice a difference between it and 1080p ?

Have a read of this.

Torn between a couple of models of TV, and it seems to be the main
difference.

The way I got it, televisions don't have a 1080i resolution, they are just
able to display such a format, which has to be deinterlaced anyway before
being displayed on the screen. I've only seen 1080i being dislpayed on a
fullHD Samsung we're pretending to be using as a monitor at work and the
result was way worse than 1080p (static image mind and the panel was for
1080p anyhow).

Even if you're going for a less-than-fullHD resolution set, I understnad
that you should try and find one that can handle 1080p feed, as this is the
best source it can get. It will display in less than 1920x1080, but it'll
have a better source to start conversion from.

Depends what you're going to watch on it. No TV is made with a 100Hz
refresh rate so it's a bit of a con designed to reduce apparent flicker
but makes things like crawling caption ghostly so isn't without drawbacks.

Also to reap any rewards from 1080p you'll need a suitable dvd player
and even then you'll get an increase in apparent resolution but a
decreasein apparent frame rate.

Feed both with an 'off air' signal, preferably with fast moving action
like a sports match, and make a side by side comparison.