HDTV Formats Compatibility

Hi Guys,

I'm new to HDTV...

I understand there are several HDTV formats (eg. 480i, 720p), but when I've been shopping for HDTVs I haven't seen any mention of these formats in the specifications of the TVs. Does this mean that any HDTV is compatible with all HDTV formats?

Also, just because an HDTV is compatible with all HDTV formats does that mean it actually has the resolution necessary to display the format in top quality?

Thanks

Try this. It helped me (almost) understand....

http://www.hdtvprimer.com/ISSUES/what_is_ATSC.html

An ATSC compatible tuner is responsible for accepting all 18 formats & converting them to something your display can use. Your display specs determine what the output res will be, and all the other formats are converted to this.

Common display resolutions for digital TVs are 1080i, 480p, 720p, 1080p. 480p is not HDTV, it's digital EDTV.