It's no secret that the first players that are to be released by Toshiba for HD-DVD playback, are limited to 1080i (interlaced) resolution. For some of us, this seems a bit risky- as why would we want such a player if it cannot produce the highest resolution from a blue laser disc, 1080p (progressive)?

THG has an interview with Richard Doherty, a senior manager for Microsoft, who is also an administrative member of the AACS Licensing body. This is the group responsible for copy protection mechanisms for both HD DVD and Blu-ray players. In this talk, Mr. Doherty dismissed the whole issue, since owners of 72 frames per second, 1080p displays, will be able to "digitally reconstruct" the 1080p image from the 1080i signal.

Richard Doherty, Microsoft's senior programming manager for media entertainment and technical convergence, as well as an official AACS LA spokesperson, told TG Daily that the distinctions between 1080i and 1080p are not rooted in the format specifications for either Blu-ray or HD DVD. Both formats should have the theoretical capability of translating moving images at the highest available resolution for digital film, which is currently 1080p at 24 frames per second (1080p/24). Further, Doherty believes that movie studios will prefer to encode their movies for both formats at 1080p/24 resolution, since 24 fps is the frame rate (analogous to the "refresh rate" for PC monitors) for film motion pictures. So if Toshiba's or others' HD DVD players only translate 1080i, the reasons concern the player, not the format; moreover, they may be temporary, as Doherty believes the translation issue could conceivably be solved in the near future with firmware upgrades to the player.