MNtundraRET wrote:This new 4K cable-box would be able to produce a better "up-scaled to 4K" picture for anyone with a 4K television of lower quality. Mainly because the box outputs 4K meaning the local 1080i channels still found on Comcast Cable along with many 1080i programs still being being output in 1080i on the ON DEMAND listings after the first broadcast seen on the original channels now only outputting a 720p version of the program.
There was an earlier post going over the merits of setting older cable-boxes to 1080p, 1080i, 720p, or 480p. The point being missed by the majority of repliers is that if the box is set to say "720p" will not output to total pixels of real signal (1080). 720p has only 45% as many real signal pixels.
A 4k television was designed to synthesize a 4K picture from 1080 (1K) by filling out surrounding pixels starting with 25% real signal. Using a 720p signal requires synthesizing a final picture starting with only 12% real signal pixels. A quality brand high end UHD television can handle the problem better if the owner understands how to use the special features of his set to offset for this problem.
The comparison of progressive versus interlace comes in to play much less for new televisions with faster frame rates. Setting a box to 1080i or 1080p is best for people with a 4K television. As my grandmother used to say: "You can't spin silk from a sows ear"
Comcast is converting to HVEC and taking that one progressive scan and creating all the others. the networks last I heard provide only progressive on-demand (HD). Comcast has signaled they are going to be all progressive and even hinted they are moving to all IPTV.
Real pixels don't exist for 1/2 of the lines in 108pi they are synthesized by computation and estimation from two different images creating a computed line that does indeed take up stream. the work of a deinterlacer makes a pretty poor estimation of what could have already been a progressive image. Then end of CRT is at hand as far as support so interlaced will finally be put out of its misery just as NTSC was ended.