If you have a 720p TV, you also have 1080i. The p stands for progressive scan, which means all of the pixels are refreshed at whatever refresh rate you have. the i in 1080i stands for interlaced, which means that your're getting more pixels than 720p, but you only get half them at a time. No one broadcasts in 1080p yet. I prefer 720p over 1080i for sports.
I have WOW, and when I got my HDTV, I also started a subscription to Dish network. They offer an HD only package, which is fairly reasonably priced. But reception does indeed suck when it rains.
Geesh, thanks for writing that so I didn't have to. There are so many misconceptions about broadcast formats these days. I blame Best Buy. I'm serious about that, I blame Best Buy.
Here's a couple other tips for all of you out there that have been lied to and misled by Best Buy...
1.) FALSE: You need a $100 HD antenna to pick up HD over the airwaves. (true: you can use any antenna you'd like, even the $9.99 one they have at radioshack).
2.) FALSE: You MUST spend $80-$150 on an HDMI cable to get the quality you're looking for. (true: the more you spend on HDMI cables usually means higher data rates... however, data rates aren't really a factor yet since everything is so compressed. Go online to a site like newegg.com and get yourself an HDMI for $10. If you're worried about it, double it and spend $20... that's still four times cheaper than the lowest price HDMI cable Best Buy carries (thanks Best Buy! You're really a classy company. You treat us so well! Thanks for carrying the highest priced cables and making us believe that's our only option.)
3.) FALSE: You need high-priced (Monster, etc) Component cables if you choose not to use HDMI - Component cables are 6 cables attached together, you'll recognize them because they are red, green, and blue (for the 3-colors you will see on your screen, which is how your image looks better, because there is more room for data to be transfered since there are 3 cables for your image instead of the previous one) and the three other colors attached are red, white, and yellow. (TRUE: These cables are simply RCA cables which are color-coded differently. The SAME cables you've always used before to hook up your VCR (red, white, yellow) can be used instead of spending $50 or more on a deception. All you have to do is recolor-code them yourself or just remember you're running the yellow cord from green to green, etc.
DON'T BE FOOLED!
Damn, I hate Best Buy for that.
