Is HDTV, whether it be cable or network, the output is no greater than 1080i ?

In short yes, output is no greater than 1080i.

A single coax cable cannot transmit a true 1080p signal. And as such, no cable or satellite provider will be able to transmit anything higher than 1080i without overhauling their entire setup.

I work in an HD production house, and even in the professional world a single core cable cannot transmit a 1080p signal, it is too much bandwidth for the cable to be able to handle. We utilize a dual cable system to be able to do it, but no cable or satellite companies use anything like that. The companies that claim to be able to show 1080p are not showing true 1080p. What they do is lower the quality but keep the resolution, which results in an inferior product. Imagine if Coca-Cola started filling their 2 liter bottles half with coke and half with antifreeze. Sure it would still be a 2 liter drink, but it would not at all be the same quality.

[Edit]

Stephen allow me to clarify my answer since you do not seem to understand.

NO cable or satellite manufacture can send a true 1080p signal to an HDTV. Sure, you can download a PPV of 1080p but you CAN NOT watch it in realtime due to the bandwidth constraints of RG6 the standard in coaxial cable for cable and satellite companies. The best they can do is 1080i.

"In the United States, 1080p over-the-air broadcasts still do not exist as of 2011; all major networks use either 720p60 or 1080i60 encoded with MPEG-2. However, satellite services (e.g. DirecTV, XstreamHD, and Dish Network) utilize the 1080p/24-30 format with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 encoding for pay-per-view movies that are downloaded in advance via satellite or on demand via broadband internet only. At this time, no pay service channel such as USA, HDNET, etc. nor premium movie channel such as HBO, etc., stream their services live to their distributors (MVPD) in this format because many MVPDs, especially DBS and cable, DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT BANDWIDTH to provide the format streaming live to their subscribers without negatively impacting their current services and because of the high "cost" of using more bandwidth for one 1080p/24 channel than what would be used for a 1080i or even a 720p channel and for only those relatively few subscribers who have HDTV devices that can display 1080p/24 as not being an efficient use of their LIMITED BANDWIDTH."

Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p

"Standard definition 480i DVD movies are typically 5 to 8 mbps (megabits per second) MPEG-2 whereas these so-called HD wannabes weigh in at a pathetic 1.5 to 4 mbps of 720p H.264"

Source - http://www.zdnet.com/blog/ou/dont-believe-the-low-...

"But there’s one dirty little secret that people are forgetting or that they don’t understand, IT’S NOT HD they’re getting over the Internet. Heck it’s not even NTSC 480i (720×480 60 fields interlaced) DVD quality when you really look at the amount of video data you’re getting!"

Source - http://www.zdnet.com/blog/ou/why-hd-movie-download...

"'But are they Blu-ray quality?," 'he Times asks of the Dish and DIRECTV movies. 'Resolution is not the only factor that determines picture quality. Another is bit rate, the number of bits per second that are being transmitted down the pipe to consumers...Bit rate is a subject that the cable and satellite providers never discuss, but anyone who watches the various services can see that some channels are considerably softer looking than others.'

The Times quotes well-known TV engineer Pete Putman as saying that CBS now offers the high bit rate over the air with 17 megabits per second for its high-def programs; and that's for 1080i, not 1080p. But Putman says he believes both Dish and DIRECTV are transmitting high-def programming at around 6-8 megabits per seconds.

Consequently, Putnam is dubious that the satcasters have the bandwidth to increase their bit rate to offer true 1080p video."

Source - http://www.tvpredictions.com/1080p080108.htm

If you spend the time to read the articles above, you will see that nothing has changed in the last few years. DirecTV, Dish Network, and all the others are offering 1080p video at a quality lower than DVD. As such it is NOT true 1080p, which their current setups can not handle. The only connections which could possibly offer true 1080p would be the FiOS fiber optic system. Which to my understanding while they have the ability, they have not done so yet. What you have provided as a source is a marketing gimmick which you, like many others, have fallen for.There is a reason that Blu-ray players do not connect to a HDTV using a RG6 coaxial cable.

Please do your research before you wrongly correct me.

The amount of incorrect information posted here by so called experts is really sad.

Yes, you are right.

A coax cable can handle a 1080p signal just fine. However, the limiting factor is that the network high def programing itself is either 720p or 1080i. There is no network 1080p programming at this time. However, Directv and Dish Network both have 1080p movie programming on a number of channels which have only movies and there is no reason why a terrestrial cable company could not do the same thing.

JD needs to keep up on things as his info is WAY out of date. Try looking at this: http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageNR...

nicely you are able to replace the television with a 1080p exchange out the 360 for a PS3 so which you're able to have a blueray DVD participant and use no longer something yet HDMI a million.3 for HD encompass as nicely then you definately could choose a THX qualified encompass sound equipment and your set

In theory it can be 1080i or p but Interlace is used because it is easier for the gear to handle.

But yes - HDTV encompasses 480i/p, 720i/p, 1080i/p or it violates the standard.

The broadcaster only go to 1080i, but VOD can be 1080p.

- 17R3W