If I record video in 720P, but encode it in 1080P nicer?

[froggyboy604]

If I have a 720P camcorder to record 720P video, and encode the video in 1080P resolution with a video editing program like Sony Vegas, Windows Movie Maker, iMovie or Final Cut Pro would the video quality be worst or better video quality?

 

[Watch Me Sink]

It will be the same, but will look worse on a 1080p screen. In other words, if you watch both videos side by side in a resolution ≤720p, they will look the same (although the 1080p may look slightly worse, since it will be re-encoded).

 

[froggyboy604]

I also heard of upconverting DVD players which upconvert DVDs to 1080i which offer higher resolutions, but they are more blurry compared to Blu-ray at 1080P.

 

[Watch Me Sink]

But if you have a video at 720p, there's no way of getting it to 1080p quality in perfect 1080p quality (as if it was recorded in 1080p).