What is the difference between 480p 720p and 1080p?

In almost all instances the two screen types* will be defined as "720" and "1080" which denotes either 720 horizontal lines of resolution or 1080. The more pixels there are the higher quality the picture will be, so a television with 1080p will have a higher resolution than a television with 720p.

The letter "p" means "progressive" which provides a higher resolution than if you see the letter "i" which means "interlaced". If you have two televisions, one a 720p and the other a 720i, the television with 720p will have a higher resolution.

*due to standard screen sizes there is no 700p, only 720i or 720p