PS3 Games: Not 1080p
By Richard Lawler 
posted May 8th 2006 11:32AM
posted May 8th 2006 11:32AM
We'll have to wait until Sony's conference later today and the rest of E3 to get more details about their upcoming console but from the Pre-E3 announcements we're already getting a few tidbits. Sony has been touting their ability to output 1080p via dual HDMI ports while some have claimed most games won't be able to use that resolution. Checking out Sega's announcement that Virtua Fighter 5 will be a Playstation 3 exclusive and Epic's interview regarding Unreal Tournament 2007 reveals one common thread, that both are targeting 720p. Obviously these will be early titles in the systems lifespan so we may see later games kick it up to 1920x1080 and with few having HDTVs that display or accept a 1080p signal this is of limited importance. Still one has to wonder if Sony will even call these games high definition, since the only True HD is 1080p at least according to Phil Harrison.
Check for more live E3 coverage from Joystiq.
Playstation 3 games aren't 1080p they're 480p/720p outputted to 1080p via HDMI. So in reality you're just upscaling. Though it looks better at 720p on an HDMI then Componant cables which are not digital.
"True HD" is a moniker often assigned to 1080p, it's not to say it's exclusively HD. Sony have also referred to it as being "Beyond HD", so it's quite clear that they recognise 720p also as HD.
As for PS3 games, it was expected. 1080p is its maximum output capability, not a minimum rendering resolution for games. All games' resolutions will be scaleable up to 1080p anyway.
Well the PS3 press conference is on. And we will get to find out if the PS3 will ship with 1080p comaptibel HDMi outptu ports or if they will be throtled back for (chipset) cost reasons.
None of those articles references said anywhere that 720p was the MAXIMIUM resolution.
Since 1080i and 720p are roughly equal bit rates, then they will have roughly equal render overheads. Since most TV sets are in one of those two formats then it is a sensible target for devlopers at the moment.
You guys are a little behind. They advised maybe 2mths ago that the games are going to run at 720p. 1080p video games are to much for the PS3.
To #3. What they said was that the games at first are expected to be 720p. Later on however they would be 1080p. This is understandable because at this point 1080p televisions arent commonplace in the home.
Actually, it was announce that PS3 will support 1080p games. And also, most games next year will have that resolution, even if some games at launch may be "only" 720p.
So when Sony said "true HD" won't arrive until the PS3 last year at E3, because it said "true HD" was at 1080p, then are they saying it won't start, when the PS3 launches, but later 2007, when games/developers start making some 1080p games, or attempt to build them? :)
http://games.kikizo.com/news/200512/050.asp
Harrison also said that Microsoft was being misleading, because the Xbox 360 doesn't have a high-definition DVD drive nor does it offer the kind of high-resolution images that Sony's console does:
"As you well know the Xbox 360 doesn't play high definition movies and doesn't have true HD functionality - PlayStation 3 is the only format that has 1080-progressive, which is the true definition of HD, so it's really premature to be talking about the HD era."
Indeed it is premature, Phil.
What Sony isn't saying is that 1080p is /supported/ by the PS3, but will not be available for movies or games. Our retailer newsletter for May 2006 clearly states that, while the Playstation 3 supports 1080p resolutions, most games will run at 720p and the maximum will be 1080i.
Sony lied, so what else is new?
#5. It was said that the PS3 can do a 1080p signal. It's all marketing hype. With full shader effects, hdr, and bloom, and simply can't be done. The GPU is nothing leaps and bounds over the 360.
GranTurismo HD was running at 1080p/60fps at the presser last night.
GranTurismo HD was a concept game. way to pay attention
And it was running at 1080p/60fps. Your point is...
Ha! #9 appears to be the only non-Sony Fanboy here!! lol
1080p or 1080i? There seems to be much confusion for the consumer. To my understanding, with progressive scan, all lines are shown in one refresh, whereas an interlaced line count is the total of alternating lines in two refreshes. That being said, 720p would be equivalent to 1440i (or 1080i equivalent to 540p), making 720p more desirable than 1080i. Now, 1080p would be better than 720p, but was Sony touting 1080p or 1080i? Most HD displays in the U.S. are either 720p or 1080i. I think the savvy consumer would opt for the 720p when choosing the better screen quality. Am I right in my thinking?
We've got a Sony XBR 70" and a Westinghouse LVM 42". The Sony can accept a 1080i input, but it's native resolution is 720p. The Westinghouse can accept a 1080p signal and it's native resolution is 1080p.
Most TV's can't handle a 1080i signal. Just because they can accept and display one doesn't mean you're actually seeing it. Just look at the native resolution of the TV and you'll see it's usually something like 1366x768 which is slightly higher than 720p. This means that 720p gets scaled up a little bit, and 1080i gets deinterlaced and scaled down to 720p.
A 60 fps 1080i signal can be deinterlaced to a 30fps 1080p signal if the TV's native resolution is 1080p and the TV has good video processing capabilities the other option with 1080p displays and a 1080i signal is to double up on the horizontal lines thus displaying 1920x1080, but really only getting 1920x540. As for 1080i = 540p, don't forget about the vertical resolution. 1080i would be 1920x540 (which again will have to be scaled down unless the native res is 1080p), 540p would be 960x540. (I didn't do the math on the 960, but you get the point)
My point is that unless you have a true 1920x1080 1080p display, not just a 720p display with 1080i or 1080p inputs, 720p is the only format that should matter to you.
Thanks Mark for the information. If 1080p displays are something that the consumer can expect to be readily available (hence affordable) on the market, I will gladly wait before I make such an investment, and I hope Sony and game developers would do likewise with their support for it. But if 720p is to become the standard, I see no problem with their lack of support for 1080p.
Point is that your next monitor/display purchase WILL be 1080p capable. Considering that the PS3 isn't even released yet, you want 1080p games ASAP because you will be purchasing a 1080p display sooner than later. The bottom price of 1080p displays is about to fall incredibly! 1080p displays are going to be the standard... so much so you can expect future cable HD to use advanced video codec and 1080p60... 1080p PS3 games sound good to me, but so does my new computer... I'll buy a PS3 as my first console ever...
I think that 1080p is mute. Until Tv's incoparate HDMI 1.2 1080p is useless. Most TV's that say they are 1080p don't have the capability outside of the TV tuner to show 1080p. Sending a signil out at 1080i is also useless. Most tv's will grab the signal downconvert it and show it at 720p. The TV stations haven't even figured out what is best. In general, 720p is more appropriate for fast action as it uses progressive fields, as opposed to 1080i which uses interlaced fields and thus can have a degradation of image quality with fast motion especially on a tube HDTV. Fox, ABC, and ESPN (ABC and ESPN are both owned by Disney) currently broadcast 720p content. NBC, Universal HD (both owned by General Electric), CBS, HBO-HD, INHD, HDNet and TNT currently broadcast 1080i content. Until 1080p becomes the norm it would be in Sony's and Microsoft best interest to use 720p.
After one year of this post, 1080p Games run perfect on PS3, with awsome graphics.
Try Gran Turismo HD for a 1080p test.