What do 720p games look like on a 1080p 50"+ screen?

ic1male · 17 Mar 2008 at 12:29

So I was playing the Xbox title, Doom 3, on the 360 over the weekend and even though it was upscaled to 720p on my 32" TV, it looked horrendously jaggy/blocky.

I'm wondering if the same applies when playing a 360/PS3 720p game on a 50"+ TV upscaled to 1080p? Is it less likely to be an issue with the 360/PS3 because they now use anti-aliaising to help out?

Margaret · 17 Mar 2008 at 12:31

Sitting up close they won't look great on an LCD, the res is quite small for the large screen space, Plasma would definitely look better as they seem to handle lower resolution content better than LCD.

That said 720P games look pretty good on my 37" 1080P, but I have to sit a bout 5 feet away for this, up close they do lose their edge.

Edit: I am talking about 720P PS3 and 360 games.

Wyrdo · 17 Mar 2008 at 12:31

It's an Xbox title, what did you expect?

A 360 game should look much better.

badbob · 17 Mar 2008 at 12:32

Is it less likely to be an issue with the 360/PS3 because they now use anti-aliaising to help out

I thought they didn't? PC gaming at native 1920x1080 on 40" looks superb, with some games you need AA but others can get away with it. Supreme Commander looks fine without AA.

Shep_Cobain · 17 Mar 2008 at 12:39

720p games on 1080p look fine as there upscaled even though their original res is 720p.

Its like polishing a turd. It will look better than a normal one.

However, in some instances the game can look worse if the tele has a crappy upscaler.

My Samsung 1080p is spot on.

JudgeC · 17 Mar 2008 at 13:05

I have played quite a few PS3 games that are upscaled from 720p to 1080p and they have looked excellent.
As previously mentioned, it depends on the quality of the upscaler, which seems pretty good on my 52" Bravia X Series.

Margaret · 17 Mar 2008 at 13:08

JudgeC said:
As previously mentioned, it depends on the quality of the upscaler

and how far away you sit.

JudgeC · 17 Mar 2008 at 13:14

Jihad said:
and how far away you sit.

True.

I sit about 8 feet away.

Margaret · 17 Mar 2008 at 13:19

JudgeC said:
True.

I sit about 8 feet away.

Probably just a bit closer to my TV than that but all looks good.

Dutch Guy · 17 Mar 2008 at 13:20

The scaler makes all the difference, it is one of the reasons I went for a 1080p Sony Bravia 40W2000 instead of a cheaper one as it has a very good scaler.

Metalface Mark · 17 Mar 2008 at 13:25

Not many xbox games were 720p though, pretty sure doom wasnt, so it will be a 480p signal upscaled, which will be why it looks bad.

Mr Latte · 17 Mar 2008 at 18:52

Metalface Mark said:
Not many xbox games were 720p though, pretty sure doom wasnt, so it will be a 480p signal upscaled, which will be why it looks bad.

Indeed very few and none of the UK games at all as UK firmware didnt offer 720p or 1080 settings IIRC
Soul Calibre (NTSC but in 4:3) and Dragons Lair are two that come to mind.

The OP is confused with Xbox SD games being upscaled via X360 and displayed on a 1080 Display.

Typical idea:
768x480 native res game being scaled to 1280x720 or 1920x1080 hence why it doesnt look great.

However 720p tv,movie or games will look grand on a 1080p display

Kreeeee · 17 Mar 2008 at 18:57

Mr Latte said:
Indeed very few and none of the UK games at all as UK firmware didnt offer 720p or 1080 settings IIRC
Soul Calibre (NTSC but in 4:3) and Dragons Lair are two that come to mind.

The OP is confused with Xbox SD games being upscaled via X360 and displayed on a 1080 Display.

Typical idea:
768x480 native res game being scaled to 1280x720 or 1920x1080 hence why it doesnt look great.

However 720p tv,movie or games will look grand on a 1080p display

480 * 1.5 = 720
720 * 1.5 = 1080

so surely 720p upscaled to 1080p is akin to the quality of 480p when upscaled to 720p?

BigBadBenny · 17 Mar 2008 at 19:04

Kreeeee said:
480 * 1.5 = 720
720 * 1.5 = 1080

so surely 720p upscaled to 1080p is akin to the quality of 480p when upscaled to 720p?

I'd agree with that summation but with more clarity.

Your not going to sit 12 inches away from a 50 inch screen. It'll look as good as it gets dependant on the screen itself, imho.

Edit - Also be heavily dependant on which game you are playing, for example Bioshock will look a lot better than GTR4.

ic1male · 17 Mar 2008 at 20:00

Kreeeee said:
480 * 1.5 = 720
720 * 1.5 = 1080

so surely 720p upscaled to 1080p is akin to the quality of 480p when upscaled to 720p?

Yes, that's what I was getting at. But I guess the graphical quality of Xbox 360 games far surpasses what Xbox 1 could do hence there wouldn't be as much "ugliness" to begin with.

Mr Latte · 17 Mar 2008 at 21:33

Xbox is dead anyways

However if you want the best image out of the original xbox you wont get it from a X360 and from its Xbox emulation.

You will need the UK model patched to run the NTSC firmware and access the 720p mode and more importantly allow the progressive scan output using an offical component cable or one of the VGA adapters.

Trust me i spent a lot of money and time going through all the Xbox connections options when building my entertainment room in getting the best quality on PC monitors and on my projector. Back when i had PS2 and Xbox lan configurations.

This from a review i did on it about 4 years ago. (going down memory lane)

PaulStat · 18 Mar 2008 at 09:23

^^^ You have way to much money, I vote you give me any you find down the back of your sofa, i'm sure it'll be at least a couple of hundred quid