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[Chrono]

Is there any where on the net I can see comparison shots of movies/games (I'm mostly interested in games) being played on HDTVs and normal TVs? Or using component instead of composite, displaying images in progressive instead of interlaced, etc…?


I think I'm the only one in this forum who does not even care to use the component inputs on his TV. I’m just not a video-freak in any way. Links to some technical guides on these kinds of things would be great too. Thanks in advance.



And here's one last stupid question: If Widescreen is supposedly the best, then why isn't everything coming out in 16:19 too? I'm not sure if a single game I have supports it. Or is it just a matter of time?

 

[Dilbert]

And here's one last stupid question: If Widescreen is supposedly the best, then why isn't everything coming out in 16:19 too? I'm not sure if a single game I have supports it. Or is it just a matter of time?

Well, I would imagine that the issue is that you'd need to be pushing more pixels to support 16:9 gaming since the screen is wider. (Same problem with 720p.) Since many games are barely getting by, in terms of raw performance, there isn't a margin to support higher resolutions or more pixels.

Now, why more games don't support progressive scan is a bit more of a mystery...or maybe not. I always assume that games would generate a (horizontal lines) x 480 image internally and simply output the interlaced updates to the screen...but perhaps games only generate 240 lines at a time for performance reasons?

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

And here's one last stupid question: If Widescreen is supposedly the best, then why isn't everything coming out in 16:19 too? I'm not sure if a single game I have supports it. Or is it just a matter of time?

It's extra work to make a widescreen option. Just telling the camera to display more at the sides seems simple, but that would just plain mean more geometry to display per frame. So basically, most companies don't deem it worth their effort to cater to a group that's currently by far in the minority and well used to being stuck with 4:3. When enough people have 16:9 sets that not having a 16:9 mode will seriously harm sales, then you'll see it a lot more.

Thinking of games I've got that have a widescreen option... Goldeneye, Perfect Dark... NASCAR Thunder 2003, GTA3... possibly F-Zero GX?

 

[Hitokage]

If you want to do progressive scan or hdtv, then you're going to need component.

 

[Warm Machine]

Well, I would imagine that the issue is that you'd need to be pushing more pixels to support 16:9 gaming since the screen is wider. (Same problem with 720p.) Since many games are barely getting by, in terms of raw performance, there isn't a margin to support higher resolutions or more pixels.

Resolution doesn't change with 16:9. The game is still 640x480. When viewed on a regular 4:3 set the image just appears squished horizontally.

 

[LinesInTheSand]

Resolution doesn't change with 16:9. The game is still 640x480. When viewed on a regular 4:3 set the image just appears squished horizontally.

Uhh no, of course it does appear squished but it's a bigger image being fitted to the screen. Otherwise it would be quite obvious because the image would be being scaled up to the widescreen and would look like shit.

 

[Phoenix]

To do a real 16:9 mode would require rendering in a resolution that is of course 16:9.

The resolution of HDTV is

1,080 scan lines x 1,920 pixels/line = 2,073,600 pixels


Compare to the resolution of an NTSC display which is

480 scan lines x 720 pixels/line = 345,600 pixels


So you'd have to be able to render roughly 6 times the number of pixels per frame if you wanted to do real wide screen.

 

[Warm Machine]

Uhh no, of course it does appear squished but it's a bigger image being fitted to the screen. Otherwise it would be quite obvious because the image would be being scaled up to the widescreen and would look like shit.

A 480p widescreen game on gamecube for example is 640x480. A 480p 4:3 game on gamecube is 640x480. Same with xbox/Ps2. It is called anamorphic.

There is also 720p and 108oi/p each with their own resolutions.

Oh, wait, I think I know what you are getting at...Yes, of course there is more being displayed on the sides of the screen but the game's resolution remains the same.