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[AmericanPixel]

This is my first thread & I was hesistant to make it. I've been asking around online and oddly haven't received an answer.

This concerns my entertainment setup. I'll try to make this as streamlined as possible. I have my PS4 Pro/Xbox One X hooked up to my Samsung KS9000 4K/HDR tv via a 4K/HDR splitter that splits to a Acer 1080p 144hz monitor.

I thought that by doing this the consoles would output to 4K on my TV and then 1080p on the monitor but that's not the case. Both the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X output to 4K on the monitor and then it's brute supersampled. I want to know why. Why aren't the consoles outputting to the lowest resolution of the two screens (which is 1080p) when I'm solely outputting to the said monitor?

Thanks.

I forgot to mention that both consoles are hooked up to the monitor via an HDMI switcher.

 

[pr0cs]

It's the splitters fault, you'll have to do some digging on its fine details, probably a bandwidth issue

 

[TUROK]

If it's a splitter, then all it's doing is duplicating the output from the console. If the output is 4k, then it's going to duplicate a 4K signal, irrespective of the monitor's display resolution (unless it doesn't even accept a 4K signal, in which case I'd expect it to output in 1080p for both TV and monitor). I'm a little surprised the monitor will even accept a 4K signal.

Unless the monitor has a crappy scaler, what's the issue?

 

[TLZ]

If you want 1080p for now you'll have to enable 1080p and supersampling on PS4, until you find another solution for your splitter, if there's one.

 

[dotnotbot]

I'm so jealous that your 1080p monitor accepts 4k. My 1440p Samsung refuses to do so, but maybe this splitter trick would work, I have to try that.

 

[Codes 208]

I'm so jealous that your 1080p monitor accepts 4k. My 1440p Samsung refuses to do so, but maybe this splitter trick would work, I have to try that.

Technically speaking this doesnt make the 1080p monitor a 4k. Its being forcefully supersampled as 4k while remaining at 1080p by duplicating the other screen due to (presumably) bandwidth issues.

If you have your console set to super sample mode (on ps4, xbox does this by default) it’ll still supersample 4k to your 1440p monitor

 

[Virex]

I will quickly phone Phil Spencer and tell him to sort this shit out RIGHT NOW!

 

[Mistershine.]

Have you tried it without the splitter, and does it still force 4k?

 

[dotnotbot]

Technically speaking this doesnt make the 1080p monitor a 4k. Its being forcefully supersampled as 4k while remaining at 1080p by duplicating the other screen due to (presumably) bandwidth issues.

If you have your console set to super sample mode (on ps4, xbox does this by default) it’ll still supersample 4k to your 1440p monitor

Yup, I know that, but ps4 supersamples to 1080p and then my monitor upsamples from 1080p to 1440p. If I could force my monitor to accept 4k it would scale it down directly to 1440p (hopefully with a slightly sharper result). I know that my monitor can accept 4k through pc if I set 4k@60 as a custom resolution, but on ps4 pro this setting is just greyed out.

 

[Gavin Stevens]

So you want it to remain 4k on one, and 1080p on the other, but native...?

That just won’t happen. Resolution isn’t a post process effect, it’s a native thing. So either you have 4k native on one and 4k supersampling at 1080p on the other (the perfect setup) or you have 1080p native in both. To do 1080p native on both change your max output resolution on the system to 1080p, or make your 1080p monitor your primary monitor.

You can’t just use two rendering resolutions, not without re-rendering the scene all over again, and that’s just not going to happen.

 

[manzo]

OP is trying something impossible with just a splitter. It just splits the source image into two identical sources.

What the OP needs to set the PS4 to output 4k, then use a combo of a splitter and a scaler. One source goes from the splitter to the TV directly, passing through the 4k output of the PS4. The other source from the splitter goes to a scaler, which downscales the 4k source to 1080p, which is passed to the monitor.

If the monitor could downscale 4k to 1080p, then the monitor would act as the scaler, but I'm pretty sure the Acer cannot accept a 4k image. You need something between the splitter and the monitor which takes care of the 4k -> 1080p downscaling.

Edit: Also to make things harder, if OP wishes to pass on 4k AND HDR, then we are talking about very expensive splitter/scaler systems. Might not be worth the penny to go through that route, unless OP is prepared to spend a pretty penny on convenience.

 

[AmericanPixel]

Thank you for the input thus far everyone.

If it's a splitter, then all it's doing is duplicating the output from the console. If the output is 4k, then it's going to duplicate a 4K signal, irrespective of the monitor's display resolution (unless it doesn't even accept a 4K signal, in which case I'd expect it to output in 1080p for both TV and monitor). I'm a little surprised the monitor will even accept a 4K signal.

Unless the monitor has a crappy scaler, what's the issue?

There isn't an issue really since the supersampled image looks so crisp on the monitor. I just wanted to know why it wasn't working as I thought it would.

The only drawback is that my Xbox One X isn't able to take advantage of the Freesync feature of the monitor unless directly plugged into it.

Have you tried it without the splitter, and does it still force 4k?

I have tried it without the splitters and it does not force 4K. Pro and X output to 1080p, Pro allows me to check the supersample box on the video output settings & X does it automatically.

Oddly enough on Pro the brute supersampled image looks "better" than the one produced by the console when outputting to 1080p directly to the monitor.

Edit: Also to make things harder, if OP wishes to pass on 4k AND HDR, then we are talking about very expensive splitter/scaler systems. Might not be worth the penny to go through that route, unless OP is prepared to spend a pretty penny on convenience.

I'm glad you mentioned this.

I did forget to include that I'm also using an HDMI switcher for the monitor to rotate between Pro/X/Switch etc. Although the Acer monitor is only 1080p & doesn't support HDR I made sure to "future-proof" although with HDMI 2.1 around the corner that may be moot.

Both the switcher and splitter support HDMI 2.0, 4K/HDR at up to 60fps and 4:4:4 (whatever that means).

The oddest thing would happen and only after testing it did I realize it was the HDR. Gears 5 looked washed out af on the monitor, so did Days Gone, so did Crackdown 3. My Switch tho? Looked great.

Then I figured it out. It was the HDR on the consoles. I have to turn HDR output off when using the monitor for the image to look "normal" and not washed out.

So you want it to remain 4k on one, and 1080p on the other, but native...?

That just won’t happen. Resolution isn’t a post process effect, it’s a native thing. So either you have 4k native on one and 4k supersampling at 1080p on the other (the perfect setup) or you have 1080p native in both. To do 1080p native on both change your max output resolution on the system to 1080p, or make your 1080p monitor your primary monitor.

You can’t just use two rendering resolutions, not without re-rendering the scene all over again, and that’s just not going to happen.

Yes I read that in fact, this brute force supersampling was the best way to go.

 

[AmericanPixel]

Sorry, DP.

 

[Negotiator]

PS4 Pro offers an SSAA toggle, while XB1X doesn't.

 

[01011001]

PS4 Pro offers an SSAA toggle, while XB1X doesn't.

which has nothing to donwith his problem whatsoever