So my dad has given me his old HDTV after upgrading to a newer one. It’s an old dinosaur of an HDTV, a full-size (non-flatscreen) monster that weighs about 200 pounds. Now I’m contemplating getting a PS3, since I can now enjoy the graphics on a better TV than what I had before. The only problem is, it appears from what I’ve now read that the PS3 does not support 1080i resolution. This particular TV that I have only does 1080i and 480p. And apparently the PS3, from what I have been reading online, does not work with 1080i. Users have reported the PS3 scaling down to the lowest graphics setting (which they described as "Wii-like) on such TVs.
If this is true, it’s bad news for me. I never watch cable TV; the entire purpose of having this giant TV brought in was to play PS3 on it. (I don’t have the PS3 yet.) If what I’ve been reading is, in fact, true, then I’m going to have to get a whole new TV.
Does anyone know? The discussions about this problem that I’ve been reading seem to be from back in 2006. Are the newest PS3s compatible with 1080i?
I run 1080i to my CRT HDTV from my PS3 whenever the game supports it. Many games only output at 720p though, so if your TV doesn’t support that, then I guess you will be downgraded.
Of course, the downgrade to 720p to 1080i isn’t that much of a downgrade due to the difference between interlaced and progressive. And unless you sit really close to the TV (depending on the size) the less likely you are to notice a difference.
I just realize that I misread the OP issue. 720p to 480p will be a noticeable difference, but again, it will depend at least in part on your viewing distance.
I just contacted an “expert” on PS3s and HDTVs, an engineer and gaming enthusiast, with this question - he told me that there would be no problem:
"My original 80GB PS3 (with hardware PS2 emulation) works fine and correctly on any and I mean any HDTV resolution flavor. You can even force it to run in 1080i on a 1080p TV if you want to.
If they’ve changed something recently then maybe, but I very highly doubt it. This is a bluray player and complete HD control is a must…
…PS3 will upscale 720p to 1080 if you force it to, but you may see a small hardware performance hit, and your TV is designed to do this for you and usually does a better job. It’s important … See Moreto understand though, that just like DVD upscaling, no additional information is created… you’re still seeing 720p, just stretched (nicely) to your screen’s native resolution…
…Yes, those games will only output 720p max. Yes, the PS3 will stretch that 720p output to 1080i/p if you “ask” it to. If you leave it on Auto, the PS3 will switch it’s output to 720p on game launch, and your TV will handle the stretching. Be wary of some games (probably Assasin’s Creed 2) that … See Moreadvertise 1080 “compatibility”. This does NOT always mean they are actually rendering in 1080. Some of them have upscaling “built in” instead of using the PS3’s upscaling feature. GTA4 does this by rendering at 640p (or something) and then upscaling that to 720… thus it looks shittier than a normal 720p game.