Can the old PS2 do 720 progressive? Or 1080i?

[veronica_marsfan]

Enquiring minds would like to know. (Perhaps the REAL question is: Do any PS2 games support 720p or 1080i?)
:villagepeople:

[robotriot]

According to this list, Tourist Trophy can as the only game. Don't know if that's true.

http://www.hdtvarcade.com/hdtvforum/index.php?autocom=custom&page=ps2ab

[jajaja]

Gran Turismo 4 supports 1080i.

[Anthony1]

Gran Turismo 4 does support 1080i, but it's well known that it's via software upscalling. It's not true 1080i.


Before the PS2 was ever released, Sony had released documents claiming that the PS2 was compatible with HDTV resolutions, and also showed 1280 x 1024 as it's maximum resolution. I went to e3 2000, and actually talked to Sony engineers at the show, and they said that the PS2 would indeed be compatible with HDTV, yet for the first 3 years I don't think there was a single 480p game, even though the Dreamcast could easily handle a 480p game. (95 percent of the Dreamcast library is 480p compatible). Finally, a 480p PS2 game came out, I think it was one of the Tekken games. It was the first one to be 480p. After that, a few 480p games started to show up here and there, but they were few and far between. Then, more and more 480p games started to show up. Then with the release of Gran Turismo 4, you had the first "so called" 1080i PS2 game. Of course, it was quickly discovered that it was achieving 1080i via a software algorithm that took the 480p signal and did some fancy tricks to get it to 1080i.

[Trebuken]

http://www.xploder.net/faqs/5/Xploder-HDTV-Player-for-PS2.htm

Answers most questions.

[kedawa]

Yeah, the PS2 is definitely capable of outputting high resolutions.
I used to run mine at 1024x768 in Linux.

[Candycab]

My Toruist Trophy will only output at 480P and I cant find anything within the game to scale it any higher. Upscaling isnt worth a damn anyway and imho usually makes the image look worse even with a decent DLP chipset.

[veronica_marsfan]

the first 3 years I don't think there was a single 480p game, even though the Dreamcast could easily handle a 480p game. (95 percent of the Dreamcast library is 480p compatible). Finally, a 480p PS2 game came out, I think it was one of the Tekken games.480p is not HD. It's SD.


So the bottom line is that ALL games use standard 640x480 resolution. Even GT4 is simply 640x480 scaled-up with "pixel padding".

Thanks! No need to waste money on PS2 component cables then.

S-video is good enough.
:drinking:

[djbeatmongrel]

Thanks! No need to waste money on PS2 component cables then.

S-video is good enough.
:drinking:

hate to burst your bub but the compnent cables still bring a higher level of clarity to the ps2's picture. may not be as big of a jump from composite to s-video but its stilll noticable

[veronica_marsfan]

I doubt it. S-video has a horizontal resolution of over 700. That far exceeds PS2's 640 capability and so S-video is "good enough".

[Anthony1]

I doubt it. S-video has a horizontal resolution of over 700. That far exceeds PS2's 640 capability and so S-video is "good enough".


S-Video won't give you the progressive scan image. 480P is night and day better than 480i. Just ask anybody playing Twilight Princess with the composite cable.

[Mr. Smashy]

480p is not HD. It's SD.

Actually, it's not SD. It's EDTV


I doubt it. S-video has a horizontal resolution of over 700. That far exceeds PS2's 640 capability and so S-video is "good enough".

The horizontal resolution for the NTSC standard is either 704 or 720. This would explain why DVD movies are encoded at 720 x 480. As for gaming, if you have a display and a game that supports 480p, you can get twice as many pixels per second (or per 1/30th of a second) as you would with a standard 480i signal.

Really, there's not much of a point in owning an HDTV or an EDTV if you're only using half of the display's capabilities when the only thing holding you back is a simple cable.

[ProgrammingAce]

The system is capable of outputting at HD resolutions, problem is the little 233 mhz processor isn't really up to the task. So from a technical standpoint, the answer is yes. From a practical standpoint, no.

[Half Japanese]

This is a plea:

Can we PLEASE collaborate on an all-encompassing HDTV thread to be stickied at the top of this forum? I'll even get the ball rolling if need be (though others are no doubt as knowledgeable, many more so). We have this kind of thing come up way too often (and often by the same poster asking 500 fairly similar questions in separate threads). Is there any interest in this? Please?

[veronica_marsfan]

EDTV is a non-existent standard. You will not find it listed in any engineering papers or FCC specifications. Any 480-line image, whether it's interlaced or progressive, is considered "standard definition".
The horizontal resolution for the NTSC standard is either 704 or 720. NTSC is an analog format. It does not have pixels, and therefore no 704 or 720 resolution. NTSC has variable horizontal resolution, depending on the quality of the signal. (For example, a poor-quality SLP vhs recording might only be 150 horizontal.)


S-Video won't give you the progressive scan image. 480P is night and day better than 480i. Just ask anybody playing Twilight Princess with the composite cable.
Ahhh. I've never seen a 480i side-by-side with 480p. I know people SAY 480p>>480i but is that really true? Aren't they both the same resolution & near-identical in appearance? WHY does 480p look better?

[ProgrammingAce]

Ahhh. I've never seen a 480i side-by-side with 480p. I know people SAY 480p>>480i but is that really true? Aren't they both the same resolution & near-identical in appearance? WHY does 480p look better?

480p has a faster refresh rate, the screen updates twice as fast.

[Mr. Smashy]

EDTV is a non-existent standard. You will not find it listed in any engineering papers or FCC specifications. Any 480-line image, whether it's interlaced or progressive, is considered "standard definition". NTSC is an analog format. It does not have pixels, and therefore no 704 or 720 resolution. NTSC has variable horizontal resolution, depending on the quality of the signal. (For example, a poor-quality SLP vhs recording might only be 150 horizontal.)

http://www.dtv.gov/whatisdtv.html
Is this an FCC website that mentions EDTV as a set standard? I think so! It even differentiates between SDTV and EDTV.

For the sake of the discussion, I equated 480i signals to the NTSC standard. It would be like how a US PS2 game says NTSC on the cover and is output to the TV at a minimum of 480i.


480p has a faster refresh rate, the screen updates twice as fast.

I wouldn't say that it updates twice as fast as they're both 60Hz (or very close). I'd say that it updates twice as much in regards to the lines of resolution per cycle.

[veronica_marsfan]

Okay I was wrong. I thought EDTV was just Corporate marketing BS (like when Sony claimed the PS2 could do Final Fantasy 7's FMV's in real time).

Guess I need to buy myself a component cable to "jump" from 480i to 480p.