Home Gaming Full HD 3D will not be possible on current consoles

Full HD 3D will not be possible on current consoles

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WipeoutHD

So you have your shiny (or matte) HD console sitting under your ludicrously expensive 46” 3D TV and you can’t wait to sit down and jam some 1080p 3D gaming goodness.

Unfortunately there are no 1080p 3D games available at the moment but you think to yourself, I’m not going to worry it’s only a matter of time.

But that’s where you are wrong…

Unfortunately the current generation PS3’s have a HDMI 1.4 enabled port (the 360 is only on 1.2 as far as I can tell) and while version 1.4 of HDMI is capable of sending down 3D in 1080p it is only capable of doing it at 24fps.

So if they did make a game which displayed in 1080p 3D it would play like a dog and there is nothing much the developers could do about it.

Which is why Sony is recommending that all developers tailor their 3D games for an output of 720p even though the console can support 1080p and they are going to be releasing a Blu-Ray patch to enable 1080p 3D movie streaming later this year.

Because when we are watching movies 24fps is more than acceptable but it just doesn’t work with gaming.

The big question here though is whether or not this matters to 99.9% of people out there and whether it can be fixed?

Personally I can’t see the difference between 720p and 1080p on my 42” and according to Sony themselves, even trained computer graphics artists can barely see the difference between 3D in 720p and 1080p so what chance do us mere mortals have.

As to whether this deficiency can be fixed via a software update, from my understanding it can but if it was that simple it would have already happened so I am going for a solid maybe on this one.

In a nutshell, no current home console can deliver a True HD 3D gaming experience, no matter what the marketing material alludes to.

Last Updated: July 19, 2010

21 Comments

  1. Tsjarlie

    July 19, 2010 at 12:50

    What about GT5 and Wipeout HD?
    I thought they were 1080p and are also 3D.

    Blast factor is also 3D and 1080p

    Reply

  2. Fred

    July 19, 2010 at 13:13

    Super Stardust Hd3D pushes out at 720p and 120FPS , 60fps for each eye , and that alone is an accomplishment for the ps3 and dev team .
    1080P 60HZ 3D is for the next generation.

    Reply

  3. Gavin Mannion

    July 19, 2010 at 13:33

    They are both 720p when in 3D…

    I also thought the 3D titles were 1080p which is why I found this interesting

    Reply

  4. Gavin Mannion

    July 19, 2010 at 13:36

    yeah but like I said it can only do 720p.. that’s the point

    Reply

  5. Manuel

    July 19, 2010 at 15:05

    @Gavin Mannion
    OMG it’s ONLY 720p in 3D Games!
    Do a little research about this subject and you will see why it’s 720p. I won’t do your job.
    GTA IV and RDR on PS3, Alan Wake and Halo 3 aren’t even 720p in 2D. Neither of them looks as good as Killzone 2 and Killzone 3 looks even better in 2D AND 3D.

    Reply

  6. Bobby Kotick weighs in...

    July 19, 2010 at 15:10

    But he does mention it’s only for 3D games…

    Reply

  7. plmko

    July 19, 2010 at 15:19

    So like we are all playing 720p games…and then suddenly when you hear about 3D games also being 720p it’s bad?

    Reply

  8. knowledge is in the pudding

    July 19, 2010 at 16:23

    We are entering the forth year of the PS3 in november. Two years or so after november I can see the PS3 displaying games in 1080p, 3D, and keeping a solid 60fps(30fps in each eye) all in parallel. Just look at Killzone2, Uncharted2, GT5(18mp screenshots).

    Reply

  9. Cockmon

    July 19, 2010 at 16:24

    Lmfao

    Reply

  10. Steve Hofmeyr

    July 19, 2010 at 16:57

    Seems like you missed the paragraph where he says that it’s hard to spot the difference between 1080p and 720p.

    Reply

  11. Grey

    July 19, 2010 at 19:57

    This sucks for those who don’t care for 3D gaming as games that are tailored for it will be scaled down to 720p. The fact that Sony says that there artists can’t tell the difference between the 720p and 1080p is absurd, its twice the resolution, I’m a graphic designer and I can easily tell the difference. I’ve done the comparison using PC games at either resolution and looked at the screenshot anyone who can’t tell the difference is probably in need of glasses.

    Reply

  12. Gavin Mannion

    July 19, 2010 at 23:13

    I am loving the passionate defenses people have for the consoles only being able to play in 720p, it reminds me of when we used to point out flaws in the PS3 on it’s release and people came flocking to call us idiots…

    I shouldn’t have to repeat it but I will, personally 720p has always been fine for me. Check the archives if you think otherwise.

    Reply

  13. Gavin Mannion

    July 19, 2010 at 23:52

    Awesome MSNBC has picked up on the story (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38312259/ns/technology_and_science-games/)

    Pity they didn’t give a nod back :tongue: , but then again it could be a MASSIVE coincidence

    Reply

  14. RSA-Ace

    July 20, 2010 at 06:52

    720p/30fps is perfect for me this generation. It’s the sweet-spot for awesome graphics and performance.

    Reply

  15. RSA-Ace

    July 20, 2010 at 06:55

    Next generation I’m expecting 1080p/60fps. But then I’m guessing that 4xHD (4096p) will start becoming a reality at the end of that life cycle.

    Reply

  16. easy

    July 20, 2010 at 07:17

    still fighting the good fight hey lazy 😉
    huzzah!

    Reply

  17. Gavin Mannion

    July 20, 2010 at 07:44

    Never give in… Never Surrender… :ninja:

    Reply

  18. eltonriley

    July 20, 2010 at 10:31

    And after all this time, you’re still an idiot. Why? Because if you don’t think that 720p coming from the each of the glasses is at least pretty reasonable, then you really are a douche. At least their 3D is 720, my Halo wasn’t even 720 when I still had my douchebox360, and that was in 2D. :sick:

    Reply

  19. RSA-Ace

    July 20, 2010 at 11:11

    Only in 3D mode will it be downscaled, but besides that there are more factors than just the resolution so maybe don’t jump to conclusions so quickly. On a PC it’s very noticeable because you are <1m away from the screen.

    http://s3.carltonbale.com/resolution_chart.html

    Lets say you sit about 2.2m (7.5 feet) -random number but easy to work with in feet. I'll also assume that the your is 40" diagonal. At this distance there is no noticeable difference between 720p and 1080p.

    Reply

  20. Gavin Mannion

    July 20, 2010 at 12:43

    Wow so I’m an idiot for reporting something that most people didn’t appear to know…

    Screw the fact that I said it didn’t matter and that 720p is more than good enough..

    Seriously do you really see this article as an attack on the PS3? Because I would love to see how you figured that little nugget out.

    Reply

  21. nic5king

    July 21, 2010 at 17:19

    most people dont even have hd tv’s yet ok most of you probably do, but Gavin is wright 720p is good enough and it is still great to watch. ya and dont hate on him because he’s reporting the news it’s his JOB MAN!

    Reply

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