Newbie Questions: 720p vs 1080p and interior views

[WolfRacer543]

G'day all,

I dont currently own a PS3, or any current gen console, I do have a PC and am a big sim racing fan and play many of the great PC sims available.

I'm interested in getting a PS3, mostly for GT5P/GT5 to be honest, and to be even more honest, largely because of graphics (there's no PC racing sims that look remotely as nice as GT5P, none even have dynamic shadows!). But I have a few questions that I'd love if someone could help me out with. Mostly related to TVs though.

Main problem is what to get to display the PS3, currently I dont own a TV, at all. I have a TV card in my computer and watch it on my 20" PC monitor, which wont be appropriate for a PS3 due to wrong aspect ratio, wrong resolution and no HDCP (its an older monitor).

So I'm wondering if there's a big difference between 720p and 1080p in GT5P, particularly in the interior views. Are gauges noticably less readable in 720p, or are they readable in 1080p for that matter? Normally in PC sims, assuming the gauges are readable, I switch off the HUD and just use the car's gauges. Is that an option in GT5P? Are the gauges readable in 720p or even 1080p for that matter?

I can't really afford a 1080p TV, but I can afford a 24" computer LCD monitor which can happily run 1080p. Infact the 24" computer monitor is a hell of a lot cheaper than even a 720p TV, and if I went for the 24" monitor option I'd probably upgrade my video card along with it.

The other option is a cheap 32" LCD TV which is 720p. The cheapest ones are still a few hundred dollars (Australian) more than a 24" monitor, so I wont be able to afford a new video card if I get a 720p TV. But, as I understand, even a cheap LCD TV will have vastly superior colors and blacks than the cheap 24" TN panel monitors I'm looking at. I'm just concerned about the sharpness and clarity of the car interiors. If they look like crap, then a huge part of why I bought the TV would be wasted.

Even the cheapest 32" LCD TVs are pushing my budget, so if its not going to be good enough, I'd rather just buy nothing and save my money (maybe buy a new bow and arrows, grown out of my old one ).

What do you reckon?

Any help would be much appreciated, if I go ahead and buy a 32" TV it'll be a huge step that I'd rather not take blindly since I'm a University student and dont have money to throw around.

 

[viejaloca]

I have a 32" lcd and it's 720p and I can't read the guages. I even went really close to the screen and still can't make out what they say. If you really want to see EVERYTHING then go for 1080p. If you don't want a big price go for a smaller screen because to me my 32" is good enough.

 

[Zer0]

Check this thread:

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=114757

 

[Windfire1010]

I will be talking from experience.
There is not much difference if any between a 480p tv and a 1080p TV. I have a 42'' LCD downstairs but I don't use it for gaming. I use the TV my dad bought in 1982. I used both TVs and the LCD's graphics are not that much better. The only thing you should worry about is the aspect ratio. Make such it is 16:9 or the in car camera will be cut of at the sides.

 

[Zer0]

I will be talking from experience.
There is not much difference if any between a 480p tv and a 1080p TV. I have a 42'' LCD downstairs but I don't use it for gaming. I use the TV my dad bought in 1982. I used both TVs and the LCD's graphics are not that much better. The only thing you should worry about is the aspect ratio. Make such it is 16:9 or the in car camera will be cut of at the sides.

In order to see any difference you need a component or hdmi cable and configure your PS3 before displaying the HD modes on your tv(720p and 1080i/p).

Or maybe you have a very old LCD/plasma limited to only 480p...

 

[Coxis]

I will be talking from experience.
There is not much difference if any between a 480p tv and a 1080p TV. I have a 42'' LCD downstairs but I don't use it for gaming. I use the TV my dad bought in 1982. I used both TVs and the LCD's graphics are not that much better. The only thing you should worry about is the aspect ratio. Make such it is 16:9 or the in car camera will be cut of at the sides.

Are the actual resolutions you play with on each TV different? If they aren't, you should buy a component or HDMI cable and set the resolution to either 720p or 1080p (depending on your TV's cappabilities) to be able to tell the difference.

 

[WolfRacer543]

Check this thread:

https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=114757

Oh thanks, I did do a search but didn't see that thread!

I often watch 480p, 720p and 1080p on my PC monitor and I've discovered I sit too far away to notice the difference between 720p and 1080p when watching TV. But one thing I notice about the 1080p is when I sit closer, text is a better defined and when I'm playing racing games I sit a lot closer (with my steering wheel set up and all). Which is why I made this thread

Those pictures make my choice even harder... with 720p images at the smaller size, its hard to tell. If I enlarge the 720p image to the same size as the 1080i ones without any interpolation, the 1080i gauges are far more readable, but I'm not sure if this is indicative of what a TV does (If a 720p TV blurs the pixels slightly, it'll look better than the un-interpolated image).

 

[Lion-Face]

I've played and run GT5P on 720p and 1080p native TV's. Resolution means little, if its HD your going to get a beautifully crisp picture. What you should be looking for is hard specs on contrast ratio, colour reproduction etc. Those specs alone will provide a better quality image over anything else.

There is a few differences i have noted between 720 and 1080. 720 the digital rev counter on the cockpit view is blurred together, while at 1080p its defined. But you DONT need a 1080p native tv to see the difference. My main gaming TV is a Sony Bravia KLV46V200A (I believe it was KDL46V2000 in australia 2 years ago) and it has a native resolution of 1366x768 (often called 720p native) but it will accept and display a 1080p signal, and i get the same defined clear 1080p resolution that i have seen a 1080p native tv running.

So provided you purchase a tv that is 1080p signal compatability, you shouldnt have an issue seeing GT5P in all its glory, it is definantly a better picture in 1080p than the other resolutions, but not by much. Which shouldnt be too hard seeing as all the big brand (Sony, Samsung, Panasonic etc) name tv's support all HD resolutions

 

[Meinbeast]

Hey I just recently bought a 24' HDTV/monitor. Its the samsung SyncMaster
T240HD. Thats the US model numbers i believe. Anyways i just got in 3 months ago and love it so far. I have my laptop and ps3 hooked up through HDMI. Its 1080p and grand turismo looks freaking sick on it. I am a university student as well and I know it sucks spending this kind of money on something but its worth it. I got mine on sale for $400 at Costco. I think it was originally 450. The only complaint I have is when I did use it as a tv the picture was not great but it was not bad for a TV and monitor all in one.

 

[WolfRacer543]

After a bit more thought I might go for the LCD monitor. I'm thinking either grab this monitor, BenQ G2412HD and a new video card (nVidia GTX260):

http://www.benq.com.au/products/LCD/?product=1489&page=specifications

With that + the video card it sets me back about $580 Australian. Alternatively, I could grab this TV:

http://www.digitalhome.com.au/Tvs_And_Home_Theatre/Soniq/QSL322T_32_INCH_HD_LCD_TV/29213

Which sets me back $627ish (I have a friend who works at the shop who might be able to get it for me slightly cheaper).

What do you think?

 

[zed300]

I've got a 40" Sony 1080p and after I put the HDMI cable on from the PS3 all games improved graphically. I'm not sure but I saw recently, maybe 2 weeks ago, a 32" 1080p no name LCD at K-Mart for $799.

 

[G.T.Ace]

Hey I just recently bought a 24' HDTV/monitor. Its the samsung SyncMaster
T240HD. Thats the US model numbers i believe. Anyways i just got in 3 months ago and love it so far. I have my laptop and ps3 hooked up through HDMI. Its 1080p and grand turismo looks freaking sick on it. I am a university student as well and I know it sucks spending this kind of money on something but its worth it. I got mine on sale for $400 at Costco. I think it was originally 450. The only complaint I have is when I did use it as a tv the picture was not great but it was not bad for a TV and monitor all in one.

I think i have the same model, its called SyncMaster 2493hm here.
Yes, it owns, but i would recommend you to get a HDMI to DVI-D cable for the PS3, if you have the same model as me, because it doesnt support HDCP over HDMI, only through DVI. DVI-D is the same as HDMI just without sound (but i doubt you hear the sound through the monitor speakers or do you?).

 

[Kryz11]

Get PS3, and so far play on your normal TV screen, Save up money for 32 inch plust full 1080p screen.

But you have time till GT5 full game to save up some money. So you do not need to buy it now. Who knows maybe there will be good GT5 and PS3 bundle limited edition

 

[XTR-KingTuna]

-->I can't really afford a 1080p TV, but I can afford a 24" computer LCD monitor which can happily run 1080p. Infact the 24" computer monitor is a hell of a lot cheaper than even a 720p TV, and if I went for the 24" monitor option I'd probably upgrade my video card along with it.

can't find the quoter???

anyway, here's my $0.02.... i use a 19' 1080P (on HDMI) monitor with a wheel and race seat. it's plenty big enough and absolutely beautiful with about 3 feet or so of difference between me and the monitor (basically it's where the windsheild would be). a 24" 1080p at this distance would be incredible. even when i'm using it for other games (with a controller) at about 6 feet, or watching movies from about 12 feet it's crystal clear and really not that small.

whatever you do, don't settle for a lower quality screen just because it's bigger. you can tell the difference between 1080 and 720p, especially as you increase screen size. not to mention, when buying electronics, the better you buy now the longer it will remain usable and current.

 

[C.D]

tell you what...GT5 looks a lot better on my old 32" Samsung Series 4 "HD Ready" (720p) than on the other, newer, Samsung 32" (Series 6, "Full HD" which means 1080p) I own (lots of jaggies and a disturbing uncannyvalleyic aftertaste all over the screen on the latter and the refresh rate doesn't seem "right" either). Both TV's have been connected to the PS3 with the same HDMI cable and their settings are definately comparable.

Go figure.

 

[sarthak]

To The OP,
There is a Noticable Difference in the interior View, the Gauges are readable in 1080P
I Use a Samsung 5 series and play in Just Scan Mode, which is true 1:1 Pixel Mapping and thus, Gives me an extra Inch or a bit more on both sides

So in My view 1080P is the way to go

p.s. I game using a contoller, Get a Steering Wheel if u Can later on, Im sorta outta luck on this, in my Country i can get the steering but the racing seat to no avail, there are importers but that turns out to be really expensive

 

[WolfRacer543]

Get PS3, and so far play on your normal TV screen, Save up money for 32 inch plust full 1080p screen.

But you have time till GT5 full game to save up some money. So you do not need to buy it now. Who knows maybe there will be good GT5 and PS3 bundle limited edition

I dont really have that option given I currently dont have a TV I watch TV on my PC via a TV tuner card.

I was thinking of waiting until the full GT5 came out, but in a year and a half my studies will be almost over and I'll be much busier building a race car for University, then once I do finish Uni at the end of next year, hopefully I'll be moving over seas and doing a sweet job earning me $60k a year designing either race cars or aircraft So its much easier to justify buying it now then when GT5 comes out at the end of this year or early next year.

There is a Noticable Difference in the interior View, the Gauges are readable in 1080P
I Use a Samsung 5 series and play in Just Scan Mode, which is true 1:1 Pixel Mapping and thus, Gives me an extra Inch or a bit more on both sides

So in My view 1080P is the way to go

p.s. I game using a contoller, Get a Steering Wheel if u Can later on, Im sorta outta luck on this, in my Country i can get the steering but the racing seat to no avail, there are importers but that turns out to be really expensive

Yeah, I'm starting to think the best bet is the 1920x1080p 24" PC monitor. I already have a G25 steering wheel just need to build a rig for it, bolting it to my desk isn't the best, the whole desk vibrates so much I'm worried its gonna fall apart eventually. I want to build a nice solid steering wheel rig out of steel RHS.