Progressive Scan-How much of a difference can you really notice? (1 Viewer)

[Chris Bardon]

I was thinking about a few comments that have been made about progressive scan support for games, and wondering how much of a difference it would really make for a display. I can see the benefits of 720 or 1080p, but 480p? Yes, I know the technology behind it, but what I'm wondering is if it's really a preceptable difference in quality (e.g. could you look at a game running on a TV and tell if it was 480i or 480p without knowing).

 

[Daniel Becker]

I've never personally seen or played games in progressive scan but i've seen movies in progressive scan before. I would describe it this way. The movies i've seen didn't look mind blowing but they looked very good and basically if you had no idea and walked up to a TV playing in progressive scan you'd think "Wow, that looks like a perfect signal". You may not know it's progressive scan but you'll immediately notice it looks about as clear as a game or movie possibly could in most people's opinion. I'm sure one day we'll be watching everything in 1080p but for now 480p looks awesome.


Dan.Becker

 

[Dean Cooper]

A lot of it depends on the size of your display. Anything smaller than a 27" TV really won't show much of a difference, but go bigger and the difference is HUGE.

 

[Joe Szott]

Chris,

I play on a 48" HDTV and I can tell a progressive signal from a 480p one in just about a glance. It's not that the picture is brighter or more colorful, it's that the jaggies go away that you get with 480i. 480i is still watchable, but 480p is a noticable difference on a big screen TV.

 

[Dave F]

It depends on the tv - both in size and in the quality of the line doubler.

-Dave

 

[Steve Bjorg]

I use a fairly large display and while I wouldn't say that looking at a 480p signal is mindblowing, going back to 480i is immediately noticeable. The image simply becomes much blurrier. So, to answer your question: yes, I can immediately tell when a game is running in 480i.

 

[Scott L]

When I'm watching something with crisp curves and edges such as the Simpsons, the combing (from interlacing) gets very annoying when there's action on screen. I haven't "trained" myself to look for it or anything. Just once you know what it is it seems to relly hinder the viewing experience & makes me want to sell the set and get an HDTV. It's funny because I don't deal much with progressive displays minus my computer monitor.

I'm on a 32" wega here.

 

[GlenHaag]

I'm hoping that it's a nice difference as I just bought my Hi-Def kit for my Xbox last night.

I don't get my HD projector until the middle of next month, but I know that the first thing that I'll be playing with will be my Xbox and Gamecube... only because I don't have an OTA tuner yet.

Glen

 

[Jerry Gracia]

I can see the difference.

Mainly with the colors...they're more defined and solid in progressive scan on my 51" SONY HDTV.

As been said before, the difference isn't mind blowing, but its there...especially if your TV's built-in 3:2 pull-down isn't that great.

 

[EdR]

Progressive is also more stable. Because you're seeing the whole image updated at once, instead of every other line (interlaced) the image is rock solid and free of flicker. This is especially true for detail, like thin lines. On an interlaced display, thin lines jitter and vibrate...on progressive they just sit there.

 

[Allen_Appel]

I can see the difference in games, and can occasionally see the interlacing in a TV signal. The progressive scan can make a big difference in appreciating the eye-candy aspect of games, but doesn't affect gameplay.

 

[Javier_Huerta]

I use a DLP projector, and when using my HTPC, the difference is immediate and noticeable by everyone who looks at it. Progressive scan images look "solid" and film-like (in my 100" screen) when compared to interlaced displays. I can't go back now to interlaced material, actually; my parents' 50" TV looks washed out and blurry in comparison.