Widescreen Gaming Forum

**Warning confusing post for experts... or people who know more than me**

Ok so LCD widescreen is around 1336x768...BUT.. PLASMA is at 1024x768. I gathered this is because PD (plasma displays) dont have square pixels. So heres my silly question.....

If I want to run a 16:9 game on an externa big screen such as an LCD or PD, wouldnt I be better off running it to a PD since my PC wont have to out as high a resolution, thus better framerate?

Basically the PD would require fewer pixels to fill in the same space as an LCD display?

Now, if thats all good, will there be problems telling games to run at 1024x768 AND also run at a 16:9 ratio? Would this be something that has to be configured in the videocards "control panel" software such as ATi's catalyst or nVidias equivelent?

From what I can recall, certain games only display selective resolutions after to chose a display ratio... thus wouldnt 1024x768 be not available? Can you somehow tell the game that youre running to a PD and that 1024x768 IS a 16:9 ratio... since I thinking the game will presume an LCD panel?

Lastly, if it is all good and I can run a game on a PD at 1024x768 in 16:9 mode... would it appear worse than on a similar sized LCD since the LCD display would actually be a higher resolution? (horizontally at least)

Sorry it this has confused the hell out of anyone.

My thinking about the aspect ratio change, you would have to hack almost every game to get that working (or they must support a fov command) so i think it is a no go :(

You cannot get 1024x768 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The res is what determines the aspect ratio. The res is the aspect ratio.

I have no idea how things look on a 1024x768 plasma but I would guess that there is stretching for anything using that native resolution. You are taking a 4:3 signal and displaying it in a 16:9 output.

This really makes no sense why they would release a product like that. It almost sounds like a faux widescreen.

... would it appear worse than on a similar sized LCD

It's going to appear worse anyway. A plasma tv uses the same technology as a CRT: by striking red, green and blue phosphors with light to produce color. The only difference it that CRT did it with a light gun, where as Plasmas use an atomic reaction with plasma (the same stuff in fluorescent light bulbs: an ionized gas) to create light photons that hit the phosphors. The end result is that the image quality is only marginally better due to each pixel being a small chamber for the reaction instead of its own 'beam of light', but the TV is only 6 inches thick and weighs a lot less.

An LCD screen basically uses 2 layers of thousands of tiny polarized windows which are glued together. An electrical charge rotates the pixels in one of the layers (the liquid crystal layer) to allow light through, which then passes through RGB filters to produce color. The entire pixel is used instead of relying on the photon/phosphor reaction to fill the pixel, resulting in a clearer image.

[source: here]

[edited for clarity]

I wanted to add something.

While you cannot change the aspect ratio you can change the scalar value that is used. Some games allow you to select this value. Dragon's Lair 3D and I think Tomb Raider Legend.

When you see a 16:9 checkbox in the options menu that is applying a different scalar value to what is rendered. Some games might use this just for 2D stuff while some might use it for everything.

You can get a 16:9 display without distortion from the 1024x768 image but it will have degradations.

What you would do is Hor compress the image and then send it as a 4:3 screen. The monitor would then stretch out the 4:3 aspect to 16:9 and end up offsetting the stretch.

But that is a lot of degradation. You are compressing and then stretching a signal using two different entities.

You are also losing more data in the initial compression because you are packing 16:9 information into a 4:3 package. In a regular stretch you still have the complete 4:3 data. Here you have already lost some data before you stretch.

Select the closest 16:9 resolution in the game and let the plasma scale it. They are made to handle a 1280x720 and 1920x1080 resolution input and scale it to fit the panels rectangular (instead of square) pixels.

You cannot get 1024x768 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The res is what determines the aspect ratio. The res is the aspect ratio.

That's not entirely true. It's possible to have non-square pixels. In fact, it's not even uncommon. Anamorphic DVDs for instance use non-square pixels (720x576 would be 1.25:1, but is meant be viewed at 1.77:1/16:9). Even many old DOS games had aspect ratios that differed from that of the monitor, but were designed to be viewed "stretched".

That's not entirely true. It's possible to have non-square pixels. In fact, it's not even uncommon. Anamorphic DVDs for instance use non-square pixels (720x576 would be 1.25:1, but is meant be viewed at 1.77:1/16:9). Even many old DOS games had aspect ratios that differed from that of the monitor, but were designed to be viewed "stretched".

I was referring to PC games. Did not mean to confuse anyone. AKA the land of the square pixel. 8)

If I remember many of the old DOS games that stretched were designed without any stretching in mind. They just overlooked that possibility.

You cannot get 1024x768 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The res is what determines the aspect ratio. The res is the aspect ratio.

Firstly you CAN get 16:9 in a resolution of 1024x768, I actually explained that in my following sentence in the original post.

LCD = 1366x768 = Widescreen = Pixel Ratio 1
Plasma = 1024x768 = Widscreen = Pixel Ratio 1.333

If you were to multiply the PD ratio of 1.333 by its native hoz res of 1024... youd get 1365 (pretty much 1366 as used in LCDs).

I have no idea how things look on a 1024x768 plasma but I would guess that there is stretching for anything using that native resolution. You are taking a 4:3 signal and displaying it in a 16:9 output.

Well the reason behind this post was because I was playing on my friends xbox360 on a Plasma. The 360 was set to output 720p and the picture didnt appear stretched at all. I'm guessing maybe the PD simply scales the image from the 360??? He was using Component video so I'll presume the 360 was outputting at 1280x720.

Hmm... so using that "scaling" theory, I guess I could run a PC game at 1280x768 to a PD and it should scale it accordingly without any stretching?

Firstly you CAN get 16:9 in a resolution of 1024x768, I actually explained that in my following sentence in the original post.

LCD = 1366x768 = Widescreen = Pixel Ratio 1
Plasma = 1024x768 = Widscreen = Pixel Ratio 1.333

If you were to multiply the PD ratio of 1.333 by its native hoz res of 1024... youd get 1365 (pretty much 1366 as used in LCDs).

Again. I apologize for the confusing statement I made. I was thinking 1024x768 in PC terms not TV. My bad.