Can You Honestly Tell the Difference Between 1080p and 900p?

There are many who feel they've been slighted by recent resolution announcements. We put your eyes to the test.

[xHeavYx]

Yes, next question?

[Magicite]

why settle for less when you can have the best!

[MrPink2013]

You mean 4K?

There is a difference between 900p and 1080p but I bet not many would notice unless they had it side by side.

[Azzanation]

Because less resolution means more processing power equalling to a better looking game. For example if Dead Rising 3 ran at 1080p it would have far less Zombies in the screen making the game less enjoyable. If Infamous ran at 720p they would have more power to add to enemy AI or more units on the screen etc. Same goes with every title. 1080p is only a small part to making the games look better. A game 720p using MSAAx8 will look better then a game at 1080p using just MSAA. If your a PC gamer you can benefit from both quantity and quality but for a console gamers there are always sacrifices to reach there goals.

[d0x360]

@azznation no a game at 720p with MSAA won't look better than 1080p unless the TV is below 42inches and you sit at least 4 feet away. If you are on PC the difference is obvious because you are so close.

It depends on the size of the screen and distance from it. For example I have a 70inch TV and I sit roughly 6-7 feet away and there is a HUGE visible difference between 720p and 1080p however there is no obvious difference between 900p and 1080p.

The human eye can only discern certain levels at detail at certain ranges. If I move to 3 feet away i can see slight differences between 900p and 1080p but it's no drastic.

generally if a game is running 900p on x1 and 1080p on ps4 my decision falls to frame rate and controller. I prefer the Xbox controller so if frame rate is the same I'll go x1. If there are dips below 30 I'll go ps4, if ps4 is 60 and x1 is 30 I'll go ps4.

People will argue there is a difference between the two resolutions at screen sizea and ranges I have listed above but they are fooling themselves. This is a scientific fact. Detail loss of the human eye starts happening immediately with distance. Size of subject effects distance required but in order to see the difference between 900p and 1080p at a range of 6 feet you would need a 100 inch TV screen.

[UltimateMaster]

AC4: Bottom on is better.
UTF: Upper one clearly is better.
WD: WTF? Both version of Watchdogs were 800 something p on X1 and 900p on the PS4.
Yet, both those images are downgraded to 720p?
It'll look 720p if you downgrade it.

[dmeador]

@d0x360
What the heck a logical sounding post. Bubbles

[sinspirit]

@demeador

Except.. He is using common sense to bend the truth.

There is an obvious difference in 900p to 1080p if you have a GOOD display and your eyes aren't fried. What kind of bullcrap made up argument is this? 6 feet from a 70 inch TV is really close, but he is claiming you need a 100 inch TV to actually see a difference between 900p and 1080p.

I sit 3 feet away from a 17 inch screen. 900p to 1080p is blatantly obvious. If you can't see it on your 70 inch TV from 6 feet away than you are blind. The pixels aren't the same size. They grow with the screen. Don't use the bullcrap PC gamers can only see it excuse. You can't be making these calls if your vision is obviously impaired to be making these accusations with your coincidentally existing 70 inch 1080p TV.

I have prescribed glasses, which I don't need except for far away objects. There is a slight blur from objects about 6 or more feet away but I can noticeably make out what they are no problem and watch TV at that distance no problem. I see an improvement on my aunts 65 inch 1080p tv from 900p to 1080p from 9 feet away.

If you don't notice a difference between the two resolutions then you are probably playing games where so many things are happening or moving on screen that you don't actually look at the menus and the extra clarity in whats on screen. Or, you are also looking at comparisons which add filters or upscale the lower resolution to make it appear less aliased.

[Rickgrimes95]

You can when your TV is over 50 inches

[Why o why]

Thats what I'm saying.... but not everybody has big screens and not all big tvs are equal. My Samsung vs my sony are different. Both are 1080 but they are different.

[Majin-vegeta]

Pls stop with this it has to be 50 inches or more crap.My tv is 43 inches and I can clearly tell the difference.I aint a damn blind bat.

[GarrusVakarian]

My TV is 42 inches and I can tell the difference from 10 feet away.

Have I got super-human eyes, or are you just full of the brown stuff? I'm thinking the latter. :P

[Why o why]

I dont think he's saying you cant tell below 50, just that you definitely can tell over 50. I can tell the difference on my old galaxy tab vs the tab s. Screen size isn't tricking my eyes. I can see the difference in picture and clarity between the galaxy s5 vs the lg g3 which is quad hd. The screens are relatively tiny compared to tvs.

If an image is upscaled the to the point a difference cannot be seen then what is the point of trying to hit 1080p if 900p would suffice

[Vegamyster]

I can tell the difference on my 15.6 laptop screen lol.

[rainslacker]

I have a 42" TV and I can tell the difference. It's not bad or anything(same for 720), and you have to be looking for it, but it's there. Typically it's in the finer details, or AA. Sometimes it's hard to notice when a game is in motion, but easy if you just sit still in the scene.

[Christopher]

Took the test on my 24" monitor. Got them all correct.

You don't need a big TV to tell the difference.

[badz149]

Wow, instead of questioning the parity, this article want to question if 1080p is needed over 900p? Encouraging gamers to settle for less, ha? Hear that nVidia? AMD? apparently high res gfx is not important anymore. Close your shops and settle for what you already have.

[MRMagoo123]

My TV is a 40inch bravia and I could see a huuuuuuuuuuge difference between AC black flag before the patch and after it, the people that cant see that are in the minority I suspect.

[ramiuk1]

on my 1080p 47" led tv it looks crisper at 1080p but not a killer,900p is fine.

then when im on my 106" 1080p projector 900p is just ok and playable,yet 1080p looks perfect.

[larrysdirtydrawss]

bullshit myth,,i got a 40inch tv,,,i played black flag at 900p and then later at 1080p after the patch,looked MUCH better

[UltimateMaster]

AC, I don't see it on a 7", but I do on a 13".
Granted, on a couch you are more far off, but you can see it.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Tell this to a pc gamer who has a 27 inch monitor and games at 1440p or even 4k. They can see the difference it's very obvious. The problem is most console players will claim there is no difference because they barely play anything that's even at 1080p alone.

[DevilOgreFish]

"Can You Honestly Tell the Difference Between 1080p and 900p?"

Sitting far away not much difference. As a PC gamer from 1440p+ gaming yes :)

[Jaqen_Hghar]

A man was just about to say If PC gamers are paying for 22" 4k monitors, we can tell the difference on any size screen. This is real and it's real far beyond the difference between 900p and 1080p.

[frostypants]

@Jaqen_Hghar, having a 4K monitor has nothing to do with anything. It's not like you're actually playing anything at 4K. You're wasting your money on that.

[PeaSFor]

yes i do, like the majority of peoples.

[assdan]

Yes, I can as well. It's not that hard to tell. And by that hard, I mean super easy.

[ITPython]

Whether people can tell the difference between 900p and 1080p is moot, the real issue here is that they intentionally gimped and held back the PS4 version due to the limitations of the XB1 hardware. I sure as hell didn't buy the more powerful console only to be limited to the lowest-common denominator because developers don't want to hurt MS's feelings.

But even if we consider the resolution differences alone, take this into consideration; The difference in pixel count between 900p and 1080p is actually nearly the same as the difference between 480p and 720p, which is a bit over 600,000 pixels.

So can gamers really say they wouldn't mind playing a game at 480p when it could be 720p? Or that they cannot tell the difference?

[Sarcasm]

It's not even about 1080p vs 900p. It's the fact that Ubisoft is blantantly gimping the PS4 version to match the X1 version when the entire industry knows the PS4 is able to do 1080p quite easily.

[XanderZane]

From what they said, it had nothing to do with the graphics at all, it had to do with the A.I. and the CPU. They had already said both version could be 1080P, but not with all the NPC and the A.I. for all of them in the game and on screen at the same time. Has nothing to do with XB1 gimping the PS4 version.

[Bdub2000]

I'd like to see a blind test where 10 gamers have to identify which game is playing at 720/900/1080. Let's include ps4 and X1 too, and see if anyone can tell. Let's see that on N4G...

Oh, and no "pausing the game" to count pixels... Just good Ol' fashion game play.

Good luck...

[MRMagoo123]

They tried that on sites and they tried it with 60 to 30fps too and around 90% usually tell the difference within seconds. If you cant see the difference it doesnt mean everyone else needs glasses.

[saint_seya]

If even mrmagoo can tell the difference.. then everyone can

[Dontworrybhappy]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?...

[nitus10]

It depends on the aspect ratio of the screen. When talking about HDTV most people would have a screen that has a 16:9 aspect ratio which would be 720p (1280x720 pixels), 1080p (1920x1080 pixels) and for 4k TV's or UHDTV's 2160p (3840x2160 pixels).

With the exception of the standard definition standards a normal HDTV will only display 720p and 1080p signals. The so called 900p has to be unscaled to 1080p assuming it can be scaled to a 16:9 aspect ratio. If it can't you will see "letter-boxing", which in itself is not a bad thing since the display tries to look like what you would expect from a Cinemascope display but on a 16:9 screen you will have "letter-boxing".

Unless the so called 900p is actually 1600x900 pixels which is an aspect ratio of 16:9 that when unscaled from the source (ie the console) will be 1920x1080 pixels on input to the HDTV. If the 900p is 1920x900 pixels you are going to get "letter-boxing" and that you will definitely pick on a 16:9 aspect ratio screen.

Can you pick up-scaling like I just mentioned? I think the best answer is "possibly" since the result may be slightly "washed out" (maybe). Hows that for a wishy-washy answer.

Before anyone disagrees with me read the following since it goes into much greater detail:

http://www.projectorcentral...

In addition there are plenty of sites that discuss this topic.

It must also be noted that there are other screens that have different aspect ratios but the main one that was agreed to by all manufacturers to be the best for general purposes was 16:9. Other aspect ratios can be better for some content but bad for other content, it really depends on what you prefer to display on your screen.

[LightofDarkness]

"Unless the so called 900p is actually 1600x900 pixels which is an aspect ratio of 16:9..."

What happens when you divide both of those numbers by 100? Yeah. That's probably the most obvious one of all outside of ye olde 400x300.

[UltraNova]

Who gives a Raccoon's rotten ass if the differences are negligible or not my 60 bucks says get the best version possible.

[Blaze929]

everyone says yes but when Call of Duty and Killzone 3's Multiplayer was found out to NOT be native 1080p, no one knew.

Ok.

[u got owned]

Yes the different is there. Usually 900p look a bit more blurry than 1080p, but it also depends on how far and how big is the TV.

[XanderZane]

A better question would be can you tell the difference between 1080P native and 900P upscaled to 1080P and that answer would be NO. lol!! If you took the same game on two difference systems and put them side by side and asked gamers to pick out which one was 900P native, I'm sure most of them would get it wrong.

[Hardcore_gamerxbox]

I bet u £1000 u can't tell difference between 1080p and 900p if it was between 720p and 1080p yeah you can tell difference if you got tv which is 60 inch or more but PS fan boys are special from other people and God gave them special eyes so they can tell difference between 1080p and 900p

[xHeavYx]

It also appears that God gave bad eyes to the other side of the fanbase

[FsterThnFTL]

Yes I can, as well difference between 1080p, 1440p, 2160p. I can also tell the difference between 30fps, 60fps, 120fps etc.

[rodiabloalmeida]

Same here.

[Conzul]

They are trying to downplay ppl like you by using screenshots instead of video.

Resolution is vastly harder to discern in static images. But games aren't static images, now, are they?

[Ashlen]

I often wonder if people actually can't tell the difference or they just say that to "tow the party line".

[GarrusVakarian]

The only people who can't tell the difference are people who only own a certain console.

If you can't tell the difference between 900p and 1080p, then you need to buy a new, 1080p TV, wear your glasses, or have laser eye surgery.

[Dirtnapstor]

Or have a crappy TV.
900 to 1080 may be visually minute, but you can most definitely see the difference between 30 and 60 FPS. I was blown away when I fired up TLOU.
I really hope the PS4 version is amended, 1080p/60fps!

[Jaqen_Hghar]

PC gamers claim to see a difference between 4k monitors and 2160p monitors that are both 22". A man is pretty sure they don't have a party line to tow since both of those are far superior to any console in resolution and they could simply claim 2160p is good enough and still laugh at console graphics. A man hasn't seen either of those things but if it makes a difference at those high of levels of pixel count on a small screen, it DEFINITELY makes a difference when we're talking 900p to 1080p considering the smaller the overall numbers, the bigger the differences are noticed.

[rainslacker]

I have an insignia 42" TV, and I would consider it a low end TV, despite having a nice picture for the price. It is most certainly possible to tell the difference in different resolutions, and I have put this to the test. It's not hard, as all the systems, and most Blu-Ray players allow you to set up which resolution you want to output at. I also have a set up disc which has different resolution videos for ajusting stuff, and there is a clear difference. Try it, and see what you think. Just make sure you pick a game that is native 1080p, otherwise it may be upscaled depending on the game.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Some of us play games on our pcs. And I'll tell you right now, it's damn obvious.

[Volkama]

Playing on a 4k TV, it is upscaled either way (and upscaled very well I might add). Yes, I can tell the difference in some cases. Destiny for example, was noticably different between the beta and the retail release.

But good quality AA makes a bigger difference. And that is sorely lacking on most next gen games so far.

And whatever magic techniques Crysis used to make Ryse look like it does supports that (they use their own software techniques, not the hardware scaler)

[JsonHenry]

^^YUP!

[UNKLE]

between 60 and 120 no difference no human eye can see that!

[Neixus]

So you're one of those who thinks the human eye sees in frames per second?

sigh..

[Allsystemgamer]

Eyes don't see in frames....a human eye can most certainly tell the difference.

[LightofDarkness]

I notice it all the time and it's just as jarring as winding down from 60 to 30. The only difference is that 60 is very playable and 30 verges on unplayability in many cases (particularly on last gen console where dips into the sub 30 range were a regular occurrence).

I find it funny how so many are now touting the "clear as day" difference between 1080p and sub-1080p now that it suits them as an argument. PC gamers were berated and defended this very topic until they were blue in the face last gen but this moronically popular opinion persisted until it became fanboy fuel for the console crowd. Guess how it's going to go with 120FPS vs. 60? Or 60 vs. 30 (also gaining momentum now that it's something one camp can lord over the other)?

Yes, these differences are real. Your eyes do not perceive reality in FPS. Your eyes absorb all of the light they are capable of sensing and your brain then processes that information. People can perceive north of 260hz/frames per second (that's as far as the testing went in that case).

[frostypants]

There have been experiments to measure the shortest period of time an image could be shown and recognized to the human eye, which is something like 1/250th of a second. So, one could say that the most the human eye can see before being completely unable to notice improvement is something around 250-300fps...and that's with people who have exceptional vision. The average person is probably quite a bit less.

[Ratty]

I agree with you, FasterThanFTL but it's also true that there's that big a difference between 900 and 1080. That said, I'll still get the highest possible.

[n4rc]

900p vs 1080p?

Probably... 1080p native vs 1080p upscaled? Probably not

People always pretend to overlook that tidbit of info.. We aren't talking about pixel count because that's your display, not the source..

How that fixed number of pixels are drawn is the topic

[rainslacker]

upscaled tends to be more announced than native resolutions due to distortions in the upscalers algorithms. I'd prefer native 900p over upscaled 1080p for games.

My receiver upscales content to 4K if I so desire, but I turned the feature off since I find native resolution a bit less jarring. upscaling a image does not make the image clearer...just makes it bigger. Easily evidenced by zooming up a bit on any picture on a PC...even ones that can interpolate pixels well.

[n4rc]

Everything is scaled tho..

You can't view 900p on a 1080 display.. If the console didn't scale it, your display would stretch it.. Unless it'll letterbox the image but I can't see anyone playing like that.. But the difference can't be too large.. Like 720 upscaled to 1080 is quite noticeable but 900 to 1080 isn't.. 1080 to 4k is also quite the leap

My only point was people treat this debate like its 1080 displays vs 720 displays when its totally different.. Pixel counts are identical at the output, its the method used to draw each pixel that varies.

[rainslacker]

Too true. From my experience though, the upscaling seems off when coming from the gaming devices. I don't know why this is, as it seems that it would be much better than a TV's upscaler, but in some cases it just seems leaving everything normal on the devices works better for me. Maybe it's because the TV's upscaler doesn't screw around so much with the AA...never really thought about it much so may have to give it another run down.

My receiver is apparently rated highly for upscaling, so I was a little disappointed in the results.

[Christopher]

I can't tell the difference on fps post 30 or so unless it's a really simple game without too many moving elements/environmental detail

:(

[ramiuk1]

as long as you sat at the right distance,sat 10ft and 15ft from a 40" its impossible to tell.

5ft from a 47" u can tell
2ft from a 15" u can tell

[nitus10]

While I do agree with what you said I think it is important to note the following. Yes you will definitely pick the difference between 1080p content and 4K (2160p) content, but if the content is 1080p or even 720p to both TV's you probably won't notice much of a difference even side to side unless the 4K TV has a very good up-scaler.

As for frame rate that also depends on the content in that a film may be shown at 24 fps and be quite comfortable to watch, while content that has allot of motion such as sports/action movies or action/FPS games would definitely benefit from higher frame rates.

Eventually you reach the limits of human vision (we have with sound) and unless you modify the human eye and therefore the brain it becomes pointless to keep increasing screen resolution and frame rate.

For your interest the BBC is experimenting with 300fps while some TV manufactures are experimenting with 8K TV's, although I would not hold my breath waiting for this.

[triangle_todd]

Yes. But resolution is not the issue with AC Unity. Dumb article.

[miyamoto]

damn right!

[Rickgrimes95]

Very true it's about not using the full power of a console to "avoid debate"

[ironfist92]

Yeah, its a matter of principle, regardless if its a single p difference.

Stupid thing is though, whether or not you can tell difference by COMPARISON, it makes no difference when youre playing the game at all. If you were given a random game, you couldnt tell what the resolution was.

[Mikelarry]

I have to laugh at all these articles because if everyone was ok with these practices then what was the point of getting a ps4 or xbox one, what is the point of upgrading to "next gen" if 90 percent of the games are running on last gen fps and resolution, whats is the point of all the so called power that has been touted of next gen if they (developers) are still using last gen trickery

[jackanderson1985]

well because Infamous Second Son or Dead Rising 3 or Driveclub or Quantum Break or Uncharted 4 and on and on and on wouldn't work as they work or are rumoured to work on last gen consoles.... new gen isn't for the resolution or frames and if you honestly got them for just those two things that's ridiculous

[Mikelarry]

While i didnt get the for just res and fps nothing this gen has made use of what i would classify as next gen. Of the games you have mentioned i would really like to know what would have stopped them from creating those games on last gen consoles.

Infamous: while pretty I cant really see how or what part of that game couldnt run last gen

Dead rising: ok a few less zombies on screen. Wow truly next gen more zombies on screen

As for quantum break, drive club and uncharted i dont have enough info on them at this moment to really judge what about them is or isnt next gen

Its not too much to ask that these developers were complaining about lack of power and resources on last gen console and now they do have more are still using old tricks

@minute

Yup thats i said the above comment, if you dont believe me check my tropies

[Minute Man 721]

Mike have you even played Second Son? It couldn't run on the 3

[Fishy Fingers]

There's more to visual fidelity than resolution. There's more to gameplay than frame rate. That's why you upgrade, the experiences are FAR better than last gen could offer. To sum of what's on screen with only "resolution and frame rate" is uneducated and naive.

[Mikelarry]

Gameplay you say like how MS touted the cloud will improve AI in titanfall and when the game releases they AI are still the dumb unhelpful NPC we have all come to loathe, or how destiny was meant to be the lush world full of interesting new callanges or like forbes said "its more than a game" and yet borderlands and skyrim take destiny to the cleaners on about everything.

Guys all i am saying or the point i am trying to get across is next gen and developers need to stop using old tricks, they need to start using the tools available to them and thinking of interesting ways to innovate

Good night

[eyeDEVOUR]

I agree...the whole point of upgrading to a new console is to get upgrades in performance which allow more amazing games.. im not saying every game has to be 1080p/60fps but they should try to atleast reach one of those standards...

[Mikelarry]

Exactly my point, atleast some get what i am trying to get across, some gamers are hypocrites.

When the starwars game or the tech demo Epic demoed for( infiltrator) next gen were you all saying nah gameplay is more important or did you say to yourself damn thats truly next gen, those could definitly not run on ps3or 360

[Minute Man 721]

Well Second Son could run on the PS3 minus the draw distance, the particle effects and dumb down graphics

[zpoc]

resolution is but one small part of what makes a game look good. you can upscale a wii game to 1080p - it will still look worse than ryse at 900p.

[user5669510]

The reason you buy a next gen console is to play games. Soon console makers and devs will stop making new games on it. Technology progress it doesn't mean it gonna be a huge leap. So stop with the what's the point like you have a choice. If they was like let's keep ps3 n the rest out until 2020 what would you do? Yep suck it up like always, and continuing acting like 720p the greatest and higher res ain't worth it.

[hennessey86]

a narrow minded way of looking at a game, resolution and FPS are important. But what's the point of having 1080p 60 FPS if the texture and shadow resolutions are really low. Or you have a serious lack of AA, There is so much more to a games visuals than pixels and frames per second.

[Fireseed]

While I COMPLETELY agree with you, just fyi AA is a technique used compensate for a lack of resolution. For instance, by the time we get to 6k, you won't really need AA anymore.

[hennessey86]

I am aware of that, but even at 1080p which is the max gaming resolution for the next gen consoles your seeing aliasing issues because of a lack of precessing power. dropping the res may have freed up some much needed power from both consoles.

[Palitera]

I don't. :P

Mostly because, to be honest, I don't give a damn about it.

[matrixman92]

not unless they are put side by side. FPS I can easily tell between 30 and 60, this is not that easy

[i3eyond the Circle]

On PC it's easy to tell

For consoles with upscalers it's harder to tell a difference between the 2.

No noticeable difference between 900p and 1080p on consoles besides grass foliage being a little less blurry between the 2.

[rainslacker]

hmmm...textures can certainly look better on a 1080p frame. It's where I can always tell the difference when I see comparison shots...and is in fact the first place I look if I have to guess which is which. The textures themselves can be exactly the same between two versions, but the 1080p one will show finer detail in it's alpha texture components which make up lighting and transparency. For repeating textures...like what you see in a lot of Unreal Engine 3 games, it is very noticeable.

When a game is in motion however, it can be hard to tell as the eye doesn't focus that quickly on a moving screen...so at times it depends on the game.

[Father__Merrin]

yes you can, when i drop my screen reso.lution to 900p its not as sharp as 1080 also textures look better with more details.

[christheredhead]

Of course people can't tell the difference. They will say otherwise, but people really can't. Unless maybe it was side by side and you got to examine it.

If you gave someone a game, but didn't give them any knowledge on the resolution and said "tell me the resolution by looking at it." 99% of people would get it wrong.

People just like to argue over it.

[Christopher]

Wow, what a nice made up figure there. Probability says that there's a 50/50 chance to guess it correctly between two choices, but you went ahead and threw that out and said only 1 in 100 would even guess correctly.

[christheredhead]

Even between two choices, almost everyone would get it wrong. From what I've seen here daily, no one knows what they are talking about when it comes to resolution. It really is just guess work.

But even still, there are more than two choices.

[theXtReMe1]

Yes, I can see the difference between them. Probably more so than a lot of people, because I game using a projector and 120 inch screen. So the difference between 900p and 1080p is actually fairly large. Most noticeable in clarity and sharpness of the environments. Also in color saturation and aliasing, which tends to suffer even more due to the upscale.

I would much rather have a 1080p game with a few less characters on screen, then to have a 900p game with more. I enjoy a sharper picture and better color saturation, with less jaggies. Of course, first party games are always going to look better than third-party. But, I think even with the hardware at hand in the PS4, there is no excuse not to hit 1080p and at least 30 frames per second with dazzling visuals. Hell, they are doing it on the PC with video cards running high settings and 1080p with only a gigabyte of two of RAM on the video cards... and that os with all of the background tasks and overhead. So there is no excuse with 8GB of DDR5 RAM why they can't hit 1080 P at at least 30 frames per second and have gorgeous visuals on top of it. If a developer doesn't hit that, they are either not optimizing the game for that system or purposely holding it back from being what it can be for parity with a lesser machine.

[KiwiViper85]

Show off

[Death]

Your projector is magnifying the pixels. It's using the same amout of pixels as a 60" and just making them larger. It's not upscaling like an LED or Plasma either. Probably the worst setup for gaming if you are all about resolution. The screen you use is just as important too.

You prefer less characters and interaction which is odd at best. Stripping down a game to increase resolution is as backwards thinking as you can get.

[theXtReMe1]

I have been using the best projectors to play games for the past 20 years. Believe me, my projector looks great.

I can understand your opinion if you didn't see my set up in person. But I guarantee if you came over and saw it on the screen you would agree. Also, to the other poster, I am not a show off. It's just what I love to game on.The beauty is, nine times out of 10, a projector is cheaper then any flat screen TV. Of course it will depend on the projector you choose and the screen, but you can get a great set up for under $2500 these days.

I understand your opinion on more characters and lower resolution, but these machines are only so powerful. There has to be give somewhere. If it wasn't for higher resolution, in both screen size and textures, we'd still be playing in SD. Isn't that what next-generation gaming machines are all about? Let's face it we are still playing the same games we played 20 years ago, they just look better due to the higher resolutions. It's not like the newest Wolfenstein is any different than Quake was. It's not like the latest call of duty is any different than the second. Just more of everything on the screen, a couple different game modes and high-resolution graphics.

Very few games push the boundaries of what we played before, so it is up to the high-resolution graphics to relay a better sense of being there and doing that. Which is why I choose high-resolution graphics over extra characters on the screen.

[mamotte]

Yes, I'd enjoy Assassins without NPC too, as long as it's 1080p.

/s/

[Christopher]

Yes, because he said no NPCs. Just like how AC4 had no NPCs in it at all. Just like how when I played AC4 I wished I could see even more NPCs who would get in my way of doing things over generally just having a better story and missions.

/s/

[MRMagoo123]

Th res was nothing to do with the NPCs, the part where the guy talked about A.I and the NPCs wasnt even the same subject. The gpu on the PS4 could make this game 1080p easily probably not 60fps tho and we would still get the same game just better res. Learn more about how games work before looking silly.

[elazz]

Even though I am at 80% completion with Watch Dogs and 25+ h of gameplay I notice everytime that it isn't native resolution which is sometimes annoying.

IF the game is full of special effects you won't notice it immediately but sometimes in Watch Dogs, mainly during daytime these effects are minimal and you notice it directly.

Esecially when you play inFamous directly after there is a clear difference.

[stavrami-mk2]

Massively and I think ufc would of greatly benefited with 1080p it lost its crispness

[lemoncake]

I can tell the difference between 4k and 1080p, it's like night and day, but between 900p and 1080p it's very difficult unless you go out of your way to freeze the pictures and do a very critical side by side comparison. The lack of a 4k console is the most disappointing thing tbh, to think we got 7 more years of being stuck at this level while the rest of the market moves on with their retina displays, 4k, 8k devices and the such. If you are that bothered by resolution this gen of consoles is something you should pass on because neither produces the best goods in that department.

[Minute Man 721]

I can tell the difference

[2pacalypsenow]

ON a big screen yes

[MRMagoo123]

on my 40 inch I could tell the difference between 900 black flags and 1080p after patch easily. The screen can be as small as a tablet and people could still see it.

[GundalfDeGrej]

Not on my TV from afar. On my PC monitor, yes. However if no one tells you what the resolution really is, it's easy to think it's an AA-problem instead.

[GundalfDeGrej]

I just realized what I said kinda contradicted itself...

What I mean is that some AA techniques (is it fxaa I'm thinking of?) can make it harder to determine the resolution because they makes edges blurry.

[Ashlen]

My question is...

If Microsoft hadn't tried to make an All In One box based around Kinect that they were going to sell to everyone and their grandma and actually made a gaming console capable of 1080p on most all games with-out having to jump through hoops would we even be having this conversation?

[KiwiViper85]

I guarantee this will be the last generation where Microsoft is 2nd place in horsepower.

[SolidDuck]

Yes for sure, and the bigger the TV the more u can tell.

[spektical]

the bigger the screen the more noticeable it is.

[gangsta_red]

NO, no one can tell unless they are told. Which is why Shadow of Mordor is getting no attention from N4G as the developer did not say a word.

Even though the rumors of the X1 version being 720p (?) were getting top activity on this site.

I love it, people saying yes they can as if they have two TV's set up in their home running the same game and their face pressed up against the screen.

[Ashlen]

"The Xbox One release is immediately on the back foot, with our pixel count tests highlighting an upscaled 1600x900 resolve for the platform. In contrast with the full native 1920x1080 output on PS4, it's undoubtedly a downgrade that echoes the state of many multi-platform releases this year."

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

It also had lesser post proseesing.

So what point were you trying to make?

[gangsta_red]

Oh, can you show me on N4G where this was available and how everyone could tell right off the bat when seeing the comparison? As many here are saying they can without the help of side by side shots.

And that side by side is doing you no justice as both are exactly the same as the story you linked even says itself:

"However, catching this disparity does take very close attention to side-by-side shots - in part due to both versions' use of a heavy post-process anti-aliasing effect."

It goes on to say differences was noticeable in shadows and flickering in other areas but no where has this been stated from posters on this site when in other stories they claim they can see the difference.

So what was the point you were trying to make? Because mine was NO, no one can tell unless told, which was made clear in my opening statement. And which is proven by you having to actually find clarification and be actually told.

[rainslacker]

I can, but I know what to look for since it's what I do for a living. I may not be able to quote exact resolution for a particular game, but if I had to make a comparison, I could tell you which one had a higher resolution...but again couldn't say if that bigger resolution were a particular size. This is assuming that all textures and lighting effects are equal between the games...but to date, the higher resolutions typically have better textures and lighting, so that's rather moot to my point.

[MRMagoo123]

as you can see in my comment in the article that said the xbone version was 1080p I saw that it wasnt http://n4g.com/news/1597701...

If that doesnt prove it I dont know what does. I could see that it was lower res and they where bullcraping.

[Baccra17]

I personally can't, but if it was like last generation where every little thing Sony lacked (due to lazy developers) was put under a microscope- people would notice left and right.

But since this involves MS it's no longer a big deal and you can't really tell the difference, and 900p and 1080p- who cares, it's all the same. Amazing, simply amazing.

[hello12]

Performance gap is closing and Sony fans can't deal with. Sony console doesn't anything better than the x box 1 besides resolution, and if they lose that they have nothing to brag about.

[Shuyin]

Such ignorance. You and your kind is a disgrace to the gaming community and only make us gamers look like fucking fools.
Gosh...so annoying.

[imt558]

In your dream, KNWS!

[ziggurcat]

this is a case of the devs purposefully gimping one version to make it equal to the other. it's in no way, shape or form, an indication of a decreasing performance gap.

[SmokingMonkey]

Yes, one has more than the other!

This is like a 1st grade test

Which one is greater?

A) 1080p > 900p
B) 1080p < 900p
C) 1080p = 900p
D) None of the above

[Kaze88]

A) 1080p with barely 30fps and no advanced graphic features > 900p with rock hard 30fps with advanced graphic features
B) 1080p with barely 30fps and no advanced graphic features < 900p with rock hard 30fps with advanced graphic features
C) 1080p with barely 30fps and no advanced graphic features = 900p with rock hard 30fps with advanced graphic features
D) None of the above

See! now ive fixed your assigment. Everytime you up the resolution you have to give away something. I would always rather have steady or 60fps than 1080p.

[ISpeakFacts]

This isn't even about 1080p vs 900p, the whole issue here its the fact that one console is getting held back from achieving its full potential simply because the other one can't. This crap never existed during the SNES vs SEGA era, its called BRIBERY & Microsoft should be punished for this type of practice.

[sic_chops]

Yes I can. It's like the difference between a VCR and a Blu-Ray player. In how it performs and looks.

[kingdom18]

Wouldn't the difference between a VCR and Blu-ray Player be 480p to 1080p?

[jib]

480i on most tvs back then

[DerekFlint007]

If there was no visible difference, then why is that guy who likes to pretend he is a gamer Spencer, sending round his minions, to various developers around the globe, trying to bring the Xbox One resolutions up toward the 900p and 1080p mark, case in point Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer. The resolution differences, for me are very clear to see.

[aerisbueller]

How many variations of this same dumb article and question are we going to get?

[kingdom18]

I can't with my eyes, but its the principal behind it, just like when Ubi. downgraded the PC version of Watch Dogs.

[pop-voxuli]

Yes & thats not the point.

[RosweeSon]

Exactly we've gone next Gen yet the resolutions have gone backwards sure it's not all about the graphics but when 1080p is considered top end and more importantly its possible on some consoles and even more importantly we've gone Next Gen! That's meant to mean upgrades and evolutions, not downgrades and regression when my xbox 360 of 7 years can do it then I'm hardly gonna go out and pay the price they want to start doing things at a lower resolution whilst they decide what they've done wrong and how they are gonna rectify it, I.e they won't without a nintendo style New xbox one! Knowing microsoft itll get sneaked in with any planned slim line versions and make out its for the good of their consumers yeah anyone planning on getting one as all the launch day and first year adopters will be well impressed im sure, hey ho I bought a 3DS/Wii U and ps4 all on launch happy with the lot with a side dish of vita PS3 and xbox 360 but yeah good whilst it lasted but times are changing and if your sticking with microsoft it seems thats gonna equate to being behind the rest of the competition, no thanks.

[dillhole]

Open each image in a different tab and switch between them, if you can't tell the difference then your eyes aren't working properly.

[Artista]

Yes. . if I'm able to tweak settings like PCs, sure. I can switch back and forth to see the difference.

On a console, I'd need to have the two games, two Tvs and two different consoles running the game side by side to notice, otherwise =>

No.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Fanboys say yes. Science says no. Fanboys in denial say NUH UH!

[Minute Man 721]

What??? Are you saying people can't see the difference according to science? Well those scientist needs better glasses

[EverydayGuy]

Yes,sharp and clear images in the game. When you play the game in motion the overall image is less blurry. I sit less than 2 feet away from a 24 inch monitor.

[Roccetarius]

Well, mechlord on here already posted the numbers in this blog. http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...

''900p= 1600×900 =1440000 pixels on screen =>(a)
1080p=1920×1080=2073600 pixels on screen =>(b)
(a)-(b) = 633600 =>(c)

(c) represents 44% of (a) => (b) represents a 44% increment from (a)

Now you tell me if a 44% difference matters or not.''

Yes, i can tell the difference between the two, but you would need glasses if you can't.

[Sm00thNinja]

No I've never compared the two so I wouldn't know they both Look great

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I can appreciate what this article is trying to point out but its sentiment is lost on the masses here. Anyone putting 2 images side by side in front of viewers like N4G and saying can you tell the difference will get 99% feedback saying "yes". Also when you have side by side pics inevitably you can spot differences even if they are subtle.

The true test would be putting several images in front of us one at a time and asking the viewer to tell you what resolution it is? I think that would be a little more telling.

[Rocky5]

No, I play the game not pixel count.

[D-riders]

Had to reply to this. You don't play games and not the pixel count otherwise you would never get a HD tv. Fact is Co soles are supposed to get better and better as with technology. To say pixels do the matter is like saying the game industry should still be the way it was in the past 2d vector art. The industry is suppose do move forward and by not giving a resolution that people deserve for their money you give them a sub part product. That's not this industry it's not about delivering mediocre products. It's about pushing the limits . Your theory this is the last Gen of consoles

[Plagasx]

Yea but it becomes a lot less noticable when your TV is under 50 inches...

Most gamers games on 42 inch or lower....

[Bathyj]

PS4 gamer: Of course
Xbone gamer: There is no difference
PC Gamer: You guys suck

[Predaking77]

Yes I can tell the difference.

[Gunstar75]

IMO... A lot depends on the quality of your Equipment. A shit TV displaying a 1080p game will look much worse than a good TV in 900p

That's what I think... Quality over quantity

[gamefanatic007]

Its the principle. Why "Dumb down" the PS4 version because xBONE cant keep up..?!

[captainexplosion]

It's easy for me to tell the difference between 1080P and 900P. All I have to do is look and see what system I am playing. If I am playing my PS4 it's 1080P and if Im playing my XB1 its 900P. If you are having problems distinguishing between 1080P and 900P I suggest trying my test.

[ainTgoTTime2bleed]

If resolution don't matter then what's the point of upgrading to a new next gen console...I want games to take full advantage of my console and if devs can't do that then they can count me out;)

[KingKevo]

Yes, I can.

But trying to prove us wrong using SCREENSHOTS is stupid. Only unedited direct-feed footage would make sense if you want to be accurate and yes, it does make a difference there.

That is why we are complaining; because it makes a difference and even though graphics do not matter more than gameplay to me and I'd prefer a higher framerate, the PS4 could handle a higher resolution, Ubi just won't let it and that's what stinks. This has nothing to do with hardware or development issues, it's just a marketing decision made by Ubi based on... stupidity? MS money? Idk..

[Gr1mmyshadows]

I have a 55" tv and I can't tell the difference. I also try not to bitch and moan about pixels because I'm usually too busy having fun playing the game. I still think it's extremely sad these people who boycott a game because it isn't 1080p. What's going on with the gaming community now - a - days? Does everyone only care about numbers now?

[Gunstar75]

This generation of gamers are the most vitriolic and nasty, but that is just the way society is going.
Years ago, we used to "write in" to magazines to discuss how many on-screen colours the snes version of Streetfighter 2 would have compared to the megadrive (aka - genisis)

The internet has made bedroom dwelling virgins into URL Badmen!

Sad but true!

[D-riders]

It's easier with higher quality tvs

[TheGamingArt]

Ummm.... yes lol

[Mithan]

Depends on the effects. So Smoke? Yes. Certain other scenes? No. It really depends on screen size and distance.

[Arty84]

no because my eyes suck

[nucky64]

I think it depends on the tv - I just got a sony xbr55x900b 4k tv...... and with it you can tell the difference. with my 6 year old 1080p tv, it's not as noticeable.

[ScorpiusX]

Can't tell cause it's not something I concern my self with , while enjoying my games.

[NeoGamer232]

Yes. I have 20/20 vision and can see a difference between 900p and 1080p environments when they are put side by side.

Does it really make a difference in actual gameplay? 99% of the time no.

Ryse won an award last year for its graphics and it was 900p... While games like CoD Ghosts, Killzone Shadowfall, Forza Motorsports 5 were 1080p and did not get the award. What does that mean? Well graphics aren't all about how many pixels you have, its more about the tools and art direction that the developers choose.

Last generation, Meet the Robinsons was shipped as a 1080p game. Did that make it a graphical power house? LOL... Not...

[Revengeance]

The only people that can't tell the difference are people that need glasses or need to go to the eye doctor.

Hint: These people play on the weaker console.

[Bdub2000]

I'd like to see a blind test where 10 gamers have to identify which game is playing at 720/900/1080. Let's see that on N4G...

Good luck...

[SynestheticRoar]

That's like someone asking you tell the difference with DVD & Blu-ray.

[BobBelcher]

is the difference that important that it trumps the gameplay/content?

[aerisbueller]

So they already completed the game, and you think that when they turn up the resolution to 1080p, it's going to mess up the gameplay somehow?

[BobBelcher]

I'm saying the difference should be moot.

[_FantasmA_]

If you take off the fanboy hat, yes, yes you can.

[kainslayer]

ffs YES especially in games ok,movies depends,but games hell yes,its like putting glasses on and of but it clearly shows in the anti alaising and texture detail plus some artifacts from the upscaliing so yes the croud is informed so go back to your holes xbox marketing agents

[sAVAge_bEaST]

8bit-16bit-32bit-64bit-720p-90 0p-1080p-4K-

Nawww they all look the same to me...

(just for the kiCk)

Caus.. F.Mile stones.. imarite?

[JMyers]

It doesn't matter... Give people the full experience.

[claudionmc]

http://www.twinfinite.net/w...

http://www.twinfinite.net/w...

Absolutely YES

[Inventor14]

http://www.zvonkop.tk

[cruzngta]

Yes. Next question.

[MAULxx]

Most expected at least 1080p resolutions for the new generation. Most console gamers should have a 1080p HDTV now & last gen games were generally 720p and sometimes lower. I think just about all of us were expecting all games to be 1080p standard for the new gen before any announcements were made. I don't think it was an unrealistic expectation & it's been met for the most part on the PS4. I even had high hopes for audio but not all new gen games I have bought satisfy in that department. There's still a lot of last gen in this new gen but hopefully we will see a greater gap in graphics and audio in the games of 2015.
As far as 900p Vs 1080p and telling the difference, I'll just ask this. What early adopter bought new systems expecting 900p games? Not one. If you can't tell the difference in 900p or 1080p then you most likely can't see the difference between 720p and 900p. I know graphics don't boil down to resolution but when 1080p is the norm for HDTVs it is natural and reasonable expectation. It's MS's Xbone design choices that failed to deliver on expectations. PS4 hit the mark pretty well but I still don't like to see games sub 1080p and/or with aliasing all over my screen (looks at Alien Isolation). Even though I'm enjoying the game, Alien ISO could have looked nicer with some AA, better facial animations & smoother cut scenes. The game feels last gen without taking advantage of the PS4 hardware hardly at all. Mordor, for example, is what I feel most were expecting from early, new generation hardware at the very least.

[ScorpiusX]

Kind dumb question if think for a minute are you asking us as we play a game or when we have time for a side by side comparison. Cause during game play am to busy chasing or running to tell, now if I sat down to look I might be able to spot some differences. But really who buys two copies of the same game for different consoles.

[Tzuno]

Yes i can, I game on PC and there is a big difference switching to 1080p from 900p the clarity is crisp.

[Justjoined123]

.

[Clown_Syndr0me]

Nope not at all, and even if I could I wouldnt really care as long as the gameplay is top.

[SojournUK]

Nope! But then again I'm reading this on a cRapple iPad...

[Nightcyberspud]

I have both systems and find the difference in the resolution between 1080/900/and 720p very minimal.

[KontryBoy706]

This question is SO stupid just like the "can you tell the difference between 30fps and 60fps". I can change the resolution on my monitor in a PC game from 900p to 1080p to 1440p. I can see the difference on ALL 3. I'm so sick of these writers treating the gaming community like we f'n stupid or something. Stop dancing around it. YES THERE'S A DIFFERENCE

[ThisJarContainsTHC]

They just want to shut us up because we own Sony consoles, that's all it is. Same crap as last gen in the media.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

No point for there to be last gen resolutions with how these next gen consoles are built... The hardware is capable there's no excuse!

[1886afc]

now there's no difference HAHAHAHA! you fanboys

[kryteris]

set your native 1080p monitor to 1600x900, then imagine it worse with a much lower pixel density. I dont get how this is debatable, a simple test should be common knowledge by now unless most console gamers are partialy blind.

Now if we all had 900p native screens the difference would not be as noticable besides not seeing as much visual info. Still far vistas would suffer, and shooters.

[Flames76]

Nope

[ziggurcat]

actually, yes. you can.

[ThisJarContainsTHC]

Everyone else raises a stink about it so why shouldn't PS4 owners?

the anti-sony presense in the gaming media is quite disturbing. why is this still a thing?

I'm really not digging the "It's only cool if Microsoft and PC owners bitch about it" mentality that is STILL going on.

[keony]

Why should I ask this question if my console is capable of 1080p instead of 900p? When a sprinter is going for the world record 100m, let say 10 secs, will he look on his watch during the run to run 10.01 (which is enough)? No he will going for the max!

[Chinkyinc18]

If you own a gaming PC, you should. The reason more console players don't really notice is because they lack the ability to change the graphic settings of the game to actually see in real-time what exact difference are caused by changing them back and forth.

[DarkAzureIIIX]

I got everyone right and I did't zoom in. the fact is if the texture, the AA, and shadows are the same look for blurry Backgrounds and or Shadows.

[tubers]

Only on my questionable quality PC monitor but if it's on a decent and big TV and I sit a few feet away, I can't. Mostly because my eyes are far from perfect (need corrective lenses in several occasions).

[Spartacus10]

no we are all stupid to be buying displays above 900p.

ofcourse theres a fucking visible difference.

I can even see an improvement in clarity on 1080p phones compared to my 720p phone.

If you cant, I urge you to stop wasting time chatting shit online and go and see an optician asap before your vision deteriorates even more.

[tonywood]

A few quick things i want to point out:
Im not an out of shape, no girlfriend having, live in my parent's basement, hermit. Nor am I lazy YouTube video nerd, who use gaming platform angles to get a little money from that site. (Fanboy geek)

However, facts are facts...and I clearly remember all the game review sites pointing out how ps3 multi plat games were sluggish. Now that the issues are with other platforms, graphics dont matter? If the xbox one was selling for $329, or packed with 2 controllers & a power charge kit....all good. But it isnt, and Sony's PlayStation 4 is operating better. These systems should not be the same price.
anyone who hates whatbi have typed......please tell what type of car and or shoes yo wear. (I bet these same fanboys dont game on 24 inch vizio tv's)
#I HAVE ALL 3 COMPANY PLATFORMS FROM LAST 3 GENERATIONS!

[MetalArcade]

The difference is actually way more noticeable than I thought it would be. The 1080p versions look way sharper and more detailed.