Thứ Năm, 14 tháng 8, 2014

Siliconmicrodisplay ST1080 review part 7: The Scaling issue : How does 720 go into 1080 ?

With my ever increasing stack of PS3 games purchased more out of habit than any intent to play , I set about studying the ST1080s scaling issues.

After several hours of popping Blurays into the PS3 and using the hdmi automatic setting that sets up the PS3 to receive 720,1080i and 1080p flavours of 3D from the ST1080, I only came across one successful full screen 3D game on the ST1080 connected to the PS3. That would be Avatar , and one on the Xbox 360 namely Gears of War 3.

Today's console hardware barely handles 3D , most 3D games being locked at 720p.

Scaling is not going to be an issue when it comes to 1080p native res sources from PC , or the few the very few console games only two that I have discovered so far that are coded to scale.

As far as 3D console games go on the ST1080 you will have a 60 inch screen not the full 100 and have massive borders either side and top and bottom. Until SMD give us a work around.

We know full screen 3D console gaming is possible with the ST1080 using both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 because thegameveda has been hiding from leaping Locust and exploring Pandora on a 100" 3D screen this very day.

smd need to be clear about how we can or if we cannot scale 720p content I would have expected to be able to trick the consoles with a defined screen size , but nothing doing I'm afraid.

The ST1080 is thus a display that is ahead of the source gaming hardware and software.At least on current gen consoles that is. I do not see this as that much of a flaw , there are currently around 10 3D enabled console games of note ,two work full screen , Gears is a must play , Avatar is a cool extension of the film universe. Of the remainder I will still say even the letter boxed 60." 3D screen you see when you play Uncharted 3 , Halo Anniversary, Child of Eden,Killzone 3, Resistance 3 , Ico and Shadow of Colossus , in frame packed or side by side modes is more effective than the richer coloured HMTZ1 variant. And your forehead will thank you...

But dear reader we must not forget the ST1080 is not just for 3D , it is also a native 1080p 100" screen which comes into it's own when you give it a game with a matching 1080p res. Let's face facts while like thegameveda you may have say 10 or so 3D enabled games you will have 100s more non 3D games.

The most impressive experience I had with the ST1080 was with just one such game my favourite game to play using the Sony HMZT1 and that game has 0 3D effects.

Prepare to be shocked for that game is :
Ace Combat Assault Horizon on a 100" inch screen in front of your eyes with squadrons of planes buzzing the Burj Khalifa and weaving through the gleaming towers of Dubai. Wait one , I am not totally gone , the ST1080 screen has an amazing sense of scale ,it feels much larger than the Sony HMZT1 display and fov , with the latter you are always conscious of viewing a cinema screen through optical equipment like those rotating slide viewers of old or binoculars .With the ST1080 you feel closer to the screen and are less conscious of optics in the way.It literally just feels like you are looking at a screen , with minimum work required by your eyes or brain to maintain the illusion or effect. With the HMZT1 you have to be precise with the diopter setting or your 3D or 2d image will start to fail or distort , with ST1080 it is far more forgiving but also far more effective . The sweet spot where 3D works is far larger and for 2D is insane which is what makes flight sims with detailed HUD and skies full of things going boom look so good. If you recall I recently commented how good Skygamblers looked on the ST1080 with jaw dropping vertigo. Factor in the 1080p res and the experience you get when you play a game like Assault Squadron is jaw dropping. The in plane view , cockpit looks as close to a real sized cockpit as you are going to get , the chase cam gives you a 100" wide wingspan for your Tomcat .Looking down at the city or at planes jousting you feel the distance . Yes you could reproduce this with 3 30 inch monitors but how would you drive them and yes you could use a projector but then you would lose the delusion that you are in the cockpit of a F14a because of the distance between you and the projector screen , with the ST1080 there is nothing that interrupts the intimate congress between your brain ,eyes and the game screen . No one is going to walk across your field of view and this just immerses you even more.

All 1080p res console games shine on the ST1080 , you are gaming on a 100" monitor with a more impressive sense of scale and less optical quirkiness ,distortion and sadly colour than the HMZT1.


I know not if this by chance or design but I am impressed with the fact that the display appears flat and not curved or distorted towards the edges if the screen as the HMZT1 manages.

I also tried LAIR and Wings of Prey at 1080p and it makes you smile when you realise there is a 100" 180g display on the end of your nose , that you can carry anywhere and which has just freed you from all those arguments with your better half over who get's to use the tv!

Hopefully smd can clear up the 720 p scaling issue , but if you think about it do they really need to for a handful of now ageing console games? The selling point of this device is the 1080p native res , as such it positively encourages you to seek out sources that have this resolution , at that point there is no other hmd that can touch it. Whether in 3D or 2D. And even in 60" letter boxed 720p mode I found all 3D effects whether using frame packing or side by side more pronounced than the HMZT1 , and the definition is to die for from the clean lines in Rez , Child of Eden to the detailed cockpit HUD and text on non 3D 1080p res games like Assault Horizon.

Ok so colour and black are not in the same league as the HMZT1 but are you really going to spend your life comparing them ...after all for that you have thegameveda....

Tomorrow some PC gaming and time to rip the light blocker off and check out the 10% see through claims...






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