In today's episode we test how the ST1080 handles scaling of video sources up to 1080p from lower resolutions,how this compares to native 1080p sources .. and how in the absence of in unit scaling we can achieve this ... using the humble PlayStation 3
We already know that all PC content scales to the full 100" but not all our content is routed through our PCs now is it ? So on with the test ....
The ST1080 is strongest with a source that covers the full 1080p resolution , no HMD can touch it at this res. Whether you are playing from Bluray or hard disk the higher native resolution rocks... the key is the image source should fill the entire screen . As I have said from my first review the LCOS display will not give you the deep black of OLED tech but that is not what you buy the ST1080 for .. And come on if you are an enthusiast you will own both...
Whilst 3D is supposed to be all the rage with HMDs , you must consider that the majority of content you will view with any HMD will NOT be in 3D , in fact you or say I have thousands of games and videos across devices the enjoyment of which is not hampered in anyway by them not being burnt into your retinas in popout 3D.In fact if you are a console gamer a shockingly low number of games actually even run at 1080p , I know I have them all... So today's test of the ST1080 is aimed at every day use , we normal people are not AV blog trolls measuring blacks , fovs , 3d pop out and other ocd nonsense. The normal user of the ST1080 is just going to want to throw as many sources of video at the device as possible. So what is that normal viewing experience like when you throw these multiple video sources at the ST1080?
As we know the ST1080 does not scale 720p console content for now... But it will, and I wanted to find out how the unit handles scaled input. How ? Well...
Just because our ST1080 does not scale yet , doesn't preclude us from introducing a source that does...Thus I discovered...
All classic Playstation one games , I tested Vagrant Story , Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy VII etc , scale up to almost the full screen of the ST1080 with the PS3 set to 1080p . Whilst PlayStation 2 games scale up to the full 100" screen . The PS3 handles the scaling ...interesting n'est ce pas?
So now I am watching that beautiful FFVIII intro on the ST1080 , sound apart from a feint buzz is amazing for headphones of this size. It is like playing Final Fantasy at the cinema, with caveat of psone pixelation . The same pixelation you would see if you blew up a PlayStation game up to a cinema size screen!
But hey that just adds to the nostalgia the more astute among you could use an emulator and play at a higher res on PC of course ...hmmh Panzer Dragoon Saga ...another time... back to the PlayStation gaming...................
Now lets get something clear all the blacks I see on screen are black yes black.All the text is flat and easily legible. All the colours are rich and vibrant and no I am not going to try on my hmzt1 to compare for some av blog troll to get their kicks....
All the text and menus in the game are razor sharp , very useful when you have an RPG that will last around 60 hours and you are going to spend most of that time reading.
All PlayStation games can be played in this way on the ST1080 , the key word is CAN , you may try the same with the HMZT1 , but I challenge you to sit through 60 hours of FF VII wearing the HMZT1 ... hmmmh with the 3 hour safety limit shut down it would take 20 sessions of 3 hours of wearing the HMZT1 , how many of us have even used our HMZT1s 20 times ?
As I said earlier the ST1080 is strongest when you have a source that fills every one of its 1080p pixels . So now let us jump forward to Final Fantasy XIII on the PS3 and another great intro , 1080p full 100" and it looks and sounds awesome the scale is amazing and yes it is like watching the FFXIII intro in a cinema. This is beauty, and might even make playing the game tolerable..
I am looking at the game starting and the scale is breathtaking no one does CGI like Square or game intros for that matter.. Pink haired damsel with Afro Chocobo dude are filling the screen (yes I know their real names) .. oh wow the train just entered the green city section the scale is shocking and I am typing this on iPad whilst playing the game intro on the ST1080.
Afro dude and Pink have just jumped out of the wreck and the game has switched to in game engine , I can see all the text clearly perfectly flat no distortion, music is blaring , and it is time to fight.The scale and detail is unmatched ,there is 0 pixelation and the thing about the st1080 as long as you have image being pumped into each of the 1080p pixels black does look black I can feel the scale and distance of the buildings and scenery behind the characters .
And now I switch to Final Fantasy XIII X2 ....oh my gods the city , someone falling , those feathers and Bahamuts flying , and the sky is reigning neon and this is 2d!
Text is beyond razor sharp every subtitle stands clear , the intro scale is like your in a cinema looking down over the city of Valhalla , it does not feel like a 100" plasma it feels like a cinema screen . Caius is fighting feathers fly and you flinch as characters lock swords and unleash elementals and all this is 2d, when the sword flies at the screen in the intro it flies at you and you flinch backwards..
Lightning fans rejoice as she leaps, you do with her ,and now once again it is time to fight, I am throwing lightning bolts whilst riding Odin, at the Chaos Bahamut, scale is amazing, menu text is razor sharp, beautiful music fills my ears. I am riding the horse up a building whilst the Quick Time events kick in with the city of Valhalla stretching out into a vast awesome field of view and then suddenly Iam falling . For fans of Square Enix character design you can. see every detail on Lightnings lack of armour/clothing at this scale .. every hair and glimmer on armour...
But the really impressive part is what follows .. when Lightning and Kreiss battle in the air over Valhalla your jaw will drop the ST1080 handles all the neon whilst you buzz around the city the scale is breathtakingly real and the ST1080 shows of Square's talents like no other display.. You can see far into the distance , just like you are looking at a city scape in a cinema. By the time the intro level is over you are going to want to play through it again ...
Now consider an RPG is something you will spend a lot of hours playing , the ST1080 will let you play as long as you want without killing your spine , cooking your eyeballs or permanently indenting your forehead.
Next twisted Metal 1080p blacks aren't great with this one but 1080p screen res makes all the text maps menus and carnage ... notice what I did there ? gloriously detailed fov , which makes me wonder how the GTA series will play....
Next up a PS2 game Star Wars Racers Revenge ... why ? think about it .. this is a Playstation 2 game that nobody but me and my friend Watto play , here using the scaler of the ps3 phat ,what we have is a head mounted cinema sized Pod racing screen .Who doesn't want a cinema sized Pod racing screen and one that does not weigh the same as a Pod racer !
Here's the thing ,all those HD updates of classic PS2 games like Metal Gear Solid HD Collection play at 720p and so on the ST1080 are reduced to a 60 by 30 inch letter boxed screen .
However the PS3 upscales all PS2 games to the full 100" screen of the ST1080, so hold on to your old PS2 games.
Take Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater. If I play the HD collection version I get a 720p letterbox . But if I throw in the PS2 version I get a full 100" or as my mind interprets it , Cinema sized screen full of Solid Snake... The good news is all PS2 games scale to one hundred inches . The gravelly tone of Mr Hayter kicks in and it is time for my halo jump .its time for my ST1080 virtuous mission to continue , after I grab some serpentine lunch in the jungle bushes...
Next up on we try the 1080p PS3 version of the Chronicles of Riddick ...
Why? Well Starbreeze's classic is full of black, in fact black is this series' major game mechanic . It also uses a unique first person view that exploits making you feel you are looking through Riddicks eyes and using his hands to pummel bad/good guys. Diesel just started talking to me ,wow the ocean is amazing , I just hit the eye shine and it works turned it off all the blacks are fine. I just started the first fist fight and wearing the hmd you feel like you are there far more than just looking at a nice plasma. Now for Butcher Bay which is even darker than Athena, in engine CGI black is black ,Starbreeze's famous metallic highlights and glints are all visible on background textures.Once more scale is impressive .The blacks may not be perfect but you can easily play Riddick a game of blacks and with a hmd you feel more Riddick , like those are your hands grabbing that guard ... the proximity of both sound and vision sources wearing a HMD like the ST1080 , the 1080p res and the unique FPS view in this game all immerse you in this excellent game . And the coolest thing? You can take the ST1080 off as easy as Riddick turning his eye shine on and off ...
With the discovery that PSONE and PS2 games scale to full screen , I have a few thousand more games to test on the ST1080 ... Wing Commander IV cinema sized .. Final Fantasy VII , not to mention playing these through a PC emulator at even higher resolutions ...
It would also be interesting to link up the Nintendo Wii , because I fancy some cinema sized Mario 64 , Goldeneye and Star Fox , there are also those great Factor 5 coded Star Wars games , Namcos Star Fox , Sin and Punishment and of course imagine playing the Metroid trilogy on the ST1080 through Samus visor ! What am I typing this for I have games to play....
And no that pic at the top is not from the ST1080 , the image on the ST1080 is way more detailed and also impossible to convey unless you experience it for yourself...
more to follow...
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