PS3 720p limitations – HDMI 1.4

There has been much talk on our forums about the Playstations 720p 3D gaming limitation. Many people have assumed that the issue is with the hardware but Sony have stated that it is actually the HDMI 1.4 standard which is the cause of the resolution limitation.

HDMI 1.4 is a standard which calls for the following restrictions – 720p 60fps, 720p 50fps, and 1080p 24fps. Sony have therefore taken the route of forcing all 3D game related content to 720p which means they can use the higher frame rates for a smoother gaming experience. Obviously this is not an ideal situation as the PC environment does allow for dual DVI configurations to achieve higher frame rates at 1080p but unfortunately this is not possible on a PS3.

The graphics hardware in the Playstation 3 is still quite capable, although its obviously looking rather outdated by PC standards so perhaps the HDMI 1.4 standard has worked in Sonys favour, especially when trying to power a modern gaming engine at high resolutions.

KitGuru says: KitGuru reader Mark has sent us some updated info on this subject (below).

3D requires two frames, so 1080p @ 60FPS in a normal game means 1080p @ 120FPS. Clearly unachievable even on a powerhouse like a PS3.

1080p: 30FPS in 3D would hurt the eyes in fast action games, hence the SUGGESTED route of 720p @ 60FPS (120FPS) for 3D games. They have however said non-action titles can certainly use 1080p @ 30FPS (60FPS).

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