4k on Xbox One S?

[Paul Rudd]

I just hooked up my Xbox One S to my 4k monitor. I found out that the Xbox One S can upscale games to 4k. But I don't know if you have to have a 4k TV to do so. In my Xbox One S settings, I set the resolution to 1440p. Which they implemented into the Xbox One S about a month ago. So my question is, which games are upscaled to 4k? I found the following links to help figure this out but I'm not the smartest dude in the world so all help is much appreciated:

• http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinion/xbox-one-s-vs-xbox-one-2993118
• https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2017/11/22/best-4k-hdr-experience-xbox/
• https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/console/4k-on-xbox-one
• https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/xbox-one/xbox-one-x-enhanced-list
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Xbox_One_X_enhanced_games
• https://mobilesyrup.com/2018/04/25/xbox-update-1440p-video-output-features/

All I know is that when I set my Xbox One S to 1440p in the settings and then played Battlefield 1 and Star Wars Battlefront there was an insane improvement on the screen. Everything was so butter smooth and the textures looked like 4k to me. So since it was set to 1440p and it looked like 4k on my 4k monitor(which has no issues playing in 4k, 1440p and 1080p from my PC) and I don't know what in the world I'm reading from all these articles, I have no clue what resolution I was playing in. Could someone enlighten me on this subject. And remember, I played this on my 4k monitor.

 

This I found in one of the articles above and it confuses me since it was back in August of 2016. BEFORE Xbox implemented 1440p resolution into the Xbox One S about a month ago according to the last article above.

"But again, keep in mind the Xbox One S doesn't play games in 4K. Instead, it'll upscale 1080p games to 4K, which often looks better than 1080p, but not quite as good as native 4K."

[tatte]

Your 4K monitor is always 4K, the panel doesn't dynamically (magically) change depending on the received video. Instead the video is upscaled (or stretched) either on the monitor itself or already by the source. Quality of the result can vary a lot depending on who's handling the difference, a console that's purposely designed and marketed to upscale to 4K will naturally do a better job than a monitor that's expected to be properly utilised with a PC. Cheap modern TVs are usually the worst offenders.

 

When you set your Xbox to 1440p, your console is rendering the game at most at 1080p, it then applies it's tricks to stretch it to 1440p before sending it off, and finally your monitor does the rest, giving you a picture that fills the screen.

[D13H4RD]

The One S renders games at either 1080p or 900p, then upscales the image to the resolution of your display if it is set to a higher resolution than 1080p.

 

If you're looking for gaming in UHD on a console, you have to get the X, which has a more powerful GPU.

[Paul Rudd]

8 hours ago, tatte said:

When you set your Xbox to 1440p, your console is rendering the game at most at 1080p, it then applies it's tricks to stretch it to 1440p before sending it off, and finally your monitor does the rest, giving you a picture that fills the screen.

@tatte Can you explain why the gameplay in BF1 and Star Wars Battlefront looks like 4k? When I played it before in 1080p, it looked nowhere near what it looks like on my 4k monitor now. What I am viewing is definitely well above 1080p. It seriously looks amazing. Stone looks like actual stone, the moss on rocks looks like actual moss on rocks. The entire time I'm playing, it looks so real, it's like you can reach in front of you and touch what you are looking at. Especially in Battlefield 1.

[Paul Rudd]

4 hours ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

The One S renders games at either 1080p or 900p, then upscales the image to the resolution of your display if it is set to a higher resolution than 1080p.

@D13H4RD2L1V3 My 4k monitor is set to 4k. I set the Xbox One S settings to 1440p. What I am viewing in BF1 is obviously well above 1080p. And I would like to know exactly what it is. It seriously looks like 4k ultra. Life-like.

4 hours ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

If you're looking for gaming in UHD on a console, you have to get the X, which has a more powerful GPU.

Why would I buy the X if the S looks this good? That's like buying a Ferrari when I already own a Lamborghini. Especially when I bought my 1TB BF1 Xbox One S for $165 brand spanking new with a controller and BF1 SEALED in it's original box from a very trusted eBay seller exactly 368 days ago. I've been meaning to get back into gaming on the S and finding out what I found out from BF1 last night is literally a game changer. And if I can figure out what resolution this is, I definitely don't have to take back this 4k monitor to get a 1440p 144 Hz monitor in the 12 days left that I have to do so. Bestbuy only gives you 14 days to return it. And my i5/GTX10603GB combo just won't push 144 frames on anything in 1440p or 4k. Unless it's games like Paladins or Overwatch but I have hundreds of other games that I'd rather just play at 60 FPS.

[tatte]

The technical side of things has been explained, while you're looking at 4K result, it's based on at best 1080p, an unavoidable reality since BF1 isn't even One X Enhanced yet. It's apparently just really well upscaled, and your monitor might be in general vastly better than what you were using before? I'm really glad you're enjoying your game, it sounds like I should give it a try myself, I have been holding out in hopes for a patch.

 

[ono]

Strange you're not outputting 4K since you're using a 4K monitor. Anyway, it sounds to me that the Xbox One S upscales from your game's native resolution (1080p or less, depending on the game) better than your monitor's upscaling so you see an improvement outputting in 1440p vs 1080p and having your monitor upscale to 4K. I presume if you set the output to 4K you may see a further difference since your monitor is still doing the 1440p to 4K. 

[Paul Rudd]

11 hours ago, tatte said:

while you're looking at 4K result

@tatte Are you saying I'm looking at a 1080p game in 4k resolution? Because if you are, I have no reason to exchange this 4k monitor for a 1440p/144Hz monitor. According to Wikipedia, BF1 does support HDR. But I don't think that's what this is because my monitor doesn't support HDR. I think what I am looking at is BF1 in 1080p upscaled to 1440p since that is what I set it at on the Xbox One S. And yes this monitor is way better than my living room 1080p TV that I usually play BF1 on. Please give BF1 a try on your Xbox One S/X on a 4k monitor. It's truly breathtaking.

 

Oh and I forgot to mention that when I recorded the game play that looked amazing to me last night in BF1, it was recorded in 1080p. Yet when I viewed the recording, it looked nothing like when I was actually playing it. And I know it was recorded in 1080p because it's in the details of the video. So that has to mean it was being played in 1440p in which I set my Xbox One S to run in. 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2018 by A Random Dude

[Ithanul]

4 hours ago, A Random Dude said:

@tatte Can you explain why the gameplay in BF1 and Star Wars Battlefront looks like 4k? When I played it before in 1080p, it looked nowhere near what it looks like on my 4k monitor now. What I am viewing is definitely well above 1080p. It seriously looks amazing. Stone looks like actual stone, the moss on rocks looks like actual moss on rocks. The entire time I'm playing, it looks so real, it's like you can reach in front of you and touch what you are looking at. Especially in Battlefield 1.

Checkerboard technique.  When done right, it helps improve upscaling of content.

Also, depending on game, the console will render out at different resolutions.

 

In the case of BF1:  https://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-1-ps4-vs-xbox-one-resolution-and-frame/1100-6444936/

The consoles will actually on the fly switch resolutions depending how much is going on screen.

 

What size is the 4K monitor?

You probably getting some benefits from higher pixel density on the screen as well. 

Basic chart on pixel density:  https://www.noteloop.com/kit/display/pixel-density/

[Paul Rudd]

9 hours ago, ono said:

Strange you're not outputting 4K since you're using a 4K monitor.

This is because I had the Xbox One S set to 1440p last night. And I think that was because it was plugged into the wrong HDMI port on my monitor. According to one of the most recent review on this page https://www.bestbuy.com/site/samsung-ue590-series-28-led-4k-uhd-monitor-black/5484022.p?skuId=5484022&ref=199&loc=8BacdVP0GFs&acampID=1&siteID=8BacdVP0GFs-FtKk54LLzhFfPlVkCYZiIw I have to plug it into the HDMI 2 port to get the 4k to work on the Xbox One S. It was grayed out when plugged in to my HDMI 1 port. Maybe that is why it also felt like less than 60 FPS because I only had 25Hz and 50Hz checked last night, I sure hope that was the case. 25 or 30 or 50 or whatever it was still felt smooth for some reason, if that's what it was. 

9 hours ago, ono said:

so you see an improvement outputting in 1440p vs 1080p and having your monitor upscale to 4K. I presume if you set the output to 4K you may see a further difference since your monitor is still doing the 1440p to 4K.

@ono I hope what I saw last night was 1440p and when I change HDMI ports, lets hope I then see it upscaled to 4k/60. If I do, this monitor will not be returned. 

[Paul Rudd]

6 minutes ago, Ithanul said:

In the case of BF1:  https://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-1-ps4-vs-xbox-one-resolution-and-frame/1100-6444936/

The consoles will actually on the fly switch resolutions depending how much is going on screen.

 

What size is the 4K monitor?

You probably getting some benefits from higher pixel density on the screen as well. 

@Ithanul I will have to read that link after I check out BF1 in the HDMI 2 port real quick. My monitor is a 28" Samsung. There's a link to it above. I was super happy to see the amount of reviews on it, there has to be an obvious reason it has thousands of reviews while most other 4k monitors don't have anywhere near that. I think what it does for Xbox One S/X gamers has a lot to do with those thousands of reviewers. A lot of them mention the Xbox One S in their review.

[Ithanul]

Hmmm, monitor has freesync.  That probably the main reason the game looks smooth.  The Xbox One S/X has freesync I believe from recent spring update.

 

Though, looking by rtings review the monitor is mixed usage:  https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/samsung/ue590

 

By the looks, if keeping it, calibrate it.

[Paul Rudd]

@Ithanul Well I just played BF1 again and it looks the same on all the settings. No clue how to tell what makes it so good. I may take this monitor back so I can feel what over 60 fps feels like in 1440p. I have just 11 days to decide. Most games I've tried play the best in 1440p because I only have an i5/GTX10603GB. I do get 4k/30 in GTA 5 after tweaking the settings a lot but when I go to 1440p/60, that smoothness is what is wanting me to go snag a 1440p/144Hz monitor. Paladins plays flawlessly at 4k/60 so it's interesting to see what it would be like in 1440p/144. Not sure how to calibrate this 4k monitor, I don't notice that it needs anything to it changed. I already put the brightness at 50%.

[Ithanul]

You do realize that the Xbox One S can't do that high in FPS right?

No point really in getting a 144Hz unless you using a PC on that same monitor as well.

 

Smoothness is most likely from freesync.

[Paul Rudd]

 

5 hours ago, Ithanul said:

You do realize that the Xbox One S can't do that high in FPS right?

No point really in getting a 144Hz unless you using a PC on that same monitor as well.

Yea, I just found that out reading the reviews. Well there goes one reason to get a 144Hz monitor. Although I'm still eyeing this https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-27-led-qhd-gsync-monitor-black/5293502.p?skuId=5293502 monitor up and down. I can price match it and save $150 right now. I really need to do it before it's too late.

5 hours ago, Ithanul said:

Smoothness is most likely from freesync.

@Ithanul I don't have Freesync turned on. Never needed to on my PC since my GPU is Nvidia. 

[ono]

You should try out the Freesync since you have it on that first monitor and Xbox. Too bad your situation is like mine's, as I have Nvidia on PC too. As far as I know if I were to buy an adaptive sync monitor, it'll only work on Xbox or on my PC  PC would probably benefit from it more though, so I guess it isn't that hard to pick which one to sacrifice.

[Paul Rudd]

2 minutes ago, ono said:

You should try out the Freesync since you have it on that first monitor and Xbox.

@ono Why would I try out Freesync on my Xbox One S? It doesn't seem to have any issues.