Does resolution work differently on PS4 than on the PC?

[Gdourado]

Hello,

 

Trying to understand this.

I always heard, since the first lcd monitors appeard on PC, that it should always run at the native resolution or it would look like crap.

So if a screen is 1080p in resolution, a game should be run at 1920x1080 and if a screen is 4k, then the game should be run at 3840x2160.

 

But most games on the PS4 pro dont run at 3840x2160.

There are plenty that on the Pro run at 1440p resolution.

 

Is the result the same if I run my pc at 1440p resolution connected to a 4k tv?

Or does the PS4 somehow makes non native resolution look better?

I am not talking about games like uncharted or horizon that use checkerboarding to output at 4k resolution.

I am talking about games like crash bandicoot for example that run at a fixed 1440p on the PS4 pro.

 

Cheers!

[porina]

It was my understanding that game rendering and output resolution weren't tied on some console games. They render at whatever resolution the developers have to use to get their target performance, and then rescale it for output. The UI elements are likely still rendered at native resolution to give the best output.

 

On PC, unless you use nvidia DSR, whatever the AMD equivalent is, or the game has a different rendering scale options, it will render at what you set the output resolution to be. In case the set output and monitor mismatch, depending on your settings the rescaling can happen either at GPU or monitor, and they may have different methods with different results.

[ImpulseRez]

If there isn't any 'smart' upscaling (like checkerboarding) going on, then they'll be the same. The difference usually is that you sit further away from a TV, so PS4 1440p on a 4K TV will look better than 1440p on a 4K PC monitor (if you're sitting closer to it). But, if they're both outputting to a TV, they're basically the same.

[GoldenLag]

essentially the game itself is rendered at the resolution you set on the PC. it is then upscaled or downscaled to fit the resolution that the display is running.

 

this is case with the PS4 PRO aswell. it should look identical if the same setting are applied. PS4 might use a different downscaling than the standard setting in a game on PC, but usually this can be configured.

 

resolution is handled and works the same, just on PC you got more control over what is being done. 

[asus killer]

i think Sony does some trickery with upscaling that i don't think you have on PC's because there is no need, why would you buy a card that doesn't do 4k and a 4k monitor. Even if someone does it it's not a common problem.

[Gdourado]

On this list:

https://www.gamesradar.com/ps4-pro-confirmed-games-list/

 

There are lots of games the PS4 Pro renders at 1440p and some even at odd resolutions like 1620p.

So these games on a 4k tv are not running at the native resolution of the TV.

So how come they don't look like crap like a PC does outside the native resolution of the monitor?

PS4 has some secret sauce here?