Difference between revisions of "Resolution"

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{{WIP}}
 
'''Resolution''' is the measure in which how many pixels are displayed on the screen.
 
'''Resolution''' is the measure in which how many pixels are displayed on the screen.
  
 
For emulation of 2D systems, the resolution can only be upscaled, making the pixels more apparent. For emulation of 5th generation consoles and newer, the internal resolution can be increased to make the game look sharper.
 
For emulation of 2D systems, the resolution can only be upscaled, making the pixels more apparent. For emulation of 5th generation consoles and newer, the internal resolution can be increased to make the game look sharper.
−
==Console Resolutions==
+
 
 +
;Color encoding
 +
On systems connected with a composite, s-video or rf cable the color of the video signal is encoded using either NTSC or PAL. While NTSC and PAL has become synonymous with 60 and 50hz, the color encoding is independent of refresh rate, with the Dreamcast popularising "PAL-60" modes in PAL regions. Note that a RGB or component video signal is not inherently NTSC or PAL coded. When playing on an emulator, [[NTSC filters]] can be used to produce an image similar to playing on a TV.
 +
 
 +
SECAM is a third color standard but due to the many of countries that used it were [[wikipedia:Second World|Second World]] and [[wikipedia:Third World|Third World]] few consoles would use that format, and consoles and home computers released in France would often use RGB SCART cables instead. See this [[wikipedia:SECAM#Countries_and_territories_that_use_SECAM|Wikipedia article]] for a list of current and former SECAM countries
 +
 
 +
;Colorspaces
 +
The overwhelming majority of consoles uses the RGB colorspace, storing colors as color triplets, often resulting in colordepths powers of 8 (64, 512, 4096, 32768 and so on).
 +
A few systems, such as those by Atari as well as the NES, instead used a Color/Luminance scheme, with 4 bits determining the hue, utilising a property of NTSC/PAL encoding by delaying the color subcarrier, with one or more values instead omitting the signal resulting in a greyscale image, with the remaining bits determining the brightness.
 +
 
 +
;Integer Scaling
 +
{{Main|Scaling}}
 +
Upscaling the resolution will only look good if you scale it by integers (2x, 3x, 4x, etc.). If you are scaling with non-integers, you can make the image look better using the [[Shaders_and_Filters#Pixellate|Pixellate]] shader.
 +
==Consoles==
 +
===2D Consoles===
 +
;2D consoles generally are consoles from the 2nd to 4th generation of video game consoles, or fantasy consoles recreating the experience of them.
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
|-
 
|-
 
! scope="col"|System
 
! scope="col"|System
−
! scope="col"|Native Resolution
+
! scope="col"|Native Resolution (<abbr title="Width">W</abbr>x<abbr title="Height">H</abbr>)
 
! scope="col"|Color depth and color space
 
! scope="col"|Color depth and color space
−
! scope=''col''|Video display resolution
+
! scope="col"|Video display resolution
 
! scope="col"|Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
 
! scope="col"|Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
 +
|-
 +
|[[CHIP-8 emulators|CHIP-8]]
 +
|64x32 (original)<br>Extensions: 64x48, 64x64, 64x128, 128x64, 256x192<ref group=N name=CHIP-8_RES>[https://chip-8.github.io/extensions/ Sourced from here]: '''64x32''' (Original CHIP-8), '''64x48''' (CHIP-8 for ETI-660) '''64x64''' (Two-page display for CHIP-8, Two-page display for CHIP-8X, CHIP-8 for ETI-660 with high resolution, CHIP-8 AE (ACE Extended), CHIP-BETA). '''64x128''' (HI-RES CHIP-8, Hi-res CHIP-8X, CHIP-8 AE (ACE Extended)), '''128x64''' (CHIP-VDU / CHIP-8 for the ACE VDU, CHIP-10, CHIP-8 AE (ACE Extended), S-CHIP) '''256x192''' (Megachip)</ref>
 +
|Monochrome (original)<br>Extensions: 4 colours, 16 colours, 255 colours.<ref group=N name=CHIP-8_COL>1-bit monochrome (original), 2-bit 4 colors (XO-CHIP), 4-bit 16 colors (HYPERCHIP-64) 8-bit 255 colors (Megachip).</ref>
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|[[Fairchild Channel F emulators|Fairchild Channel F]]
 +
|102x58
 +
|8 colors
 +
|240p
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five>Preliminary or approximate value.</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Atari 2600 emulators|Atari 2600]]
 
|[[Atari 2600 emulators|Atari 2600]]
 
|160×192<ref group=N name=one>This is a rough figure given for simplicity's sake. In reality, the Atari 2600 doesn't really output pixels, and it has no limits on the number of lines it can display. However, it did have a hard limit on the number of horizontal color clocks for drawing the picture (160), and most games only output 192 lines, hence the commonly given resolution of 160x192.</ref>
 
|160×192<ref group=N name=one>This is a rough figure given for simplicity's sake. In reality, the Atari 2600 doesn't really output pixels, and it has no limits on the number of lines it can display. However, it did have a hard limit on the number of horizontal color clocks for drawing the picture (160), and most games only output 192 lines, hence the commonly given resolution of 160x192.</ref>
−
|128 colors, Color/Luminance
+
|128 (NTSC)/104 (PAL) colors, Color/Luminance
 
|240p
 
|240p
 
|59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.860759671615 (PAL)
 
|59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.860759671615 (PAL)
 +
|-
 +
|[[Atari 7800 emulators|Atari 7800]]
 +
|160×192,320x192,160x224,320x224<ref group=N name=7800video>As with the Atari 2600, the vertical resolution is determined by the game, typically between 192 and 224</ref>
 +
|256 colors, Color/Luminance
 +
|240p
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five>Preliminary or approximate value.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Astrocade|Bally Astrocade]]
 +
|160x104
 +
|256 colors, Color/Luminance
 +
|240p
 +
|60 (NTSC)<ref group=N name=five>Preliminary or approximate value.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Intellivision emulators|Mattel Intellivision]]
 +
|160×192
 +
|16 colors
 +
|240p
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five></ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|NES]]
 
|[[Nintendo Entertainment System emulators|NES]]
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|240p
 
|240p
 
|59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.701460119948 (PAL)
 
|59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.701460119948 (PAL)
 +
|-
 +
|[[PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) emulators|NEC PC Engine]]
 +
|256×224,336x224,512x224,512x240
 +
|512 colors, RGB
 +
|240p
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five></ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Super Nintendo emulators|SNES]]
 
|[[Super Nintendo emulators|SNES]]
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|240p, 480i
 
|240p, 480i
 
|60.098813897441 (NTSC), 50.006978908189 (PAL)
 
|60.098813897441 (NTSC), 50.006978908189 (PAL)
−
|-
 
−
|[[Virtual Boy emulators|Virtual Boy]]
 
−
|384×224 (per screen)
 
−
|4 shades of red
 
−
|224p
 
−
|50.273487773488
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Sega Genesis emulators|Sega Genesis]]
 
|[[Sega Genesis emulators|Sega Genesis]]
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|240p, 480i
 
|240p, 480i
 
|59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.701460119948 (PAL)
 
|59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.701460119948 (PAL)
 +
|}
 +
 +
===3D Consoles===
 +
;3D consoles generally are consoles from the 5th generation and later, or fantasy consoles recreating the experience of them.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|System
 +
! scope="col"|Native Resolution (<abbr title="Width">W</abbr>x<abbr title="Height">H</abbr>)
 +
! scope="col"|Color depth and color space
 +
! scope="col"|Video display resolution
 +
! scope="col"|Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
 +
|-
 +
|[[Nintendo 64 emulators|Nintendo 64]]
 +
|320x200, 320x400, 320x240, 320x480, 640×240, 640×480<ref group=O name=two>While N64 games ran at various resolutions internally, in practice the hardware's VI component always doubled the scale horizontally, and output in either 640x240p or 640x480i, though there is letterboxing at times.</ref>
 +
|15-bit/21-bit, RGB<ref group=O name=n64>The N64 can use either either 18-bit (15 bits of RGB and 3 bits of alpha) or 32-bit framebuffer, however the DAC is only capable of outputting 21-bit RGB</ref>
 +
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL)
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=O name=five>Preliminary or approximate value.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Sega Saturn emulators|Sega Saturn]]
 +
|320×224p, 320×240p, 320×256p, 352×224p, 352×240p, 352×256p, 640×224p, 640×240p, 640×256p, 704x224p, 704×240p
 +
320×448i, 320×480i, 320×512i, 352×448i, 320×480i, 352×512i, 640×448i, 640×480i, 640×512i, 704×448i, 704×480i, 704×512i
 +
|15-bit/24-bit, RGB
 +
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL)
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=O name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[PlayStation emulators|PlayStation]]
 +
|256×224p, 256x240p, 320x224p, 320×240p, 368x224p, 368x240p, 512x224p, 512×240p, 640x224p, 640x240p,
 +
256x448i, 256x480i, 320x448i, 320x480i, 368x448i, 368x480i, 512x448i, 512x480i, 640x448i, 640×480i, <ref group=O name=psxres>https://www.problemkaputt.de/psxspx-gpu-status-register.htm</ref>
 +
 +
256x448p, 256x480p, 320x448p, 320x480p, 368x448p, 368x480p, 512x448p, 512x480p, 640x448p, 640×480p,
 +
|16-bit/24-bit, RGB<ref group=O name=psx>The PSX can use a 16-bit or 24-bit framebuffer, however most of the GPU's commands can only render onto a 16-bit framebuffer</ref>
 +
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, <ref group=O name=playstation>The PSX does support 480p mode if you use an RGB SCART (or VGA) cable, see [https://www.psxdev.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1352]</ref> 576i (PAL)
 +
|59.940060138702 (NTSC), 50.00028192997 (PAL)
 +
|-
 +
|[[PlayStation 2 emulators|PlayStation 2]]
 +
|256x192, 256x224, 256x240, 256x440, 320x192, 320x224, 300x240, 320x200, 256x384, 320x240, 320x400, 320x480, 320x440, 300x480, 400x240, 400x480, 400x250, 640x200, 800x250, 800x240, 512x224, 512x384, 512x192, 512x440, 400x500, 600x480, 640x512, 640x240, 800x500, 640x224, 640x400, 640x440, 640×480, 800x480, 640x960
 +
|24-bit, RGB
 +
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p, 720p, 960i (GSM Selector), 1080i (Gran Turismo 4)
 +
|59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=O name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Sega Dreamcast emulators|Sega Dreamcast]]
 +
|320x240, 640×480, 672x480, 544x608, 416x768, 384x864, 320x960 <ref group=O name=dc2>These are from the DreamHAL documentation, as a rule 1. the Dreamcast has a fixed pixel clock, adding more vertical lines or increasing the refresh rate will reduce the horizontal resolution, 2. if PowerVR is to be used, the resolution needs to be a multiple of 32 due to tiling</ref>
 +
|24-bit, RGB
 +
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p, 720p, 960p <ref group=O name=dcvga>A variety of display moves are possible for homebrew programs, see [https://dcemulation.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=105441]</ref>
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=O name=five></ref>, 75Hz, 120Hz <ref group=O name=dc2></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[GameCube emulators|GameCube]] and [[Wii emulators|Wii]]
 +
|596×448
 +
608×456
 +
640x480, 640×576<ref group=O name=three>Similar to N64, games ran at various resolutions internally[https://tcrf.net/Help:Contents/Taking_Screenshots#GameCube/Wii], though output is usually in 480p.</ref>
 +
etc
 +
|24-bit, RGB
 +
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p, <ref group=O name=wii>https://wiibrew.org/wiki/Video_output</ref> 960i, 1080i, 1152i (through Swiss)
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=O name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Xbox emulators|Xbox]]
 +
|640×480, 640x576, 720x576, 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x1024, 1920x1080, 2048x1536
 +
|24-bit, RGB
 +
|480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL), 480p, 720p, 1080i <ref group=O name=xbox>480p and higher resolutions only available on NTSC and modified Xboxes</ref>
 +
|59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=O name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
||[[Xbox 360 emulators|Xbox 360]]
 +
|640x480, 720x576, 1280x720, 1920x1080<ref group=O name=xb360>The Xbox 360's GPU is very flexible when it comes to the resolutions it can use, scaling it on the fly without needing a separate framebuffer</ref>
 +
|24-bit, RGB
 +
|480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL), 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
 +
|59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=O name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[PlayStation 3 emulators|PlayStation 3]]
 +
|640x480, 640x576, 704x480, 704x576, 1280x720, 960x1080, 1280x1080, 1440x1080, 1600x1080, 1920x1080<ref group=O name=ps3res>[https://forum.beyond3d.com/threads/list-of-rendering-resolutions.41152/]</ref>
 +
|24-bit, RGB
 +
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL), 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p<ref group=O name=ps3out>PS3 does '''actually''' output 240p [https://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?166925-Is-component-to-rgb-scart]</ref>
 +
|59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=O name=five></ref>, 75Hz, 120Hz
 +
|}
 +
 +
===Portables===
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|System
 +
! scope="col"|Native Resolution (<abbr title="Width">W</abbr>x<abbr title="Height">H</abbr>)
 +
! scope="col"|Color depth and color space
 +
! scope="col"|Video display resolution
 +
! scope="col"|Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
 +
|-
 +
|[[Virtual Boy emulators|Virtual Boy]]
 +
|384×224 (per screen)
 +
|4 shades of red
 +
|224p
 +
|50.273487773488
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators|Game Boy/Color]]
 
|[[Game Boy/Game Boy Color emulators|Game Boy/Color]]
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|144p
 
|144p
 
|59.922751013551
 
|59.922751013551
−
|-
 
−
|[[Nintendo 64 emulators|Nintendo 64]]
 
−
|320x200, 320x240, 640×240, 640×480<ref group=N name=two>While N64 games ran at various resolutions internally, in practice the hardware's VI component always doubled the scale horizontally, and output in either 640x240p or 640x480i, though there is letterboxing at times.</ref>
 
−
|15-bit/21-bit, RGB<ref group=N name=n64>The N64 can use either either 18-bit (15 bits of RGB and 3 bits of alpha) or 32-bit framebuffer, however the DAC is only capable of outputting 21-bit RGB</ref>
 
−
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL)
 
−
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five>Preliminary or approximate value.</ref>
 
−
|-
 
−
|[[Sega Saturn emulators|Sega Saturn]]
 
−
|320×224p, 320×240p, 320×256p, 352×224p, 352×240p, 352×256p, 640×224p, 640×240p, 640×256p, 704×240p
 
−
320×448i, 320×512i, 320×480i, 352×448i, 320×480i, 352×512i, 640×448i, 640×480i, 640×512i, 704×448i, 704×480i, 704×512i
 
−
|15-bit/24-bit, RGB
 
−
|224p, 240p, 480i, 480p, 576i (PAL)
 
−
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five></ref>
 
−
|-
 
−
|[[PlayStation emulators|PlayStation]]
 
−
|256×224p, 256x240p, 320x224p, 320×240p, 512x224p, 512×240p, 640x224p, 640x240p
 
−
256x448i, 256x480i, 320x448i, 320x480i, 370x448i, 370x480i, 512x448i, 512x480i, 640x448i, 640×480i
 
−
|16-bit/24-bit, RGB<ref group=N name=psx>The PSX can use a 16-bit or 24-bit framebuffer, however most of the GPU's commands can only render onto a 16-bit framebuffer</ref>
 
−
|240p, 480i, 576i (PAL)
 
−
|59.940060138702 (NTSC), 50.00028192997 (PAL)
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[WonderSwan emulators|WonderSwan]]
 
|[[WonderSwan emulators|WonderSwan]]
Line 98: Line 212:
 
|?
 
|?
 
|N/A
 
|N/A
−
|-
 
−
|[[PlayStation 2 emulators|PlayStation 2]]
 
−
|512×224 512x240 512×448 512x480
 
−
640x224 640x240 640x448
 
−
640×480
 
−
800x600
 
−
1024x768
 
−
1280x1024
 
−
|24-bit, RGB
 
−
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p, 720p, 1080i,
 
−
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five></ref>
 
−
|-
 
−
|[[Sega Dreamcast emulators|Sega Dreamcast]]
 
−
|640×480
 
−
720x480
 
−
720x576
 
−
768x480
 
−
768x576
 
−
800x608
 
−
1024x768
 
−
1280x1024
 
−
|24-bit, RGB
 
−
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p, 720p, <ref group=N name=dcvga>A variety of display moves are possible for homebrew programs, see [https://dcemulation.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=105441]</ref>
 
−
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five></ref>
 
−
|-
 
−
|[[GameCube emulators|GameCube]] and [[Wii emulators|Wii]]
 
−
|596×448
 
−
608×456
 
−
640×480<ref group=N name=three>Similar to N64, games ran at various resolutions internally[https://tcrf.net/Help:Contents/Taking_Screenshots#GameCube/Wii], though output is usually in 480p.</ref>
 
−
etc
 
−
|24-bit, RGB
 
−
|240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p,
 
−
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=N name=five></ref>
 
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Nintendo DS emulators|Nintendo DS]]
 
|[[Nintendo DS emulators|Nintendo DS]]
Line 141: Line 222:
 
|480×272
 
|480×272
 
|24-bit, RGB
 
|24-bit, RGB
−
|272p
+
|272p, 480i, 480p (PSP-2000 and 3000 models with video cables)
−
|60<ref group=N name=five></ref>
+
|60<ref group=P name=five>Preliminary or approximate value.</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|[[Nintendo 3DS emulators|Nintendo 3DS]]
 
|[[Nintendo 3DS emulators|Nintendo 3DS]]
−
|800x240 top screen<ref group=N name=four>This is the "true" resolution of the top screen and what games will be rendered at in full 3d mode, however, due to said 3d effect the horizontal resolution is effectively halved. Each eye will only see 400x240 and games run in 2d mode will (normally) be rendered at 400x240 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS#Hardware].</ref>
+
|800x240 top screen<ref group=P name=four>This is the "true" resolution of the top screen and what games will be rendered at in full 3d mode, however, due to said 3d effect the horizontal resolution is effectively halved. Each eye will only see 400x240 and games run in 2d mode will (normally) be rendered at 400x240 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS#Hardware].</ref>
 
320x240 bottom screen
 
320x240 bottom screen
 
|24-bit, RGB
 
|24-bit, RGB
 
|240p
 
|240p
−
|60<ref group=N name=five></ref>
+
|60<ref group=P name=five></ref>
 +
|}
 +
==Home computers==
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|-
 +
! scope="col"|System
 +
! scope="col"|Native Resolution (<abbr title="Width">W</abbr>x<abbr title="Height">H</abbr>)
 +
! scope="col"|Color depth and color space
 +
! scope="col"|Video display resolution
 +
! scope="col"|Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
 +
|-
 +
|[[Apple II line|Apple II]]
 +
|280x192
 +
|6 colors (high res), 15 colors (low res), Color/Luminance <ref group=Q name=apple>The original Apple II doesn't actually implement color in hardware, instead utilising a quirk of how NTSC displays video to generate color, as the pixel clock is the same as the NTSC subcarrier. As a consequence, PAL Apple IIs would display in black and white unless a separate PAL color card was added</ref>
 +
|240p,288p
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=Q name=five>Preliminary or approximate value.</ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Atari 8-bit|Atari 8-bit]]
 +
|160x192,320x192
 +
|128/256 colors, Color/Luminance <ref group=Q name=atari>The early Atari 400/800 models used the CTIA chip which supports 128 colors, models manufactured after 1981 used the updated GTIA chip which increases this to 256</ref>
 +
|240p,288p
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=Q name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Commodore 64 emulators|Commodore 64]]
 +
|160x200,320x200<ref group=Q name=c64>It is possible to trick the VIC-II chip into drawing sprites outside this area, yielding a higher resolution</ref>
 +
|16 colors
 +
|240p,288p
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=Q name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[ZX Spectrum line|Sinclair ZX Spectrum]]
 +
|256x192
 +
|15 colors, RGB
 +
|288p
 +
|50 (PAL)<ref group=Q name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Amstrad CPC emulators|Amstrad CPC464/664/6128]]
 +
|160x200,320x200,640x200<ref group=Q name=cpc>These are the standard resolutions usable by the system, by reprogramming the CRTC resolutions as high as 768x272 are possible</ref>
 +
|27 colors, RGB
 +
|288p
 +
|50 (PAL)<ref group=Q name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Amstrad CPC emulators|Amstrad 464+/6128+]]
 +
|160x200,320x200,640x200
 +
|4096 colors, RGB
 +
|288p
 +
|50 (PAL)<ref group=Q name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Apple IIGS emulators|Apple IIGS]]
 +
|320x200,640x200
 +
|4096 colors, RGB
 +
|240p,288p
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=Q name=five></ref>
 +
|-
 +
|[[Amiga line|Commodore Amiga]]
 +
|320x200,640x200,640x400,320x256,640x256,640x512
 +
|4096 colors, RGB
 +
|240p,288p,480i,576i
 +
|60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)<ref group=Q name=five></ref>
 
|}
 
|}
−
<references group=N />
 
−
 
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==Color encoding==
 
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On systems connected with a composite, s-video or rf cable the color of the video signal is encoded using either NTSC or PAL. While NTSC and PAL has become synonymous with 60 and 50hz, the color encoding is independent of refresh rate, with the Dreamcast popularising "PAL-60" modes in PAL regions. Note that a RGB or component video signal is not inherently NTSC or PAL coded. When playing on an emulator, [[NTSC filters]] can be used to produce an image similar to playing on a TV.
 
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==Integer Scaling==
 
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{{Main|Scaling}}
 
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Upscaling the resolution will only look good if you scale it by integers (2x, 3x, 4x, etc.). If you are scaling with non-integers, you can make the image look better using the [[Shaders_and_Filters#Pixellate|Pixellate]] shader.
 
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[[Category:FAQs]]
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
 
[[Wikipedia:List_of_common_resolutions#Analog_systems|Wikipedia - List of common resolutions: Analog systems]]
 
[[Wikipedia:List_of_common_resolutions#Analog_systems|Wikipedia - List of common resolutions: Analog systems]]
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==Notes==
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===Notes (consoles)===
 +
;Notes (2D consoles)
 +
<references group=N />
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;Notes (3D consoles)
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<references group=O />
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;Notes (Portable consoles)
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<references group=P />
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===Notes (computers)===
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<references group=Q />
 +
[[Category:FAQs]]

Latest revision as of 09:34, 30 April 2024

Resolution is the measure in which how many pixels are displayed on the screen.

For emulation of 2D systems, the resolution can only be upscaled, making the pixels more apparent. For emulation of 5th generation consoles and newer, the internal resolution can be increased to make the game look sharper.

Color encoding

On systems connected with a composite, s-video or rf cable the color of the video signal is encoded using either NTSC or PAL. While NTSC and PAL has become synonymous with 60 and 50hz, the color encoding is independent of refresh rate, with the Dreamcast popularising "PAL-60" modes in PAL regions. Note that a RGB or component video signal is not inherently NTSC or PAL coded. When playing on an emulator, NTSC filters can be used to produce an image similar to playing on a TV.

SECAM is a third color standard but due to the many of countries that used it were Second World and Third World few consoles would use that format, and consoles and home computers released in France would often use RGB SCART cables instead. See this Wikipedia article for a list of current and former SECAM countries

Colorspaces

The overwhelming majority of consoles uses the RGB colorspace, storing colors as color triplets, often resulting in colordepths powers of 8 (64, 512, 4096, 32768 and so on). A few systems, such as those by Atari as well as the NES, instead used a Color/Luminance scheme, with 4 bits determining the hue, utilising a property of NTSC/PAL encoding by delaying the color subcarrier, with one or more values instead omitting the signal resulting in a greyscale image, with the remaining bits determining the brightness.

Integer Scaling
Main article: Scaling

Upscaling the resolution will only look good if you scale it by integers (2x, 3x, 4x, etc.). If you are scaling with non-integers, you can make the image look better using the Pixellate shader.

Consoles[edit]

2D Consoles[edit]

2D consoles generally are consoles from the 2nd to 4th generation of video game consoles, or fantasy consoles recreating the experience of them.
System Native Resolution (WxH) Color depth and color space Video display resolution Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
CHIP-8 64x32 (original)
Extensions: 64x48, 64x64, 64x128, 128x64, 256x192[N 1] 		Monochrome (original)
Extensions: 4 colours, 16 colours, 255 colours.[N 2]
Fairchild Channel F 102x58 8 colors 240p 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[N 3]
Atari 2600 160×192[N 4] 128 (NTSC)/104 (PAL) colors, Color/Luminance 240p 59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.860759671615 (PAL)
Atari 7800 160×192,320x192,160x224,320x224[N 5] 256 colors, Color/Luminance 240p 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[N 3]
Bally Astrocade 160x104 256 colors, Color/Luminance 240p 60 (NTSC)[N 3]
Mattel Intellivision 160×192 16 colors 240p 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[N 3]
NES 256×240 52 colors, Color/Luminance[N 6] 240p 60.098813897441 (NTSC), 50.006978908189 (PAL)
Sega Master System 256×192, 256×224, 256x240 (some PAL games) 64 colors, RGB 240p 59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.701460119948 (PAL)
NEC PC Engine 256×224,336x224,512x224,512x240 512 colors, RGB 240p 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[N 3]
SNES 256×224p, 256×239p, 512×224p, 512×239p

512×448i, 512×478i

15-bit, RGB 240p, 480i 60.098813897441 (NTSC), 50.006978908189 (PAL)
Sega Genesis 320×224, 256×224, 320x240 (some PAL games), 256x240 (some PAL games),

320×448, 256×448, 320x480 (some PAL games), 256x480 (some PAL games)

512 colors, RGB 240p, 480i 59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.701460119948 (PAL)

3D Consoles[edit]

3D consoles generally are consoles from the 5th generation and later, or fantasy consoles recreating the experience of them.
System Native Resolution (WxH) Color depth and color space Video display resolution Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
Nintendo 64 320x200, 320x400, 320x240, 320x480, 640×240, 640×480[O 1] 15-bit/21-bit, RGB[O 2] 240p, 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL) 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3]
Sega Saturn 320×224p, 320×240p, 320×256p, 352×224p, 352×240p, 352×256p, 640×224p, 640×240p, 640×256p, 704x224p, 704×240p

320×448i, 320×480i, 320×512i, 352×448i, 320×480i, 352×512i, 640×448i, 640×480i, 640×512i, 704×448i, 704×480i, 704×512i

15-bit/24-bit, RGB 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL) 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3]
PlayStation 256×224p, 256x240p, 320x224p, 320×240p, 368x224p, 368x240p, 512x224p, 512×240p, 640x224p, 640x240p,

256x448i, 256x480i, 320x448i, 320x480i, 368x448i, 368x480i, 512x448i, 512x480i, 640x448i, 640×480i, [O 4]

256x448p, 256x480p, 320x448p, 320x480p, 368x448p, 368x480p, 512x448p, 512x480p, 640x448p, 640×480p,

16-bit/24-bit, RGB[O 5] 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, [O 6] 576i (PAL) 59.940060138702 (NTSC), 50.00028192997 (PAL)
PlayStation 2 256x192, 256x224, 256x240, 256x440, 320x192, 320x224, 300x240, 320x200, 256x384, 320x240, 320x400, 320x480, 320x440, 300x480, 400x240, 400x480, 400x250, 640x200, 800x250, 800x240, 512x224, 512x384, 512x192, 512x440, 400x500, 600x480, 640x512, 640x240, 800x500, 640x224, 640x400, 640x440, 640×480, 800x480, 640x960 24-bit, RGB 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p, 720p, 960i (GSM Selector), 1080i (Gran Turismo 4) 59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3]
Sega Dreamcast 320x240, 640×480, 672x480, 544x608, 416x768, 384x864, 320x960 [O 7] 24-bit, RGB 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p, 720p, 960p [O 8] 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3], 75Hz, 120Hz [O 7]
GameCube and Wii 596×448

608×456 640x480, 640×576[O 9] etc

24-bit, RGB 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 576i (PAL), 576p, [O 10] 960i, 1080i, 1152i (through Swiss) 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3]
Xbox 640×480, 640x576, 720x576, 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x1024, 1920x1080, 2048x1536 24-bit, RGB 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL), 480p, 720p, 1080i [O 11] 59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3]
Xbox 360 640x480, 720x576, 1280x720, 1920x1080[O 12] 24-bit, RGB 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL), 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p 59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3]
PlayStation 3 640x480, 640x576, 704x480, 704x576, 1280x720, 960x1080, 1280x1080, 1440x1080, 1600x1080, 1920x1080[O 13] 24-bit, RGB 240p, 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL), 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p[O 14] 59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3], 75Hz, 120Hz

Portables[edit]

System Native Resolution (WxH) Color depth and color space Video display resolution Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
Virtual Boy 384×224 (per screen) 4 shades of red 224p 50.273487773488
Game Boy/Color 160×144 15-bit, RGB (4 shades of grey for non-color games) 144p 59.727500569606
Sega Game Gear 160x144 (native GG mode), 256x192 downscaled (SMS backwards compatible mode) 4096 colors, RGB (64 color in SMS backwards compatibility mode) 144p 59.922751013551
WonderSwan 224×144 4096 colors, RGB 144p 75.471698113207
Game Boy Advance 240×160 15-bit, RGB 160p 59.727500569606
Pokémon Mini 96×64 1-bit monochrome ? N/A
Nintendo DS 256×192 (per screen) 18-bit, RGB 192p 59.826098288081
PlayStation Portable 480×272 24-bit, RGB 272p, 480i, 480p (PSP-2000 and 3000 models with video cables) 60[P 1]
Nintendo 3DS 800x240 top screen[P 2]

320x240 bottom screen

24-bit, RGB 240p 60[P 1]

Home computers[edit]

System Native Resolution (WxH) Color depth and color space Video display resolution Native Refresh Rate (Hz)
Apple II 280x192 6 colors (high res), 15 colors (low res), Color/Luminance [Q 1] 240p,288p 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2]
Atari 8-bit 160x192,320x192 128/256 colors, Color/Luminance [Q 3] 240p,288p 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2]
Commodore 64 160x200,320x200[Q 4] 16 colors 240p,288p 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2]
Sinclair ZX Spectrum 256x192 15 colors, RGB 288p 50 (PAL)[Q 2]
Amstrad CPC464/664/6128 160x200,320x200,640x200[Q 5] 27 colors, RGB 288p 50 (PAL)[Q 2]
Amstrad 464+/6128+ 160x200,320x200,640x200 4096 colors, RGB 288p 50 (PAL)[Q 2]
Apple IIGS 320x200,640x200 4096 colors, RGB 240p,288p 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2]
Commodore Amiga 320x200,640x200,640x400,320x256,640x256,640x512 4096 colors, RGB 240p,288p,480i,576i 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2]

External links[edit]

Wikipedia - List of common resolutions: Analog systems

Notes[edit]

Notes (consoles)[edit]

Notes (2D consoles)
  1. ↑ Sourced from here: 64x32 (Original CHIP-8), 64x48 (CHIP-8 for ETI-660) 64x64 (Two-page display for CHIP-8, Two-page display for CHIP-8X, CHIP-8 for ETI-660 with high resolution, CHIP-8 AE (ACE Extended), CHIP-BETA). 64x128 (HI-RES CHIP-8, Hi-res CHIP-8X, CHIP-8 AE (ACE Extended)), 128x64 (CHIP-VDU / CHIP-8 for the ACE VDU, CHIP-10, CHIP-8 AE (ACE Extended), S-CHIP) 256x192 (Megachip)
  2. ↑ 1-bit monochrome (original), 2-bit 4 colors (XO-CHIP), 4-bit 16 colors (HYPERCHIP-64) 8-bit 255 colors (Megachip).
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Preliminary or approximate value.
  4. ↑ This is a rough figure given for simplicity's sake. In reality, the Atari 2600 doesn't really output pixels, and it has no limits on the number of lines it can display. However, it did have a hard limit on the number of horizontal color clocks for drawing the picture (160), and most games only output 192 lines, hence the commonly given resolution of 160x192.
  5. ↑ As with the Atari 2600, the vertical resolution is determined by the game, typically between 192 and 224
  6. ↑ The NES has a 6-bit palette, but not all of the 64 possible entries maps to unique colors.
Notes (3D consoles)
  1. ↑ While N64 games ran at various resolutions internally, in practice the hardware's VI component always doubled the scale horizontally, and output in either 640x240p or 640x480i, though there is letterboxing at times.
  2. ↑ The N64 can use either either 18-bit (15 bits of RGB and 3 bits of alpha) or 32-bit framebuffer, however the DAC is only capable of outputting 21-bit RGB
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Preliminary or approximate value.
  4. ↑ https://www.problemkaputt.de/psxspx-gpu-status-register.htm
  5. ↑ The PSX can use a 16-bit or 24-bit framebuffer, however most of the GPU's commands can only render onto a 16-bit framebuffer
  6. ↑ The PSX does support 480p mode if you use an RGB SCART (or VGA) cable, see [1]
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 These are from the DreamHAL documentation, as a rule 1. the Dreamcast has a fixed pixel clock, adding more vertical lines or increasing the refresh rate will reduce the horizontal resolution, 2. if PowerVR is to be used, the resolution needs to be a multiple of 32 due to tiling
  8. ↑ A variety of display moves are possible for homebrew programs, see [2]
  9. ↑ Similar to N64, games ran at various resolutions internally[3], though output is usually in 480p.
  10. ↑ https://wiibrew.org/wiki/Video_output
  11. ↑ 480p and higher resolutions only available on NTSC and modified Xboxes
  12. ↑ The Xbox 360's GPU is very flexible when it comes to the resolutions it can use, scaling it on the fly without needing a separate framebuffer
  13. ↑ [4]
  14. ↑ PS3 does actually output 240p [5]
Notes (Portable consoles)
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Preliminary or approximate value.
  2. ↑ This is the "true" resolution of the top screen and what games will be rendered at in full 3d mode, however, due to said 3d effect the horizontal resolution is effectively halved. Each eye will only see 400x240 and games run in 2d mode will (normally) be rendered at 400x240 [6].

Notes (computers)[edit]

  1. ↑ The original Apple II doesn't actually implement color in hardware, instead utilising a quirk of how NTSC displays video to generate color, as the pixel clock is the same as the NTSC subcarrier. As a consequence, PAL Apple IIs would display in black and white unless a separate PAL color card was added
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Preliminary or approximate value.
  3. ↑ The early Atari 400/800 models used the CTIA chip which supports 128 colors, models manufactured after 1981 used the updated GTIA chip which increases this to 256
  4. ↑ It is possible to trick the VIC-II chip into drawing sprites outside this area, yielding a higher resolution
  5. ↑ These are the standard resolutions usable by the system, by reprogramming the CRTC resolutions as high as 768x272 are possible
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