Resolution
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 many of the 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
See also Broadcast and Cable Communication Systems
- 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.
Notes on resolution, you can ignore these unless you plan to edit the page |
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Contents
Consoles
2D Consoles
- 2D consoles generally are consoles from the 2nd to 4th generation of video game consoles.
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, 288p | 59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.860759671615 (PAL) |
Atari 7800 | 160×192, 320x192, 160x224, 320x224[N 5] | 256 colors, Color/Luminance | 240p, 288p | 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, 288p | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[N 3] |
NES | 256×240 | 52 colors, Color/Luminance[N 6] | 240p, 288p | 60.098813897441 (NTSC), 50.006978908189 (PAL) |
Sega Master System | 256×192, 256×224, 256x240 (some PAL games) [N 7] | 64 colors, RGB | 240p, 288p | 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 | 256×224, 256×239, 512×224, 512×239
512×448, 512×478 [N 8] |
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, 288p | 59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.701460119948 (PAL) |
Sega 32X | 320×224, 320x240 (PAL only) | 15-bit, RGB | 240p, 288p | 59.922751013551 (NTSC), 49.701460119948 (PAL) |
SNK Neo Geo AES | 320x224 | 16-bit, RGBI | 240p, 288p | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[N 3] |
3D Consoles
- 3D consoles generally are consoles from the 5th generation and later.
Note that resolutions listed here are not comprehensive, just because a resolution isn't listed doesn't mean it wasn't supported
System | Native Resolution (WxH) | Color depth and color space | Video display resolution | Native Refresh Rate (Hz) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nintendo 64 | 320x200, 320x400, 320x240, 320x480, 640x200, 640×240, 640x400, 640×480[O 1] | 15-bit/21-bit, RGB[O 2] | 240p, 480i (NTSC), 288p, 576i (PAL) | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3] |
Sega Saturn | 320×224, 320×240, 320×256, 352×224, 352×240, 352×256, 640×224, 640×240, 640×256, 704x224, 704×240
320×448, 320×480, 320×512, 352×448, 320×480, 352×512, 640×448, 640×480, 640×512, 704×448, 704×480, 704×512 |
15-bit/24-bit, RGB | 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 288p, 576i (PAL) | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3] |
PlayStation | 256×224, 256x240, 320x224, 320×240, 368x224, 368x240, 512x224, 512×240, 640x224, 640x240, 704x224, 704x240
256x448, 256x480, 320x448, 320x480, 368x448, 368x480, 512x448, 512x480, 640x448, 640×480, 704x448, 704x480 [O 4] |
16-bit/24-bit, RGB[O 5] | 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, [O 6], 288p, 576i (PAL) | 59.940060138702 (NTSC), 50.00028192997 (PAL) |
PlayStation 2 | 256x224, 256x240, 256x448, 256x480, 256x512, 320x224, 320x256, 320x448, 320x480, 320x512, 384x224, 384x256, 384x448, 384x480, 384x512, 512x224, 512x256, 512x448, 512x512, 576x224, 576x240, 576x448, 576x480, 576x512, 640x224, 640x240, 640x256, 640x448, 640×480, 640x512, 704x224, 704x240, 704x256, 704x448, 704x480, 704x512 | 24-bit, RGB | 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 288p, 576i (PAL), 576p, 720p, 960i (GSM Selector), 1080i (Gran Turismo 4) | 59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3] |
Sega Dreamcast | 320x240, 256x224, 256x240, 512x224, 512x240, 640×480, 512x448, 512x480, 672x480, 720x240, 720x480, 768x240, 768x480, 544x608, 400x240, 416x768, 384x864, 320x960, 800x640, 1024x480, 1024x960, 1024x768, 1280x480, 1280x960 [O 7] | 24-bit, RGB | 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 288p, 576i (PAL), 576p, 720p, 960p [O 8] | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3], 75Hz, 120Hz [O 7] |
GameCube and Wii | 640x480, 640x528, 640×576, 640x600[O 9]
etc |
24-bit, RGB | 240p, 480i (NTSC), 480p, 288p, 576i (PAL), 576p, [O 10] 960i, 1080i, 1152i (through Swiss) | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3] |
Xbox | 640×480, 640x576, 720x480, 720x576, 1280x720, 1920x1080 | 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, 720x480, 720x576, 960x720, 1280x720, 1280x768, 1280x800, 1440x900, 1280x1024, 1600x1024, 960x1080, 1280x1080, 1440x1080, 1440x1152, 1536x1080, 1536x1152, 1600x1080, 1600x1200, 1600x1280, 1920x1080, 2048x1080, 1920x1200, 1920x1440, 1920x1536, 2048x1152, 2048x1536, 2560x1440, 2560x1600, 2560x1920, 2560x2048[O 13] | 24-bit, RGB | 480i (NTSC), 576i (PAL), 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p[O 14] | 59.94 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[O 3], 75Hz, 120Hz |
Portables
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 | 240p | 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 |
SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color | 160x152 | 4096 colors, RGB | 152p | 60[P 1] |
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 | 2x192p | 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 | top screen 800x240 [P 2]
320x240 bottom screen |
24-bit, RGB | 2x240p | 60[P 1] |
Home computers
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) [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] |
IBM PC (CGA) | 320x200, 640x200 | 16 colors, RGBI [Q 4] | 240p | 60[Q 2] |
Commodore VIC-20 | 176x184 [Q 5] | 16 colors | 240p, 288p | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
Commodore 64 | 160x200, 320x200 [Q 6] | 16 colors | 240p, 288p | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
Commodore Plus/4 | 160x200, 320x200 | 121 colors, Color/Luminance [Q 7] | 240p, 288p | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
Sinclair ZX Spectrum | 256x192 | 15 colors, RGBI | 288p | 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
BBC Micro/Acorn Electron | 160x256, 320x256, 640x256 [Q 8] | 8 colors, RGB | 288p | 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
Amstrad CPC464/664/6128 | 160x200, 320x200, 640x200 [Q 9] | 27 colors, RGB | 288p | 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
Amstrad 464+/6128+ | 160x200, 320x200, 640x200 | 4096 colors, RGB | 288p | 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
MSX1
TI 99/4A |
256x192 [Q 10] | 15 colors | 240p, 288p | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
MSX2 | 256x192, 256x212, 512x212, 256x424, 512x424 | 512 colors, RGB [Q 11] | 240p, 288p, 480i, 576i | 60 (NTSC), 50 (PAL)[Q 2] |
IBM PC (EGA) | 320x200, 640x200, 640x350 | 16 colors (200 line modes), 64 colors (350 line modes), RGB | 240p, 360p | 60[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] |
Fantasy systems
Fantasy consoles and computers are intended to replicate the experience of older video game consoles.
System | Native Resolution (WxH) | Color depth and color space |
---|---|---|
4BoD | 16x16 | 1-bit monochrome |
Mini Micro | 960x640 | |
PICO-8 | 128x128 | 16 colors |
Vircon32 | 640x360 | 24-bit, RGB |
TIC-80 | 240x136 | 16 colors |
External links
Wikipedia - List of common resolutions: Analog systems
Notes
Notes (consoles)
- Notes (2D consoles)
- ↑ 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)
- ↑ 1-bit monochrome (original), 2-bit 4 colors (XO-CHIP), 4-bit 16 colors (HYPERCHIP-64) 8-bit 255 colors (Megachip).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Preliminary or approximate value.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ As with the Atari 2600, the vertical resolution is determined by the game, typically between 192 and 224
- ↑ The NES has a 6-bit palette, but not all of the 64 possible entries maps to unique colors.
- ↑ When horizontally scrolling, the leftmost 8 pixels are blanked out, resulting in an effective 248x192 resolution. The 224 and 240 line modes have limited compatibility, in general SMS2 supports them while SMS1 and Megadrive in SMS backwards compatibility mode don't
- ↑ 239/478 line modes are documented on nocash's fullsnes documentation https://problemkaputt.de/fullsnes.htm#snesppucontrol
- Notes (3D consoles)
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Preliminary or approximate value.
- ↑ https://www.problemkaputt.de/psxspx-gpu-status-register.htm https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/Emulation#PS1_Native_resolution
- ↑ 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
- ↑ The PSX does support 480p mode if you use an RGB SCART (or VGA) cable, see [1]
- ↑ 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
- ↑ A variety of display moves are possible for homebrew programs, see [2]
- ↑ Similar to N64, games ran at various resolutions internally[3], though output is usually in 480p.
- ↑ https://wiibrew.org/wiki/Video_output
- ↑ 480p and higher resolutions only available on NTSC and modified Xboxes
- ↑ 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
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ PS3 does not output 240p [5]My Life in Gaming RGB206
- Notes (Portable consoles)
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Preliminary or approximate value.
- ↑ 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]. However the homebrew Hori HD allows the full 800 pixel resolution to be used in 2D mode.
Notes (computers)
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Preliminary or approximate value.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ This is with the digital CGA connector. Demos have managed to display 1024 colors with CGA over composite video [7]
- ↑ This is the standard resolution with 22x23 characters. Demos have managed to output resolutions as high as 224x280 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPXcp61Bg2I
- ↑ It is possible to trick the VIC-II chip into drawing sprites outside this area, yielding a higher resolution
- ↑ 15 colors with 8 shades plus black
- ↑ In addition to these graphics modes, BBC Micro but not the cheaper Atom Electron has a teletext-based video mode. This has an effective resolution of 480x500 but only supports alphanumerical characters and coarse block-based graphics
- ↑ These are the standard resolutions usable by the system, by reprogramming the CRTC resolutions as high as 768x272 are possible
- ↑ The 40 column text mode has an effective resolution of 240x192, multicolor mode has 64x48 pixels
- ↑ The MSX2+ adds additional screen modes with up to 19268 colors. https://map.grauw.nl/articles/yjk/