How does 480p handle 480i?

(I posted this elsewhere on the site and haven't had much luck in replies, I figured it couldn't hurt to post it here).

Most PS2 games run in 480i, but most HD TVs have a native resolution of 720p or higher. Because of the scaling and blah blah blah blah, the PS2 games wind up looking pretty bad (very jaggy) on an HD TV. My question is, how do they fair on an EDTV? An EDTV has a native resolution of 480p, which is technically the same as the 480i of most PS2 games, just a different scanning method. Will they look better than on an HD TV? Or will SD TVs (which DO run in 480i) still look better for PS2 games? I know some PS2 games do run in 480p, and you can buy component cables, but a lot still run in 480i, and I'd like to know how those will fair.

No offense, but just in advance, please don't try to talk me into buying an HD TV, that's not what I'm here for, I just need an answer. Any help is appreciated. I really need to know definitely is yes, 480i PS2 games will look exactly the same on a 480p EDTV, or no, they will look stretched/jaggier, not unlike playing them on an HDTV.

It will run it in 480i mode and will look better than any hdtv playing a ps2 game.

Ahhhh, my poor wii. Mr samsung beat the crap out of it :lol:

It depends on the TV, but non-HD content generally looks better on a SDTV, it will look fine on a HDTV aswell though if you got yourself a good set espacially at 480p. Just stay away from using composite or regular scart cables whatever you do, RGB or Component is the way to go.

Well, I KNOW SD games look like crap on an HD (from experience, unfortunately), but I want to know how to they'll look on an ED (480p) TV.

To DapeyDevoid, it's good to hear SD games will look better on EDTV than HDTV, but will they look the same as SD TV, or still a little bit worse?

(I posted this elsewhere on the site and haven't had much luck in replies, I figured it couldn't hurt to post it here).

Most PS2 games run in 480i, but most HD TVs have a native resolution of 720p or higher. Because of the scaling and blah blah blah blah, the PS2 games wind up looking pretty bad (very jaggy) on an HD TV. My question is, how do they fair on an EDTV? An EDTV has a native resolution of 480p, which is technically the same as the 480i of most PS2 games, just a different scanning method. Will they look better than on an HD TV? Or will SD TVs (which DO run in 480i) still look better for PS2 games? I know some PS2 games do run in 480p, and you can buy component cables, but a lot still run in 480i, and I'd like to know how those will fair.

No offense, but just in advance, please don't try to talk me into buying an HD TV, that's not what I'm here for, I just need an answer. Any help is appreciated. I really need to know definitely is yes, 480i PS2 games will look exactly the same on a 480p EDTV, or no, they will look stretched/jaggier, not unlike playing them on an HDTV.

Malcom90k

I don't where to start, you are all over the place on this and some of the replies are just as bad.

1. no one can upgrade the source material no matter what the electronics say, upscaling is scam. For example a DVD (480p) placed into an "upscaling" DVD player transferring the source with a HDMI cable does not give you a 720p or 1080i signal. It just gives you a 480p signal transferred through HDMI and shown as 480p even on a 1080p set. If you want a better signal you need to upgrade the source to an HDTV signal or a Blueray / HD-DVD (RIP) disc.

2. 480i is not the same as 480p. The signal in 480i (interlaced or every other line) is 240 lines. The signal in 480p (progressive or every line) is 480 lines. The more lines sent the better the picture, assuming the TV can handle it.

3. Assuming the you have several TV's in several different resolutions and use the "exact" same parts (digital comb filters, etc.,) then the 480i PS2 signal will look exactly the same on a non-HDTV, EDTV, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p TV. As the source gets better the lesser TVs will not be able to display it as well.

The problem becomes the better the TV, the better the parts. That will make very small improvements to a signal but nothing major, some will even make the signal look worse if its not digital. Consumer Reports has a great chart that shows how well a digital set can display an analogue (480i) signal.

Hope that helps but to give you a basic answer, yes a EDTV can handle a 480i signal just as well as a 1080p in theory (the parts thing again).