jaggies
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A look at World of Warcraft's unique characteristics
With Wrath of the Lich King imminent, we thought it would be a good idea to take a short look at just what has made and continues to make World of Warcraft so different than many other MMOs and whether or not it still retains that oh-so-different sheen. After four years of being pretty much the biggest dog in the yard, does World of Warcraft still bring new ideas to the table? Click below to find out what we think.
Toshiba's v2.0 firmware for third-gen HD DVD players causing jaggies?
This most certainly isn't the first time we've heard of a firmware update causing more harm than good, but apparently, the latest version -- which supposedly enables 1080p24 output on the HD-A30 / HD-A35 -- is creating all sorts of headaches. According to a lengthy thread over at AVS Forum, the HD DVD faithful that are hanging tight to their players are growing increasingly frustrated by the addition of jaggies on MPEG4 / AVC discs when played back in 1080p24 -- a problem that was also present in the last HD-XA2 firmware. Worse still, it seems as though Toshiba isn't stepping up to address the issue, and considering that its format has now passed away, many are wondering if a bona fide solution will ever surface. If you've been battling this very quirk, head on down to the read link to check out a few workarounds -- here's to hoping a real fix emerges in the not-too-distant future.[Thanks, Colin H.]
Hitachi's Reel60 processing technology eliminates 'judder'
Expanding a bit on the Reel60 technology first unveiled in a trio of 1080p sets from Hitachi, the company has reportedly developed a system that eliminates the "mismatch between the motion of films seen in a movie theater and the way that same motion appears on television." Dubbed "judders," these jagged edges will reportedly no longer be apparent on select Hitachi sets, as the Reel60 technology perfects the 3:2 pulldown process by "creating interpolated frames based on the original film images." Interestingly, it wasn't mentioned whether Hitachi would be holding on to its newfangled discovery or licensing it out to other manufacturers, but if anyone feels like coughing up the dough to pick up a P50V701, P50X901, or P60X901, be sure to test it out and sound off below.[Via DealerScope]
PS3 1.5 firmware beats those backwards compatibility blues
After 219 pages of postings to what has become the go-to forum thread in regards to Sony's PS3 jaggies fiasco -- a problem that was hitting certain PS1 and PS2 games with a pixel-flipping ugly stick -- it looks like Sony finally heard the cry of its users and has released a fix to the problem inside the firmware 1.5 update. Oddly enough, Sony still hasn't really copped to the problem, or even mentioned the fix in its 1.5 changelog, but reports of the fix are widespread, and we won't look a gift horse in the mouth. Joystiq notes that the fix does not include upscaling of PS1 or PS2 games, a much-desired feature for the HD-friendly PS3, but we'll take what we can get for now.[Via Joystiq]
De-interlacing and scaling the most important buying factors?
While the whole "1080i vs. 1080p" debate could likely go on for a good decade or so, having that oh-so-coveted "Full HD" logo slapped on your set evidently isn't the answer to all your HD problems, at least if you watch a good percentage of cable / satellite-provided content. A rather informative writeup / rant over at HD1080i lends a bit more insight into the ongoing discussion of when 1080p differs from 1080i, and goes on to explain that many incorrectly processed images cause quite a bit of dissatisfaction when it comes to quality, and oftentimes, it's not even your fault. Sure, folks outputting 1080p from an HD DVD or Blu-ray player get the benefit of seeing a progressive, pre-cleaned-up image, which basically removes all the hard work from your TV's internal scaler; however, for those watching a processed episode of TNT HD's Charmed, for instance, could witness a bit of "interlacing crop errors when de-interlacing is not done properly," rather than just a correctly rendered motion blur. Essentially, this fellow attempts to convince us that 1080p is an important matter, and it's great to have it there "when you need it," even though it's not likely that we see 1080p content coming through our cable STB anytime soon. So be sure and hit the read link to take a gander at yet another perspective, because a bit more research never hurt anyone, eh?
Improve PS2 game graphics on PS3
PS3 Fanboy -- know what you're getting into before drinking the water -- has been testing a simple fix for PS2 games that look bad on the PS3: lower quality cables. The site has multiple PS3 outputs plugged into a TV, and the writers recommend switching TV inputs from HDMI to composite when playing certain PS2 games. While those gamers are still experimenting -- 2D, sprite-based games might look best on the higher quality, digital connection -- this sounds like a good tip for readers. Have you had any success banishing the jaggies?
PS2, PS1 480i games hampered by crazy jaggies on the PS3
When we heard the PS3 was going to feature a whole PS2 chipset for the sake of backwards compatibility, we didn't think it would suck so much. Beyond the games that are straight-up freezing or glitching out on the new box -- for which Sony is promising a patch -- the PS3 seems to be having heaps of trouble with 480i games in particular. In a sort of "double your jaggies" scenario, that's sure to leave fans of classic PlayStation titles delighted, the PS3's upscaling method for the low-res titles introduces all sorts of "jaggies" and artifacts into the image, as can be seen above in a splitscreen comparison between the PS3 and PS2 in Final Fantasy X. Some speculate that the PS3 lacks the necessary upscaling hardware, making a firmware update impossible for now, but we're hoping that somewhere in that heap of PS3 horsepower, Sony can find a way restore that beautiful shimmer to Tidus' hair. Peep a comparison video after the break.[Via Joystiq]
