• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Would a 1080p TV be better than 4K for someone who doesn't care about resolution?

I don't plan on getting a new TV or anything just curious. Since a 4K TV would have a much bigger screen it would stretch the pixels out more compared to a 1080p TV I would assume. Whenever I play my Switch on handheld mode it looks crisper than it does on my TV because of the smaller screen even though the resolution is higher when docked in to the TV.
 
Last edited:

acm2000

Member
if series x or ps5, no, if switch of series s and no care for future proofing, sure, why not as will need a decent tv to upscale those 2 machines well
 
Last edited:
if series x or ps5, no, if switch of series s and no care for future proofing, sure, why not as will need a decent tv to upscale those 2 machines well
What if the PS5 or XSX owner plays all his games at 60fps 1080p performance mode? Then the only difference would be 1080p on a HDTV vs 1080p on a 4KTV(which stretches the image out more).
 
Last edited:

Chastten

Banned
Lets just put it this way. Friend of mine recently bought a pretty expensive 4k TV and he was pretty dissapointed in the visuals with pretty much everything he put on that, except his PS5. Everything else looked better on his previous 40 inch 1080p TV.
 
Given just how cheap 4K TV's are these days you might as well pick one up instead of trying to find a 1080 one. Do they even still make 1080 displays anymore?
I already have a 1080p. Don't see much of a point to get 4K when I always play on performance mode. Hell, it won't even fit in my room.
 

Mephisto40

Member
It'll be better with the 4k display, but tbh if you're a console gamer, you'll be wanting to play your games in the 1080p 60fps performance mode anyway, so you wont be utilizing it much
 
The real great benefits of new (4k) TVs are HDR, VRR and deeper black levels (especially Oled panels) in my opinion.

So if you should decide to upgrade some day, don't concentrate too much on the 4k aspect and rather on the other ones.
 

Riky

$MSFT
How far you're sitting away from the screen is an important factor people don't mention. There are a lot of variables on top of that like screen size, display technology and the environment light wise you're playing in as well as the native resolution of the input.
I have four gaming setups in my house and each is unique, so would need to know more detail of your setup.
 

kingyala

Banned
for me 1080p is alright aslong as its native 1080p with no fuzzy image quality problems... i still think 4k is not a standard yet its just too many pixels wasted
 

Methos#1975

Member
Most PS5 and Xbox games are at least 1400 to 1800p in performance modes so a 4k is still the best route. And any 4K with a decent upscaler will give you a better image even for Switch games.
 

Anchovie123

Member
Most games even in their performance mode run above 1080p & are using some form of reconstruction. Dead Island 2 for example is running at 1800p 60fps. Would be a but silly to not take advantage of this.
 

cireza

Banned
I wonder. Is it better to look at a picture in 1080 (or downscaled to 1080), or to have something 1400ish being upscaled to 4K. To me, uneven upscale = more blur.

Native resolution would always be the best solution, but how many games output exactly 1080 or 4k ?
 
Last edited:

Rea

Member
Buy 4k tv with good upscaling processor like Sony or Samsung.
With these tvs even the switch games looks better than handheld.
 

Hugare

Member
I have a gaming laptop and a PS5 connected to a 21' 1080p display and I couldnt be happier

Downsampled PS5 games looks glorious. Its 120hz, so I usually choose for 40 hz/4K mode in Sony 1st party games for the best IQ possible. Gaming on my laptop, 1080p looks great so I push for better graphics/framerate.

I have a 42' 4K TV but it doesnt look nowhere near as good as playing on my monitor.

Having the image inches away from my eyes instead of meters is great
 

supernova8

Banned
I don't plan on getting a new TV or anything just curious.
Get Out Theatre GIF by Tony Awards
Go Away GIF
Will Smith Reaction GIF


Go Away Reaction GIF
Get Out Goodbye GIF by A$AP Rocky
Season 3 Leave GIF by Martin


Taylor Swift GIF by The Voice
stephanie mcmahon wrestling GIF by WWE
Get Out Love GIF by T-Series


get out GIF


lol stop wasting everyone's time then
 

Mowcno

Member
I don't plan on getting a new TV or anything just curious. Since a 4K TV would have a much bigger screen it would stretch the pixels out more compared to a 1080p TV I would assume.
Why would 4k necessarily be bigger than a 1080p TV?

But no a 4k TV would have to be over double the size of the 1080p TV to have a lower PPI and thus "more stretched pixels."

A 55" 4k TV up close will still be more crisp than a 32" 1080p TV at the same distance.
 

Gorgon

Member
I don't plan on getting a new TV or anything just curious. Since a 4K TV would have a much bigger screen it would stretch the pixels out more compared to a 1080p TV I would assume. Whenever I play my Switch on handheld mode it looks crisper than it does on my TV because of the smaller screen even though the resolution is higher when docked in to the TV.

The PS5/XBX/S all output at 4k, no matter if it's upscaling from a lower native rendering rez or not. So, even if you have a 1080p TV, the output from the console will still be reconstructed 4K anyway and your TV will simply dowscale it to 1080p. Game mode doesn't mater either, it's always a 4K reconstructed image that comes out of the console. No benefit whatsoever to buy a 1080p TV.

EDIT: Replied to the wrong person. OP was about Switch only.
 
Last edited:
I don't plan on getting a new TV or anything just curious. Since a 4K TV would have a much bigger screen it would stretch the pixels out more compared to a 1080p TV I would assume. Whenever I play my Switch on handheld mode it looks crisper than it does on my TV because of the smaller screen even though the resolution is higher when docked in to the TV.
You mentioned a 4K set won't even fit in your space in another post. How big is your current 1080p set?

Even cheap 4K sets are generally better than the majority of older 1080p sets. There are exceptions of course as I would take a good Panasonic Plasma over a good amount of current sets.
most tv's are 4k now anyway, I think it would be harder to buy a 1080p tv these days
Yeah, you can find 4K sets for cheaper then 1080p these days and 1080p is mostly relegated to below 32 inches.
The real great benefits of new (4k) TVs are HDR, VRR and deeper black levels (especially Oled panels) in my opinion.

So if you should decide to upgrade some day, don't concentrate too much on the 4k aspect and rather on the other ones.
This. In my opinion HDR/VRR are better upgrades than 4k.

LG C2/3 is the perfect TV in my opinion. Not overly expensive, comes in small sizes 42/48, low input lag and response time, 120hz, VRR, great HDR even without high brightness levels due to inky blacks.
 
I have a 1080i TV and play PS5 on it. Looks great, don't have any issues. Will probably get a modern TV soon but am ok with what I got.

TO answer your question, yes, it would be fine.
 

daveonezero

Banned
I think it depends on the TV/monitor.

Picture quality is still a thing so are colors and input lag.
Let’s just put it this way. Friend of mine recently bought a pretty expensive 4k TV and he was pretty dissapointed in the visuals with pretty much everything he put on that, except his PS5. Everything else looked better on his previous 40 inch 1080p TV.
He should have bought a Sony. That’s why I pointed my parents to one. Their upscaling is great.
 
Last edited:
Being happy with what you already have is free and satisfaction guaranteed.
I meant to say this in my original reply. If you are happy with what you have then no need to upgrade. Upgrade when you feel like you need to.

If you do upgrade though grab an OLED. 42" C2 can be had for like $800.
 

Represent.

Represent(ative) of bad opinions
No.

And how the fuck do you not care about 4K?

Bro.

Have you ever watched a nature documentary in 4K? Completely night and day from 2010 looking 1080p.

Same goes for TV, movies, and yes, games.
 

daveonezero

Banned
No.

And how the fuck do you not care about 4K?

Bro.

Have you ever watched a nature documentary in 4K? Completely night and day from 2010 looking 1080p.

Same goes for TV, movies, and yes, games.
I think watching these things is more impactful because of the HDR and colors.

On a crappy 4K it isn’t that big of a deal.

You have to get decent local dimming on an LCD or an OLED.
 
Last edited:

Three

Member
What if the PS5 or XSX owner plays all his games at 60fps 1080p performance mode? Then the only difference would be 1080p on a HDTV vs 1080p on a 4KTV(which stretches the image out more).
Games don't really have a mode built for 1080p displays. You are usually going to get higher res than 1080p and/or RT disabled.

There is a thread about the lack of targeting 1080p modes here:

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/why-do-game-developers-neglect-1080p-on-current-gen-consoles.1633052/
 
Last edited:

Kataploom

Gold Member
I don't plan on getting a new TV or anything just curious. Since a 4K TV would have a much bigger screen it would stretch the pixels out more compared to a 1080p TV I would assume. Whenever I play my Switch on handheld mode it looks crisper than it does on my TV because of the smaller screen even though the resolution is higher when docked in to the TV.
Apart from Xenoblade 2 which has HORRIBLE antialiasing solution, or whatever it is, Switch games look just a little jaggied on my 43" 4K TV, most big Switch games are 900p or 1080p anyway, and the later scales linearly to 4K without issues
 

amigastar

Member
No.

And how the fuck do you not care about 4K?

Bro.

Have you ever watched a nature documentary in 4K? Completely night and day from 2010 looking 1080p.

Same goes for TV, movies, and yes, games.
I'm still on a 1080p monitor and i won't change for a long time, maybe in 4-5 years when midrange graphic cards are able to display high framerates on 4k.
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
most tv's are 4k now anyway, I think it would be harder to buy a 1080p tv these days
I second this... I actually wanted a 1080p TV just avoid the expenses of having games running at 4K but couldn't find one and in my country couldn't get a 40+ inches good monitor.

But I got a "small" TV (43"... it's not small to me, but some here will say it is) and 1080p games look great anyway on it so I'd suggest OP to get one of that size, LG OLEDs and Samsung Neo QLED have 42" and 43"
 
Last edited:

Otre

Banned
An Oled with HDR is more impactful than a resolution bump. Just took the settings precautions with burn in and my 3 year one that i use for PC gaming is immaculate.
 
Last edited:
I don't plan on getting a new TV or anything just curious. Since a 4K TV would have a much bigger screen it would stretch the pixels out more compared to a 1080p TV I would assume. Whenever I play my Switch on handheld mode it looks crisper than it does on my TV because of the smaller screen even though the resolution is higher when docked in to the TV.
I'm still rocking my 50" 1080p Panasonic plasma from 2009 and everything on Series X looks immaculate supersampled.
 

El Muerto

Member
I recently bought an LG tv and there's a noticeable difference when it upscales the image. Even on PS5/Series X there's a big difference.
 

Fbh

Member
If its a monitor, sure.

For a TV though, even if you don't care about 4K you might still want a nice picture quality, good contrast with deep blacks (either Oled or good local dimming), 120hz, VRR, etc.

You might find those features on a monitor but on the TV front these days 1080p is mostly relegated to small (under 43") budget models that won't have any of those features.

Besides if you own anything newer than a ps4 pro you'll not be getting the best possible resolution and it's not like having them on a 1080p TV is going to increase the frame rate
 
Top Bottom