We look at native resolution in modern gaming. Is it important, and what do you need to know about it?
Many younger gamers will probably have next to no idea about native resolution and gaming, how to alter it, and why it may matter. This is because most of the issues regarding resolution were features of an earlier era of gaming when CRT monitors and TVs were the norms.
Today, CRTs have pretty much vanished from gaming, overtaken by the far superior flat screen LCDs. However, there’s still a discussion to be had about the relevance of native resolution to gaming and whether it still matters. We’re going to look at what native resolution is and whether it’s something you need to care about.
What Is Native Resolution?
Resolution refers to the number of pixels on a flat-screen monitor. Unlike CRTs, flat screens run with the number of pixels they’ve been designed with. This means that when you input a game to an LCD using a different resolution from the one the display is designed with, the display will need to scale the video to its own settings.
For instance, Full HD has 25% of the pixels used in a 4K display. That means that a Full HD video sent to a 4K display will need to be optimized and scaled for the display. There are a few issues when the changes are as straightforward as this.
The main problems come about when the native resolution doesn’t fit the screen and scaling is done in a less regular ratio, meaning that some pixels will need to be split and display two different colors rather than a single one
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What Happens When I Change Resolution?
If you prefer native resolution better than the alternatives, there are some changes you need to make with the native resolution not fitting the screen. Obviously, displaying at a higher resolution will put an increased strain on your hardware. This can have several consequences, the main one being a noticeable video slowing.
There are some different ways you can get around this, such as changing your other video settings and limiting functions so that the GPU can use all its power for rendering at the new resolution. However, this will mean that certain video features are reduced. Resolution isn’t the only setting that affects how your visuals’ run. Conversely, if you’re running a low-resolution game on a higher-res screen, you can take advantage of improved visual settings because the GPU will not run at 100%.
Is Changing Resolution Still Essential?
In the grand scheme of things, there’s a reason why many people are less familiar with native resolution console games issues than they used to be. Basically, modern technology can deal with pretty much all of these problems for you, whether running the latest COD or playing for no deposit spins.
Output resolution refers to the resolution coming out of a device, for instance, a Playstation 5. Rendering resolution refers to the resolution setting of a display such as a 4K LCD. The devices have been designed to register the output resolution as 4K, ideal for its display. This is regardless of whether the game’s designer has chosen 4K as the display for their game.
Essentially, your devices can simply display at whatever resolution has been determined by the game designer without requiring you to change any settings. As a result, the demands of native resolution change are no longer really required.
What Does Technology Look Like Now?
Designers can take their pick from a whole range of different resolution settings and tools. Designers use scaling techniques to fine-tune the game’s final look, giving them complete control over the result.
Tools such as dynamic resolution scaling let them render every frame at the highest possible rate while also maintaining a decent framerate. And techniques such as temporal anti-aliasing can boost the quality of single pixels by using data from previous frames.
Finally, deep learning supersampling can use complex algorithms to improve single pixels and provide results at roughly the same quality as 4K.
Conclusion
In summary, the basic answer to ‘is native resolution still important?’ is no, not really. Developers have enough tools at their hands that let them decide how they want their work to be displayed.
The technology itself can adapt and display whatever their native resolution definition and preferred settings are. Obviously, players are free to alter the resolution as they see fit. But generally speaking, it’s not much of an issue for today’s gamers.
Author’s Bio
Scott Carrion is a freelance writer and analyst focusing on business and marketing. His Master’s degree in Business research from Curtis L. Carlson School of Management has given him a broad base from which to approach many topics. He works closely with B2B and B2C companies providing useful and engaging content that can convert viewers into customers.
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