Resolution Question

[sgilewicz]

I currently use a Samsung 32 inch LCD TV as my monitor (1920 X 1080) and it has worked well for a couple of years now with DCS. I notice, however, that certain YouTube videos on DCS A-10C show significantly sharper detail than I see in game. My question is:

 

If I see higher resolution in YouTube than in game how is this possible? Is there an in game setting that is integral to optimizing resolution? My system specs are:

 

Intel I7-8700K

Windows 10 Pro 64 (48GB RAM)

Nvidia GTX-1080 (8GB VRAM)

 

It seems logical that the resolution I see in YouTube should be achievable in game. Any insights are appreciated!

[Bossco82]

Your limited by your screens resolution not the games. 1080p on a 32" monitor will show less sharpness in the details than a 1440p or 4k screen.

[sgilewicz]

Bossco,

I agree that I cannot expect to see the same sharpness in game as a higher res monitor. However, my question is why do I see sharper cockpit detail in some YouTube DCS videos than in game? I would expect the YouTube videos to look no better than my in game experience. It's as if I am getting 1440p detail on a 1080p screen. Unexpected and maybe unsolvable. Thanks for the reply. It is appreciated.

[Taz1004]

Without seeing what you're talking about... your in game screenshot versus the YouTube video you're talking about, can't really tell you why.

 

If your monitor is 1080P, what you see on YouTube is also limited by 1080P. So maybe they're zooming in to the cockpit in the video. Again, can't tell without actually seeing it.

[Adam]

I have no idea if this is the cause or not and this is a total guess - but I wonder if there is some 'super sampling' effect coming into play.

 

To explain - in VR - we have a fixed resolution for our headset. However we have an option to 'Super Sample' which as I understand it tells DCS that our headset's resolution is larger than it really is. As a result, the graphics is calculated for a higher resolution display. It is then down-sized to display on our VR's projection.

 

Even though the end result with and without supersampling is the same resolution being projected - there is significant difference in clarity between having native resolution vs a greater resolution (supersampled). I don't fully understand the why's or what black magic is behind this. (It kinda makes sense for 3D objects as they're rendered more accurately and then when downsampled it makes sense that the image would be better.... but for straight text in the cockpit it also makes a significant difference as well).

 

The guess I'm putting forward is that what you're seeing maybe a similar result. That the image being recorded on youtube was done in 4K (thus much greater clarity), and then put back to 1080p - but since it was downsampled and not originally rendered in 1080p it gives greater clarity just like VR SS?

 

I have no idea if this is possible or not, but if you're able to lie to your PC about your monitors resolution, and if your monitor will automatically downscale - maybe you can get better textures by changing your display adapter to a larger resolution to mimick what has happened with the youtube experience (or what we see in VR)?

[sgilewicz]

The first attachment is from a recent A-10C II video on YouTube. The second attachment is a screenshot from my PC.

Close inspection reveals little difference. I'm suspecting that my perception of higher resolution on recent YouTube videos has more to do with wearing progressive lenses than with resolution differences.

YouTube videos force a lense wearer to adjust head angle for optimum focus. In game, however, the head angle is constantly shifting, hence slight blurring when the angle is not optimal.

Many thanks to all who replied and inspired me to make an apples to apples check. Cheers!

[hansangb]

The first attachment is from a recent A-10C II video on YouTube. The second attachment is a screenshot from my PC.

Close inspection reveals little difference. I'm suspecting that my perception of higher resolution on recent YouTube videos has more to do with wearing progressive lenses than with resolution differences.

YouTube videos force a lense wearer to adjust head angle for optimum focus. In game, however, the head angle is constantly shifting, hence slight blurring when the angle is not optimal.

Many thanks to all who replied and inspired me to make an apples to apples check. Cheers!

 

 

Maybe the cockpit in the video was running at a much higher resolution and than downsampled to 1080? Hard to tell with different lighting in play.

 

Also, you might try the Factory New vs Old cockpit to see if it makes a difference. It's in the SPECIAL tab for A10C2

[LucShep]

Maybe the cockpit in the video was running at a much higher resolution and than downsampled to 1080? Hard to tell with different lighting in play.

 

I suspect as so, video may have been rendered at 1080P while the sim/game was at 1440P or 4K. (which give results for the video similar to the "upscaling" trick often used for games without working AA settings)

To viewers with 1080P, this gives a much smoother (anti-aliased) image, giving the sort of sensation the OP speaks about (even more so if the person uses higher graphics settings in DCS).

 

Merely as suggestion, if you have the horsepower, instead of using MSAA x4, try testing MSAA at 2x and SSAA at x1.5 (both set in DCS options at same time).

This will improve enormously the details and image quality, even on things that you wouldn't think still shimmer and/or with "jaggies" with MSAA x4 (but they do), such as trees, river beds, cockpit details, and a big etc.

Note that this will also blur the image a bit. Therefore, in your graphics drivers settings, set Sharpening ON for the DCS profile, which brings back again any missing clarity for such combo.

With AMD Adrenalin drivers, sharpening set at 10% it's all that it needs, but with Nvidia drivers I really don't know (play around a bit?). Beautifull image quality, IMO.

Edited October 10, 2020 by LucShep