so, the menu screen on my ps3 is high-def (1080i), and it shows the skyrim disc logo in high def.

the second i start the game, the ps3 goes into low-def mode. i can't figure out how to fix it, and it's this game only - the other games i own display correctly.

i didn't spend all the money on my entertainment system so i could play this graphically incredible game in low-def. how do i fix this issue?

i went into the ps3's display settings menu and checked 720p (i had just 1080i checked before, for EVERY OTHER GAME i've ever owned).

this upped the resolution considerably to 720p from SD, but it's certainly not 1080i.

what gives bethesda?

Almost every game has a native resolution of 720p on both consoles. Sometimes even lower, and only few higher.
Every other resolution is only achieved through scaling so you don't really gain anything by forcing 1080i as it doesn't improve the image quality.
I would prefer a progressive image anyway over a interlaced one. 720p should look better.

i guess my question then becomes, why does every other game i own (uncharteds, both batmans, ffxiii, demon's souls etc) run with settings set at 1080i, and this one only in 720p? when it clearly says on the box it runs in 1080i?

i'd like to see the difference for myself and choose, rather than be forced to run it in a lower resolution by default. might have bought a different version of the game if this is the case.

Trust me, it doesn't make a difference. 720p is 720p. None of those other games run above 720p, either.

I have the game dungeon siege 3 and displays 1080 hd during gameplay.

It doesn't. Dungeon Siege 3 runs at 720p on both the PS3 and the 360. Most games can be upscaled to 1080p by either the console or the display device, which basically means the image is just stretched to fit a higher resolution, but very few games on either the PS3 or the 360 run above 720p. Upscaling doesn't improve image quality... it just tricks consumers into reading the "1080p support" label on the back of their cases as "1080p native resolution". True 1080p... you would know what true 1080p looks like in comparison to 720p. However, Dungeon Siege 3 only runs at 720p, Uncharted 1-3 only run at 720, Killzone 3 only runs at 720p, and nearly all, with the exception of some sports and arcade games, PS3 and 360 games run at 720p. They simply get upscaled so they actually fill up the entire screen of a 1080p display, but they don't run at 1080p.

Not every game supports upscaling, it really depends on what the developers implement.
I think most games don't.
And 1080i actually isn't really higher. At least depending on the source material it's even lower than 720p for games.

Must be an error on the box if it says otherwise.

I have an hdtv that only supports 480p and 1080i. In the ps menu when only these two resolutions are selected skyrim clearly displays at 480p. If 720p is selected the resolution is greatly improved; does anyone know why this happens?

That's interesting. Maybe the game runs in 720p downscaled to 480p which should indeed look better than just 480p.

Ok sooo heres the quick explanation. Those games are 720p "upscaled" to 1080i (if you can call that upscaling... 1080i is awful). The thing with skyrim is it forces a 720p signal(as we found in a seperate thread). According to the box it runs on TV's compatible with 1080i, that doesnt mean it will run AT 1080i, just that it will display correctly. The issue is, if you get skyrim running at 1080i you will find the display is actually "askew" in that you cant see the sides of the screen. This is the developers programming.



This happens because when you dont have 720p ticked, the game wont try displaying it as 720, but rather as the default resolution set on the ps3. However with 720 ticked, it will try displaying as 720, from which the ps3 will then downscale. The PS3 is actually really good at downscaling/upscaling so your getting a better picture as the ps3 renders and downscale better than the game itself.