PS3 graphics vs iOS

[shutyertrap]

So I'm playing TPA mainly on my PS3. The Ipad belongs to the wife, so all I have on it are the free trial versions, but it at least gives me something to compare with. Personally, I much prefer the controller in my hand and the use of actual buttons, but I digress.

My point of posting this is, I want to find out if it's just me or are the graphics on the Ipad 3 just super duper clear compared to the PS3? Why am I asking when I have both you say? Well, my TV is 12 years old, is a rear projection HD set that can only do either 480p or 1080i. My 6 year old and I were trying to figure out all the names of the castle owners in Medieval Madness, but we couldn't make out any of the text on the PS3. I turn on the Ipad, and bam, there they are clear as a bell.

So to you with the plasmas and led sets, how's it compare? Are you able to read the text that is on all the tables clearly? Cause if it wasn't for the instruction portion of the game, I'd never be able to tell what any shot said on virtually any of the tables. On ToM, I can kinda make out what the various magic tricks say, but just barely (and not when they're lit up). I just wanna know if it's me and my TV, or if I want that kind of crispness am I gonna have to pony up for an Ipad of my own.

 

[PiN WiZ]

It all boils down to the iPad 3 having a resolution of 2048 x 1536 and current tvs only having a resolution of 1080p at best.

 

[smbhax]

In the PS3 version of MM on my 1080p projector, (using camera view3 ) I can kind of read most of the text if I get up and really squint at it--although the smaller text toward the top, like the white-bordered lettering up the middle, is pretty much just a pixelated mess.

 

[Jeff Strong]

The resolution is higher on the iPad 3, but the lighting is much better on the PS3. If I had to choose resolution or lighting, I'd take the lighting.

 

[Dumahim]

The iPad 3 resolution is better, but what's also helping is the iPad can do landscape or portrait and the PS3 can't, so the table is filling more of the screen.

 

[shutyertrap]

Hmmm, I thought that might be the case. If we could scroll around the table like Zen lets you, it wouldn't be such a big deal to me. It's just sometimes mid game, I wanna know what a particular actually has written, and in Zen I could do that. On the iPad I can just clearly see it anytime. Is it that clear on iPhones?

While I like the dark lighting due to the fact it makes the light show look superb, I also with we had the ability to adjust just how dark it gets, cause I really feel like we're missing out on some of the beauty of just how colorful these tables can be.

 

[DooMStalK]

I have both versions, iOS and PS3. On iOS using on iPhone 4 and on a new iPad 3. PS3 plugged to a plasma 50" Panasonic TV NeoPDP screen, using a hdmi monster cable M2000HD.

I've played first on iOS, and later on PS3.

On the iPhone it looks good, but the screen is too small for a pinball game like TPA. Thank's to retina display you can clearly see details, but, you need to have a good eye to catch these details. Because some details are so small in the little display, on gameplay sometimes you don't notice and miss them and just realize and see they are there when you hold the ball on the flipper and look at the table. Interestingly is that Gorgar look prettier on the iPhone than the iPad because the smaller screen hides some imperfections seen on the bigger iPad screen.

On the iPad 3 thanks to the big screen and retina display, it just looks awesome. Haven't seen it on iPad 2 or the first, but on the iPad 3 it looks amazing, especially the playfield.

On the PS3 I've a different opinion. From my experience it looks much better than the iPad. The lighting plays a big role on this. Objects inside the table look more realisitic, like a "ball lane" or whaterver it is called, you clearly see them higher there, like the real table, as for other objetcs on the table too.

The screen plugged with the ps3, type (plasma, lcd, lcd/led etc..) connection used (hdmi, component, composite etc), cable standards and quality change completely how graphically it will look like.

Cheers,

 

[brakel]

I think if the PS3 could do portrait mode and you had a portrait stand for 50"+ LCD or Plasma tv, then the ps3 could be better than it is. It would not be as good as the iPad 3 but it should be good enough to read most of the tables. If they add the option of portrait view on the ps3 I will buy a stand or mount for my tv that can do portrait.

 

[Dutch Pinball ball]

The first PA game was on an ipad 1 for me. Instantly i was blown away, and thats the reason i bought an ipad. The new one. And again, blown away.

It looks stunning and plays fantastic. I have not touched my xbox since and i am not sure i will buy the psn europe version. Cause i am Ipad all the way.

But if i can buy a (small) pinball cabinet for ipad with pinball buttons i would go for it instantly. Cant wait for that, why is it not on the marcet yet?

 

[Dan]

Anybody knows why some tables are incredibly ugly and washed-out, while others are so shiny and beautiful? RBION=nice, TOM=ugly, BOP=nice, MM=ugly....

 

[Pinball2000]

I think it looks great on the iPad 2 as well. The lighting on the PS3 is very cool, I will say. It makes the strobes on Funhouse look like a strobe, but on the iPad and mac, they just look like a colored light. That being said, I still play the iPad a lot more. The the macbook pro is barely playable, due to the ball speeding up and slowing down. It does play better on an early iMac, with an ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO. The iPhone looks great and is good for a quick fix when you have time on your hands and just your phone. I mainly purchased the iPad for this app.

 

[dtown8532]

While it looks nice on my retina ipod touch it doesn't compare to the dynamic lighting of the PS3.

 

[Stormchild]

The iPad 3 resolution is better, but what's also helping is the iPad can do landscape or portrait and the PS3 can't, so the table is filling more of the screen.

And in portrait orientation, the iPad has a height of 2048 pixels vs. 1080 px on an HDTV. That said, some of the difference (possibly a lot) is offset by the viewing distance. The iPad is usually held about 1-1.5' away from your face, whereas a TV is usually at least 6' away. The closer the screen is to your face, the higher the pixel density (i.e. resolution) has to be to maintain the same perceived level of detail.

Notice how Apple's products with "Retina" displays have a different pixel density depending (roughly) on the typical viewing distance:

iPhone 4/4S: 640x960 (@3.54") = 326 ppi
iPad (3): 2048x1536 (@9.7") = 264 ppi
Retina MacBook Pro: 2880x1800 (@15.4") = 220 ppi

Let's say your TV is 50". At 1920x1080, that gives you a pixel density of ~44 ppi. According to the chart on this page, at a viewing distance of 6', that resolution is about 92% "Retina". In other words, if your TV resolution was higher (or its size was smaller, packing the same amount of pixels into a smaller space), you wouldn't be able to see much more detail anyway (unless you move closer to it).

One caveat here: these calculations hold up for things that are normal to view from 6' away, but you wouldn't play a real pinball table from 6' away, and as such, there are a lot of very small details (especially on newer tables) that are designed to be seen from only a couple feet away. Thus, the iPad (with the highest ratio of pixel density to typical viewing distance) will still give you the sharpest, clearest view of these tables (at least until TPA gets updated for the new Retina MacBook Pro; not sure what the "Retina" percentage comes out to on that).

 

[Stormchild]

On the iPad I can just clearly see it anytime. Is it that clear on iPhones?

Yes, but the size of the display still limits how much detail you can see. You can't hold an iPhone any closer to your face than about 5-6" before your eyes can't keep it in focus any more (the images from your left/right eye will begin to separate if you move it any closer). At a viewing distance of 6", the iPhone's 3.5" display still looks a lot smaller than an actual pinball playfield would. It's like playing a pinball table that's a few feet away from you, so even with the extremely high pixel density of the iPhone 4/4S display (326 ppi), it's still not anywhere near as "clear" as playing TPA on an iPad 3.

 

[Stormchild]

As for the lighting, I agree completely that it looks much, much better on the PS3. I hope the iPad version will eventually be able to at least approximate the nice high contrast between a relatively dark playfield and the bright, glowing lights. Black Hole, in particular, looks spectacular with the new lighting on the PS3 version, and very dated and crummy on the iPad. But surely the iPad version could simply have a much darker playfield, which would drastically improve the contrast between the unlit playfield and glowing lights. I'm sure there's a lot to this problem that I don't understand, but I don't think the huge difference in appearance is entirely a matter of GPU limitations.