Do all HDTV's from both Europe and America support 720p resolutions?

Question

i bought an american ps3 but i live in europe and i recently discovered that my normal non-HDTV can't play certain german games because the lowest resolution is 576p and for america its 480p, therefore my ps3 cant handle the extra 94p. I was also told that if i bought an HDTV with an HDMI cable, all my problems would be solved. My question is, are the HDTV's the same as the standard definition in terms of having different resolutions in america and europe or are they really the same so that my german games would work on my ps3?

Answer 1

No.

Not even all the TVs in the USA do. There is HDTV and then there is not so HDTV... Better-than-normal but not truly HD is sometimes called EDTV (Enhanced definition television) 720p doesn't always mean the same thing either....

720p can mean:

1366x720 pixels (683:384) -sorta 16:9 but not quite

1280x720 pixels (16:9) normal

1248x702 pixels (16:9)

1024x768 pixels (16:9 or 4:3)

(The aspect ratio is sometimes based on pixels that aren't square)

Besides that they also have different refresh rates

23.976p, 24p, 25p, 30p, 50i, 60i, 60p

But if you get a TV that says it is capable of 720 - or any of these variants yes you should be able to view it. The HDMI signals should work fine, and any inconsistencies in the various flavors of 720 should be worked out by the TV itself.

Most newer TVs in the USA and Europe will fix the problem with the signal's resolution and make it work on the screen. Older ones won't, they will demand the signal match the screen.

You will have to set the PS3 to output at 720p.

The Playstation 3 console is supposed to play any game from any country and is supposed to be completely region free, so it should work if you set its output to the next higher level.

The only major difference in US vs Europe TVs is the tuner, ATSC & NTSC, vs DVB & PAL. That shouldn't be an issue with HDMI.

If possible take it to a friend's house and verify that it works in practice before buying something expensive.