480p/VGA

Known by various names: VGA, 480p, D2, EDTV, Progressive Scan etc. all refer to a digital image composing of 480 lines or pixels vertically. This specifically differs from interlaced video which operated in alternating fields of odd and even rows as was commonplace with analogue TV transmission and many early video game and computer system displays. In the computer world the term VGA refers to an IBM graphics system including the graphics accelerator, the plug connection and 640×480 pixel resolution.

For video game systems, this mode became available during the sixth generation, albeit it mostly unpublicised and with the need to switch the system into the alternate display mode. Dreamcast games support VGA mode throught the VGA box. PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube games support 480p/Progressive Scan/D2 output via component video or Japanese D-terminal cables. It later became a standard base level of graphic output for the seventh generation. This tag highlights games that specifically enabled this alternate display during this period.

By the 8th generation VGA is effectively redundant as most games internally render between 720p/HD and 1080p/FHD (later even higher 2160p/4K) and output according to the display’s capacity – 480p is relegated to a fallback of absolute last resort today both for game and computer graphics systems.