CyberLab Death To Pixels Shader Preset Packs

[Deam]

I will do some more digging.

I was pretty sure my TV is BRG pixel layout and so it was set right (value 2), but I will reconfirm. However, when I was fiddling with it before that made some different in the color (and sometimes a little more washed out if selecting RWGB (which is not right for my display anyway)), but it did not change the brightness in any meaningful way. As for paper White brightness it stopped having meaningful impact and from what I can see was still washing out the image.

And yes, my TV does show HDR enabled, and it is obvious given the glow of the text in Retroarch, etc. And more so when I turn off shaders the image is very bright, much more so than SDR. That is the first picture in that link.

I only have an iphone 13 and am not into photography but I can look into taking better pictures. I would say live, the pictures are darker and colors less than pictures suggest.

I will keep diving in to the settings to see if it makes a difference. With a TV with nearly 600 nits it shouldn’t be this dark.

[Cyber]

@Deam

I was pretty sure my TV is BRG pixel layout and so it was set right (value 2), but I will reconfirm.

It is BGR. I didn’t say it wasn’t but some of the pictures you shared seemed to have the Display’s Subpixel Layout on 1.00 (RWBG (OLED)).

@Deam

I will keep diving in to the settings to see if it makes a difference. With a TV with nearly 600 nits it shouldn’t be this dark.

You know something, check and see if your colour format is set to RGB 4:4:4 Full. Anything other than that and the colours and brightness won’t look correct when using some combinations of Mask, Display Resolution and CRT Resolution (TVL).

This is what it’s not supposed to look like:

This is what it’s supposed to look like:

Ignore the refresh rate in both of these pics. On some TVs you may not be able to get RGB 4:4:4 Full Chroma support at the highest resolution and refresh rate due to HDMI Bandwidth limitations or other limitations due to the particular chipset of the TV.

On some TVs RGB 4:4:4 Full is only available when the HDMI Input is labeled “PC” or if the TV is in PC Mode.

On some TVs you have to manually enable HDMI Deep Colour as well in order to have access to the Wider Colour Gamut.

If this is in fact your issue and it very well could be, you can try my CyberLab Megatron NX W420M presets both in SDR as well as HDR mode and those should be much more compatible.

I’m eagerly awaiting your feedback after this. I had completely forgotten about that possibility.

Additional info. This is from the RTINGS review of your TV:

The EOTF follows the PQ curve very closely, resulting in an accurate HDR image up until the TV starts tone mapping. In ‘Game’ mode, the TV defaults to a backlight setting of ‘100’, which results in an over-brightened image. Setting the backlight to ‘50’ results in a more accurate EOTF, as (shown here). Whereas most TVs default to maximum brightness in HDR, Vizio TVs default to a setting of ‘50’. If you find HDR content too dark, simply increase this setting. If at a setting of ‘100’ HDR is still too dark, also decreasing the gamma setting to ‘1.8’ results in a noticeably brighter image, as shown here.

Another exerpt from that RTINGS review:

Like many high-end Vizio TVs, the lowest input lag is reserved for HDMI port 5. The other ports still have low input lag, but it’s a bit higher than most TVs currently on the market. Unfortunately, the low latency port doesn’t support some high-bandwidth formats, including 4k @ 60Hz with 4:4:4, and it doesn’t support HDR.

This is significant as you definitely need 4K @ 60Hz with 4:4:4 for these shaders to work and look their best. You also need HDR for them to be at their brightest and best and you also would like the lowest Input lag for gaming.

Very very important information regarding your TV and compatibility with these presets:

Resolution 4k

1080p @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4 Yes

1080p @ 120 Hz Yes (native support)

1440p @ 60 Hz No

1440p @ 120 Hz No

4k @ 60 Hz Yes

4k @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4 Yes

4k @ 120 Hz No

8k @ 30 Hz or 24 Hz No

8k @ 60 Hz No

The Vizio P659-G1 supports most common input formats but doesn’t support 1440p. It can also display chroma 4:4:4 properly in all supported modes, as long as the ‘Computer’ picture mode is used, which is great for use as a PC monitor. The Full UHD Color has to be enabled for most high bandwidth signals.

Like many other Vizio TVs, HDMI port 5 is a low-latency port, and it doesn’t have the Full UHD Color setting, so some formats, including 4k @ 60Hz 4:4:4 aren’t supported.

HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)

I guess HDMI Port 5 is out unless you don’t want these presets to look their best.

While you’re at it, you might as well copy RTINGS calibration settings unless you can do a better job.

Vizio P Series Quantum 2019 Review (P659-G1, P759-G1)

[Deam]

This was helpful. In fact, I remember now my TV is in fact set to YpBpR444/limited, as there is something up with the Vizio getting an HDR signal in RGB format. I had to change this so playing movies in HDR worked properly otherwise the color space and other aspects were off.

I set it to RGB full to test.

I tested the NX W420M and when set up properly in SDR it looked fine when I set the backlight to max. Switch to HDR on in Retroarch and the shader caused many issue with rest of settings being left alone.

Therefore I can only conclude there is some interaction with the shader and my TV that causes issues when it flips into HDR mode with the more detailed masks.

From what I understand, the HDR should be brighter than SDR if everything is working properly - that is the benefit of using it.

Perhaps if I get a different TV I will try it again!

I appreciated the back and forth.

[Deam]

Thanks for the reply. Peak is set to 580 per rtings. I can tend paper white to 1000 and it still doesn’t make much of a difference.

So when the mask is “minimal” in terms of turning the resolution low (to 1080p) and CRT TV resolution to 800 or 1000 lines the brightness is almost overly so, so HDR is being enabled correctly.

I will take some pictures and repost.

To be clear, I am using the latest version of the preset and the recommended underlying shader (both Megatron and Megatron NX were tried).

[Cyber]

@Deam

In fact, I remember now my TV is in fact set to YpBpR444/limited, as there is something up with the Vizio getting an HDR signal in RGB format. I had to change this so playing movies in HDR worked properly otherwise the color space and other aspects were off.

I set it to RGB full to test.

Did you also do all of this?

@Cyber

4k @ 60 Hz @ 4:4:4 Yes

@Cyber

It can also display chroma 4:4:4 properly in all supported modes, as long as the ‘Computer’ picture mode is used, which is great for use as a PC monitor. The Full UHD Color has to be enabled for most high bandwidth signals.

@Cyber

HDMI port 5 is a low-latency port, and it doesn’t have the Full UHD Color setting, so some formats, including 4k @ 60Hz 4:4:4 aren’t supported.

HDMI 2.0 Full Bandwidth Yes (HDMI 1,2,3,4)

I guess HDMI Port 5 is out unless you don’t want these presets to look their best.

You would probably need to have your refresh rate set to 60Hz and not 120Hz.

You have to use “Computer” picture display mode.

You need to enable “Full UHD Color”.

You also have to be using HDMI Inputs 1, 2, 3 or 4. Not 5 at all.

Also, make sure your HDMI cable is rated for HDMI 2.1 Ultra High Speed 48Gbps to be safe.

@Deam

I tested the NX W420M and when set up properly in SDR it looked fine when I set the backlight to max.

You can use all of the presets like this. HDR is not a requirement.

@Deam

Switch to HDR on in Retroarch and the shader caused many issue with rest of settings being left alone.

This is a bit vague, maybe some photos might help me to understand better. Do note that your refresh rate needs to be 60Hz and you need to enable Full UHD Color as well as be using the " Computer" Picture Mode for everything to work as it should.

You also need to enable HDR in RetroArch Video Settings as well as in the Shader Parameters of the Preset.

@Deam

Therefore I can only conclude there is some interaction with the shader and my TV that causes issues when it flips into HDR mode with the more detailed masks.

You’re conclusion is probably a bit premature. Call it a theory or hypothesis instead at this point when there’s still a lot more experimentation, testing and variables to be factored in. What I’d say is that you’re getting closer to the root of the issue and you’ve made a lot of progress so far.

@Deam

So when the mask is “minimal” in terms of turning the resolution low (to 1080p) and CRT TV resolution to 800 or 1000 lines the brightness is almost overly so, so HDR is being enabled correctly.

I wouldn’t worry too much about this. These Masks are precise down to the RGB subpixel, that’s why they any chroma compression destroys them. Rotated Masks/Shadow Masks and two pixel Masks like the ones used for the higher TVLs wouldn’t suffer as much from this.

@Deam

From what I understand, the HDR should be brighter than SDR if everything is working properly - that is the benefit of using it.

On most TVs but not all. Some TVs can get just as bright or almost as bright in SDR mode compared to HDR mode.

@Deam

Perhaps if I get a different TV I will try it again!

I think with enough patience and understanding you can get it to work with your current TV.

@Deam

I appreciated the back and forth.

No problem, I want as many users to be able to enjoy these things as possible.

[idkfu22]

Can I get some information on how pixel density effects the shaders? I am considering a 1440p 24’ monitor as I love the clarity and small screen size for web/regular gaming, but for retro gaming I am wondering how the high ppi will effect shaders. Will there be any difference from a more standard 1440p 27’? Will the scaling/scaline size/etc be effected? This is pretty niche so if there is a difference I assume there are no presets or guides for it.

[Cyber]

@idkfu22

pixel density effects the shaders?

Pixel density contributes to the CRT Shader experience but you still need raw resolution. 4K really is where it’s at now but 1440p can suffice if you’re not using an OLED display because there still remain some subpixel alignment issues with respect to 1440p and OLED which have been more or less solved at 4K.

So beware of 1440p OLED for accurate CRT Emulation.

@idkfu22

Will there be any difference from a more standard 1440p 27’? Will the scaling/scaline size/etc be effected?

PPI shouldn’t affect scaling but all features, including scanlines would naturally be more dense as a result of the denser display.

A 27" 4K or even 32" 4K you should be in for a real treat, especially if you get a very bright HDR compatible display.

1080p and 1440p can also work but I’m biased towards 4K because that’s what I have the most experience with.

[idkfu22]

Thanks, I understand 4k is optimal but my pc cannot run 4k for standard gaming and cant afford a second expensive display just for retro. Im going from my current 1080p 24’ to the same size screen but in 1440p, If I understand you mean the scanlines more dense or appear thinner on the screen than a standard 1440p but the scaling of each line per integer scaled game pixel would be the same? And does HDR really improve the visuals of the filter? I was under the assumption it was just about the brightness. Is that mostly important just to 4k displays?

[Cyber]

@idkfu22

And does HDR really improve the visuals of the filter? I was under the assumption it was just about the brightness. Is that mostly important just to 4k displays?

Time to do some research.

List of recommended TVs for emulation

***Skip to the bottom of this post for the list. *** Update 6/6/2019: Added the LG SM9500 to the list, making it the only non-QLED display to make the cut. The viewing angle on the SM9500 is superior to the QLED displays because it’s an IPS display, but the blacks, contrast ratio and local dimming are all inferior. Intro: Having gone through all the TV and monitor reviews at RTings.com, I’ve come up with the following list of recommended TVs for emulating retro games. Criteria: For emul…

Sony Megatron Colour Video Monitor

[Screenshot_2022-10-22-22-34-48-80_92460851df6f172a4592fca41cc2d2e6] [Screenshot_2022-10-22-22-34-17-34_92460851df6f172a4592fca41cc2d2e6] [Screenshot_2022-11-09-19-48-09-02_92460851df6f172a4592fca41cc2d2e6] [Screenshot_2022-11-09-19-45-40-42_92460851df6f172a4592fca41cc2d2e6] [Screenshot_2022-11-09-19-47-23-51_92460851df6f172a4592fca41cc2d2e6] [Screenshot_2022-11-09-19-44-41-29_92460851df6f172a4592fca41cc2d2e6] The Sony Megatron Colour Video Monitor was the greatest CRT Sony never made. Stor…

Ten years of CRT shaders

Long time no talk. I was at CES 2020 and CES 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic. One thing I noticed is that HDR is making screens brighter. If you’ve never seen HDR, you should watch “Coco” on a HDR screen to truly understand why 2,000, 5,000 nits and 10,000nit HDR screens actually make sense. >1000-nit HDR is a savior of CRT emulation brightness I saw a 10,000 nit Sony prototype screen at CES…and…WOW. It wasn’t too bright. Scenes looked normal, except things like streetlamps, sun gli…

Please show off what crt shaders can do!

I have a 31 kHz PC monitor which is even sharper than the xVMs, and I agree that 240p content on such a display without any shaders is basically indistinguishable from an LCD using nearest neighbor scaling. However, there’s still a slight amount of “softness” compared to the LCD that’s hard to pinpoint/explain. Even though it’s just as sharp in terms of the detail it shows, the way the CRT emits light directly from the phosphors somehow makes it softer than the LCD even when both are displaying…

Please show off what crt shaders can do!

I should have added that I always crank up my display’s backlight when attempting any kind of CRT emulation, to compensate for the lost brightness from scanlines without altering the original color values. I don’t care for the overbloomed, poorly-maintained CRT look. Some people prefer the way a 15kHz consumer-grade CRT looks compared to a high quality PVM, BVM, or 31kHz CRT. It’s a very different look. You can certainly achieve results like that with a scanline overlay, dotmask shader and some…

[PodunkPedant]

Hi, just now getting my feet wet with these more complex CRT shaders and I believe I’ve found some good settings using the NX 4k HDR pack. However, I’d also like to experiment with some different bezel overlays. Unfortunately I discovered that the NX shader is applied to any bezels I activate through the “on-screen overlay” menu in Retroarch, messing with both the color and the brightness of the bezel image. Lowering the opacity of the overlay kind of helps, but it still doesn’t look great.

I’ve found several recommendations that involve injecting, for example, Duimon’s bezels into one of the Mega Bezel presets, but I can’t get that method to work with the NX presets. Am I just using the wrong syntax? Or is there a better way of doing this? Duimon’s bezels look pretty slick but I’d be fine using a simpler PNG bezel instead if it’s just not possible to combine them with the NX pack.

(For the record, I don’t think my PC is powerful enough to run the Mega Bezel shaders instead. Testing it made my framerate slow to a crawl, probably because I don’t have a discrete GPU.)

[Darkfella91]

Hello, i recently came across your shaders from a video on youtube, but im a bit confused by the multiple versions . I have a mini led TCL TV with high brightness and i want to make use of your HDR presets, but also use the reflective bezels, which packs exactly do i need to download to make use of them ?

[Cyber]

@Darkfella91

but im a bit confused by the multiple versions .

How so? Have you read the first post? Just as there are different shaders, there are different presets and preset packs.

@Darkfella91

I have a mini led TCL TV with high brightness

Excellent, which one?

@Darkfella91

i want to make use of your HDR presets,

You should definitely try my CyberLab Megatron NX and CyberLab Megatron NX W420M shader preset packs.

@Darkfella91

i want to make use of your HDR presets, but also use the reflective bezels,

Hmmm…you can try this:

CyberLab Death To Pixels Shader Preset Packs

CyberLab Mega Bezel Death To Pixels Shader Preset Pack SDR to HDR Conversion Settings–>Video–>HDR Enable HDR - On Peak Luminance - 630 Paper White Luminance - 630 Contrast - 5.30x - 5.40x Expand Gamut - On Plus Load a shader preset then follow the steps below: Reset the following shader parameters to defaults: Post CRT Brightness - 1.00 Bright Boost Bright Pixels - 1.10 Bright Boost Dark Pixels - 1.40 Gamma Correct – gamma_c - 1.00 Adjust the following settings: Graphics Brightness - …

I also just added and uploaded some HDR Ready presets for my Mega Bezel Preset Pack so you can try those as well.

[Cyber]

@PodunkPedant

(For the record, I don’t think my PC is powerful enough to run the Mega Bezel shaders instead. Testing it made my framerate slow to a crawl, probably because I don’t have a discrete GPU.)

This makes everything you would like to do all the more difficult.

Please list the specs of the PC.

@PodunkPedant

Unfortunately I discovered that the NX shader is applied to any bezels I activate through the “on-screen overlay” menu in Retroarch, messing with both the color and the brightness of the bezel image. Lowering the opacity of the overlay kind of helps, but it still doesn’t look great.

Yes, this is unfortunate. Those bezels you’re trying were probably never designed with HDR in mind so that might be your problem there. I just uploaded a new pack with some HDR Ready Mega Bezel presets but alas your computer.

Maybe try my CyberLab Megatron NX W420M Shader Preset Pack and keep everything in SDR in RetroArch then maybe use Windows 11 AutoHDR to apply HDR properly to everything in order to boost the brightness.

Post some photos of the issue. It helps.

Maybe you can use Duimon’s preset with the Sony Megatron Base Preset in Mega Bezel Reflection Shader.

By the way, in my understanding I don’t think Shaders are applied to regular Overlays. Maybe you’re referring to the effect of HDR when you enable it.

[Darkfella91]

I have a 65 inch TCL C935. Thanks for those HDR presets, i will try them in a bit. Do i need a specific version of the mega bezel reflection shader or i can use the latest version ?

[Cyber]

@Darkfella91

Thanks for those HDR presets, i will try them in a bit.

No problem.

@Darkfella91

Do i need a specific version of the mega bezel reflection shader

Yes, it says so in the 1st post of the thread.

[Darkfella91]

Sorry that im probably asking stupid questions for you, but it says the latest matching HSM mega bezel shader version, but i cant figure out how to check which version of those shaders does your presets use. Im currently using the latest version and it seems to be working fine tho ?

[Cyber]

@Darkfella91

Sorry that im probably asking stupid questions for you,

Nah, it’s okay. It’s not stupid but I do sense a lack of passion, determination and will from some though. Everyone isn’t the same but it saddens me when I feel like people don’t even try or don’t try hard enough.

@Darkfella91

but i cant figure out how to check which version of those shaders does your presets use.

I strongly suggest you take some time to read through the first post and at least browse the thread if you want to make the most of the potential of these preset packs as there is a slight learning curve.

@Darkfella91

Im currently using the latest version

Okay

@Darkfella91

and it seems to be working fine tho ?

Well what exactly do you define as working? Are you sure that what you’re seeing is even remotely close to how those presets are supposed to look? If you do then I guess ignorance is bliss and you obviously can’t miss what you’ve never seen.

Not to be taken personally micro-rant aside, feel free to ask questions after reading through the first post and admittedly outdated readme.txt files and I’ll be happy to answer as many questions as I can as all I would like is for others to experience the same joy, awe and nostalgia that I experience.

@Cyber

Update 07/09/22

I’ve now updated my CyberLab Mega Bezel Death To Pixels Shader Preset Pack versioning system to semi-sync with HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader versioning based on compatibility.

So if a user is using V1.1.0_xx-xx-xx of my Shader Preset Pack, they know that it’s been updated and tested to be compatible (and look right) with V1.1.0_xx-xx-xx of HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader.

If there’s a new update or feature in HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader that needs the presets to be updated before they will look right again, the versioning of the Shader Preset Pack will also reflect that.

@Cyber

CyberLab Custom Blargg NTSC Video Filter Presets 03-09-23.zip

Installation:

To install these presets copy the “Filters” folder into the “…\RetroArch” folder.

These presets REQUIRE THE LATEST matching HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader version in order to work. It can be downloaded at the following location.

[Mega_Bezel_Logo] Mega Bezel CRT Simulator This thread is about the Mega Bezel Reflection Shader for Retroarch! Here you can tell me what’s working for you and what could be better. If you are wondering “What is this thing?” here’s a nice little overview up sharing our ideas around the Mega Bezel project and some of its features: RetroArch – Introducing the Mega Bezel Reflection Shader – Libretro This shader package is meant for you to experiment with and make your own creations if you like.…

[FinalBoss]

Atualizei ontem e tudo perfeito. No Core do Genesis tudo perfeito. Trabalho fantástico. Parabéns Cyber, ficou perfeito.

[Cyber]

@FinalBoss

Atualizei ontem e tudo perfeito.

I’m happy to hear that! Which preset pack and preset are you referring to? Is this the new Mega Bezel in HDR or W420M?

Some photos or jxr screenshots would be nice!

[FinalBoss]

usando seu shader na Tv Crt Sony Wega. Coloque em Super Resolução no RetroArch, 2560x240. Ficou sensacional.