New CRT shader from Guest + CRT Guest Advanced updates

As always , thanks for all of your work guest. I been thinking if it would be possible to increase the sharpness without reverting back to the pixelated state on edges , curtsy of r/CRTgaming

a shot of BVM

perhaps because I’m using 4k 65 inch tv so pixel density isn’t om side

Also In the image , mask has no tint effect on colors. From what I can see the colors are almost 1:1 with no shader . I have a sony x950g which according to Rtings has BGR subpixel layout.

image

But enabling the BGR in the shader mask parameters would actually tint the colors more.

2 Likes

You can adjust the “Scanline spike removal” parameter for the scanline edge effect which you wanna have.

I would suggest mask 6.0 where you can decrease the main mask strength value for a pure scanline look. The saturated borders of the scanlines can be achieved with the “scanline saturation” parameter.

For this looks is also important that you play with other scanline shape parameters a bit.

Parameter settings:

gamma_c = "1.200000"
gsl = "2.000000"
scanline2 = "20.000000"
beam_min = "1.999999"
beam_max = "0.950000"
beam_size = "0.250000"
scans = "1.999999"
scan_falloff = "0.500000"
spike = "0.300000"
s_sharp = "0.400000"
shadowMask = "6.000000"
maskstr = "0.100000"
mcut = "1.200000"
mask_layout = "1.000000"
post_br = "1.100000"
3 Likes

Thanks ,will give it a try later.

1 Like

If your screen is BGR you have to use the default RGB Mask layout 0. If it’s RGB you have to use Layout 1.

Switch between the two and see which one looks better. If you use the wrong Mask Layout there will be severe colour tint issues.

If you want those kinds of edges be sure you’re not using any type of upsampling (prescaling) as well. Use 100% prescale (sampling resolution multiplier).

@guest.r, would Mask 13 (RRGGBBX) be a good alternative to Mask 6 (RGB) in this case as @saeedalshaikhpygas is using a 4K screen?

1 Like

BVM displays have a rather high TVL rating, so likely mask 10 would still fit. Masks 11 and 12 have a single mask strength control, so it would take some experience with bloom to wash the mask out on brighter pixels.

1 Like

@saeedalshaikhpygas

Have you seen my Shader Preset Pack yet?

It uses HSM Mega Bezel Reflection Shader, which uses CRT Guest Advanced as its default shader and adds some awesome features like realtime reflections on CRT bezels, adding some more depth, immersion and nostalgia to the whole CRT emulation experience!

You should check them out at least once in your lifetime! There’s a variety of CRT Shader Preset options to choose from which not only try to recreate the looks of particular screens but also the different characteristics of the display outputs of different consoles.

You can even use the CRT-Guest-Advanced shader parameters posted here to come up with your own variations!

These are some recent videos of it in action:

I design these and play on a 55" 4K screen so trust me, I know what you’re talking about and pixelation levels have been addressed in these presets!

1 Like

This update came right on time as I was thinking I wanted my “8/16bit” presets a bit sharper. I did a little tweaking and came up with this, here’s a before and after pic.

Previous settings:

Here’s how it looks after tweaking:

I managed to mostly get it to where I can see the black outlines more around Link, grass, rocks etc but my question to you @guest.r is can I manage to make it even sharper using blend mode 1? I ask because if I start raising the sharpness more I notice details start to go missing on some objects. My ideal sharpness is the look Blend 0 gives but when using that mode I notice it makes certain effects like the transparency in Sonic 1 waterfalls look weird so I stick to Blend Mode 1. Here’s my settings so far, I may end up using these for my next update depending on your opinion.

shaders = "17"
shader0 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear0 = "false"
wrap_mode0 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input0 = "false"
alias0 = ""
float_framebuffer0 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer0 = "false"
scale_type_x0 = "source"
scale_x0 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y0 = "source"
scale_y0 = "1.000000"
shader1 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear1 = "false"
wrap_mode1 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input1 = "false"
alias1 = "StockPass"
float_framebuffer1 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer1 = "false"
scale_type_x1 = "source"
scale_x1 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y1 = "source"
scale_y1 = "1.000000"
shader2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/afterglow0.slang"
filter_linear2 = "true"
wrap_mode2 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input2 = "false"
alias2 = "AfterglowPass"
float_framebuffer2 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer2 = "false"
scale_type_x2 = "source"
scale_x2 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y2 = "source"
scale_y2 = "1.000000"
shader3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/grade/pre-shaders-afterglow-grade.slang"
filter_linear3 = "true"
wrap_mode3 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input3 = "false"
alias3 = "PrePass0"
float_framebuffer3 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer3 = "false"
scale_type_x3 = "source"
scale_x3 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y3 = "source"
scale_y3 = "1.000000"
shader4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/ntsc/ntsc-pass1.slang"
filter_linear4 = "false"
wrap_mode4 = "clamp_to_border"
frame_count_mod4 = "2"
mipmap_input4 = "false"
alias4 = ""
float_framebuffer4 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer4 = "false"
scale_type_x4 = "source"
scale_x4 = "4.000000"
scale_type_y4 = "source"
scale_y4 = "1.000000"
shader5 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/ntsc/ntsc-pass2.slang"
filter_linear5 = "true"
wrap_mode5 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input5 = "false"
alias5 = ""
float_framebuffer5 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer5 = "false"
scale_type_x5 = "source"
scale_x5 = "0.500000"
scale_type_y5 = "source"
scale_y5 = "1.000000"
shader6 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/custom-fast-sharpen.slang"
filter_linear6 = "true"
wrap_mode6 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input6 = "false"
alias6 = "NtscPass"
float_framebuffer6 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer6 = "false"
scale_type_x6 = "source"
scale_x6 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y6 = "source"
scale_y6 = "1.000000"
shader7 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/convert-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear7 = "true"
wrap_mode7 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input7 = "false"
alias7 = ""
float_framebuffer7 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer7 = "false"
scale_type_x7 = "source"
scale_x7 = "0.500000"
scale_type_y7 = "source"
scale_y7 = "1.000000"
shader8 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear8 = "true"
wrap_mode8 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input8 = "true"
alias8 = "PrePass"
float_framebuffer8 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer8 = "false"
scale_type_x8 = "source"
scale_x8 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y8 = "source"
scale_y8 = "1.000000"
shader9 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/avg-lum-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear9 = "true"
wrap_mode9 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input9 = "true"
alias9 = "AvgLumPass"
float_framebuffer9 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer9 = "false"
scale_type_x9 = "source"
scale_x9 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y9 = "source"
scale_y9 = "1.000000"
shader10 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/linearize-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear10 = "true"
wrap_mode10 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input10 = "false"
alias10 = "LinearizePass"
float_framebuffer10 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer10 = "false"
scale_type_x10 = "source"
scale_x10 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y10 = "source"
scale_y10 = "1.000000"
shader11 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear11 = "true"
wrap_mode11 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input11 = "false"
alias11 = ""
float_framebuffer11 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer11 = "false"
scale_type_x11 = "absolute"
scale_x11 = "640"
scale_type_y11 = "source"
scale_y11 = "1.000000"
shader12 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_vertical.slang"
filter_linear12 = "true"
wrap_mode12 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input12 = "false"
alias12 = "GlowPass"
float_framebuffer12 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer12 = "false"
scale_type_x12 = "absolute"
scale_x12 = "640"
scale_type_y12 = "absolute"
scale_y12 = "480"
shader13 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear13 = "true"
wrap_mode13 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input13 = "false"
alias13 = ""
float_framebuffer13 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer13 = "false"
scale_type_x13 = "absolute"
scale_x13 = "640"
scale_type_y13 = "absolute"
scale_y13 = "480"
shader14 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_vertical.slang"
filter_linear14 = "true"
wrap_mode14 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input14 = "false"
alias14 = "BloomPass"
float_framebuffer14 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer14 = "false"
scale_type_x14 = "absolute"
scale_x14 = "640"
scale_type_y14 = "absolute"
scale_y14 = "480"
shader15 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/crt-guest-advanced-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear15 = "true"
wrap_mode15 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input15 = "false"
alias15 = ""
float_framebuffer15 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer15 = "false"
scale_type_x15 = "viewport"
scale_x15 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y15 = "viewport"
scale_y15 = "1.000000"
shader16 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/deconvergence-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear16 = "true"
wrap_mode16 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input16 = "false"
alias16 = ""
float_framebuffer16 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer16 = "false"
scale_type_x16 = "viewport"
scale_x16 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y16 = "viewport"
scale_y16 = "1.000000"
g_crtgamut = "1.000000"
g_vignette = "0.000000"
g_cntrst = "0.400000"
quality = "-1.000000"
cust_fringing = "1.000000"
cust_artifacting = "2.000000"
SHARPEN = "2.000000"
CONTR = "0.200000"
SIGMA_VB = "0.750000"
bloom = "-0.700000"
halation = "0.100000"
gamma_c = "1.360000"
brightboost = "1.300001"
brightboost1 = "1.250000"
gsl = "-1.000000"
h_sharp = "2.000002"
s_sharp = "1.500000"
ring = "0.700000"
warpX = "0.050000"
warpY = "0.070000"
csize = "0.080000"
bsize1 = "0.300000"
shadowMask = "10.000000"
maskstr = "1.000000"
slotmask = "1.000000"
slotmask1 = "1.000000"
slotwidth = "4.000000"
double_slot = "2.000000"
mclip = "0.350000"
gamma_out = "2.000000"
deconrr = "1.750000"
deconrb = "-1.750000"
deconrry = "1.250000"
deconrby = "-1.250000"
decons = "1.200000"
addnoised = "-0.100000"
noiseresd = "1.000000"
noisetype = "1.000000"
post_br = "1.100000"
textures = "SamplerLUT1;SamplerLUT2;SamplerLUT3;SamplerLUT4"
SamplerLUT1 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT1_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT1_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT1_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/inv-trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT2_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT2_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT2_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/nec-lut.png"
SamplerLUT3_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT3_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT3_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/ntsc-lut.png"
SamplerLUT4_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT4_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT4_mipmap = "false"

Edit: I just noticed that your update says you improved blend mode 1 for ntsc fast only lol

4 Likes

Yeah, previously the shader was missing the option to increase the local contrast caused by sharpening. I’m very glad it proved as a nice and useful addon. In fact, using the new setting with 1.0 honors the original filtering.

As i observed some very late big&flat crt tv’s they also used some sort signal processing like this to produce a sharper appearance. They were available while emulation was already widespread, so this is maybe a lesser nostalgic contribution, but still historically correct. :wink:

TBH your presets look very nice and i would suggest you make a couple more, although Sonic waterfall is a bit overrated imo. Otoh the only de-dithering algorithm that can deal with it is Hyllian’s sgenpt-mix, which was also tested and debugged on the ‘waterfall’. In the perspective, a couple more presets is what i’m cheering for. :grin:

6 Likes

Oh yeah, contrast is definitely a good thing, I started using it previously through grade because of you in fact. I appreciate that you like my presets, I feel like the “arcade” ones are good to go, maybe a little more tweaking here and there but I’ve always somewhat had an issue dealing with sharpness on my 8/16 bit presets and I believe your latest update brought in a solution if I can tweak it right. I did some more tweaking check this out, here’s my previous settings once again:

Here’s how it looks after using Blend Mode 0:

To me that looks way better and sharper but here’s where the problem comes in. When using that same Blend Mode 0 on dithering games like Sonic 2 it looks like this:

Then I went back to Blend Mode 1 and now it looks how I want it to look like this:

So I’m stuck between trying to get that sharpness from the Blend Mode 0 Zelda pic along with the dithering effects you get from Blend Mode 1 in the Sonic 2 pic.

I also tried adding in Hyllian’s sgenpt-mix into the chain to mix it with Blend Mode 0 and pretty much ended up with a image that looks like Blend Mode 0’s pic where I lose the dithering effects, there’s no mixing the two it seems. In the end I’ll just have to find a way to get it sharp enough using Blend Mode 1 while also getting that sharpness from Blend Mode 0, it might take a little while but I’ll come up with something lol.

Here’s the settings I used for the Blend Mode 0 pic:

shaders = "17"
shader0 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear0 = "false"
wrap_mode0 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input0 = "false"
alias0 = ""
float_framebuffer0 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer0 = "false"
scale_type_x0 = "source"
scale_x0 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y0 = "source"
scale_y0 = "1.000000"
shader1 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear1 = "false"
wrap_mode1 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input1 = "false"
alias1 = "StockPass"
float_framebuffer1 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer1 = "false"
scale_type_x1 = "source"
scale_x1 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y1 = "source"
scale_y1 = "1.000000"
shader2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/afterglow0.slang"
filter_linear2 = "true"
wrap_mode2 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input2 = "false"
alias2 = "AfterglowPass"
float_framebuffer2 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer2 = "false"
scale_type_x2 = "source"
scale_x2 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y2 = "source"
scale_y2 = "1.000000"
shader3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/grade/pre-shaders-afterglow-grade.slang"
filter_linear3 = "true"
wrap_mode3 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input3 = "false"
alias3 = "PrePass0"
float_framebuffer3 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer3 = "false"
scale_type_x3 = "source"
scale_x3 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y3 = "source"
scale_y3 = "1.000000"
shader4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/ntsc/ntsc-pass1.slang"
filter_linear4 = "false"
wrap_mode4 = "clamp_to_border"
frame_count_mod4 = "2"
mipmap_input4 = "false"
alias4 = ""
float_framebuffer4 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer4 = "false"
scale_type_x4 = "source"
scale_x4 = "4.000000"
scale_type_y4 = "source"
scale_y4 = "1.000000"
shader5 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/ntsc/ntsc-pass2.slang"
filter_linear5 = "true"
wrap_mode5 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input5 = "false"
alias5 = ""
float_framebuffer5 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer5 = "false"
scale_type_x5 = "source"
scale_x5 = "0.500000"
scale_type_y5 = "source"
scale_y5 = "1.000000"
shader6 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/custom-fast-sharpen.slang"
filter_linear6 = "true"
wrap_mode6 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input6 = "false"
alias6 = "NtscPass"
float_framebuffer6 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer6 = "false"
scale_type_x6 = "source"
scale_x6 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y6 = "source"
scale_y6 = "1.000000"
shader7 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/convert-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear7 = "true"
wrap_mode7 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input7 = "false"
alias7 = ""
float_framebuffer7 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer7 = "false"
scale_type_x7 = "source"
scale_x7 = "0.500000"
scale_type_y7 = "source"
scale_y7 = "1.000000"
shader8 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear8 = "true"
wrap_mode8 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input8 = "true"
alias8 = "PrePass"
float_framebuffer8 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer8 = "false"
scale_type_x8 = "source"
scale_x8 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y8 = "source"
scale_y8 = "1.000000"
shader9 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/avg-lum-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear9 = "true"
wrap_mode9 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input9 = "true"
alias9 = "AvgLumPass"
float_framebuffer9 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer9 = "false"
scale_type_x9 = "source"
scale_x9 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y9 = "source"
scale_y9 = "1.000000"
shader10 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/linearize-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear10 = "true"
wrap_mode10 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input10 = "false"
alias10 = "LinearizePass"
float_framebuffer10 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer10 = "false"
scale_type_x10 = "source"
scale_x10 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y10 = "source"
scale_y10 = "1.000000"
shader11 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear11 = "true"
wrap_mode11 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input11 = "false"
alias11 = ""
float_framebuffer11 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer11 = "false"
scale_type_x11 = "absolute"
scale_x11 = "640"
scale_type_y11 = "source"
scale_y11 = "1.000000"
shader12 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_vertical.slang"
filter_linear12 = "true"
wrap_mode12 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input12 = "false"
alias12 = "GlowPass"
float_framebuffer12 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer12 = "false"
scale_type_x12 = "absolute"
scale_x12 = "640"
scale_type_y12 = "absolute"
scale_y12 = "480"
shader13 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear13 = "true"
wrap_mode13 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input13 = "false"
alias13 = ""
float_framebuffer13 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer13 = "false"
scale_type_x13 = "absolute"
scale_x13 = "640"
scale_type_y13 = "absolute"
scale_y13 = "480"
shader14 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_vertical.slang"
filter_linear14 = "true"
wrap_mode14 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input14 = "false"
alias14 = "BloomPass"
float_framebuffer14 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer14 = "false"
scale_type_x14 = "absolute"
scale_x14 = "640"
scale_type_y14 = "absolute"
scale_y14 = "480"
shader15 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/crt-guest-advanced-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear15 = "true"
wrap_mode15 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input15 = "false"
alias15 = ""
float_framebuffer15 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer15 = "false"
scale_type_x15 = "viewport"
scale_x15 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y15 = "viewport"
scale_y15 = "1.000000"
shader16 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/deconvergence-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear16 = "true"
wrap_mode16 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input16 = "false"
alias16 = ""
float_framebuffer16 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer16 = "false"
scale_type_x16 = "viewport"
scale_x16 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y16 = "viewport"
scale_y16 = "1.000000"
g_crtgamut = "1.000000"
g_vignette = "0.000000"
g_cntrst = "0.400000"
quality = "-1.000000"
cust_fringing = "1.000000"
cust_artifacting = "2.000000"
SHARPEN = "2.000000"
CONTR = "0.200000"
blendMode = "0.000000"
SIGMA_VB = "0.750000"
bloom = "-0.700000"
halation = "0.100000"
gamma_c = "1.360000"
brightboost = "1.300001"
brightboost1 = "1.250000"
gsl = "-1.000000"
s_sharp = "1.500000"
ring = "1.500000"
warpX = "0.050000"
warpY = "0.070000"
csize = "0.080000"
bsize1 = "0.300000"
shadowMask = "10.000000"
maskstr = "1.000000"
slotmask = "1.000000"
slotmask1 = "1.000000"
slotwidth = "4.000000"
double_slot = "2.000000"
mclip = "0.350000"
gamma_out = "2.000000"
deconrry = "1.250000"
deconrby = "-1.250000"
decons = "1.400000"
addnoised = "-0.100000"
noiseresd = "1.000000"
noisetype = "1.000000"
post_br = "1.100000"
textures = "SamplerLUT1;SamplerLUT2;SamplerLUT3;SamplerLUT4"
SamplerLUT1 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT1_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT1_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT1_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/inv-trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT2_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT2_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT2_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/nec-lut.png"
SamplerLUT3_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT3_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT3_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/ntsc-lut.png"
SamplerLUT4_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT4_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT4_mipmap = "false"
4 Likes

@guest.r Blend Mode 2 seems to disable interlacing, is this a bug or an intended behavior?

1 Like

It’s a feature, not a bug. With blend mode 2.0 and standard ntsc shader preset the linearize/interlacing pass is skipped due a different scaling design. But you can use interlacing and blend mode 2.0 with the ntsc-fast preset.

3 Likes

Ok here’s another one, I went and tried that sgenpt-mix again but this time I also added jinc2-dedither into the chain as well and I think it looks a lot better now. Here’s my previous settings again:

Here’s how it looks now:

For dithering here’s my previous settings:

Here’s how it looks now:

I ended up ditching the waterfall rainbow look and it’s not blended as soft as it was before but I’ll take that trade off for a clearer image any day.

I also went and tried it out on my “arcade” presets and got good results with the dithering now. Here’s Mega Man X4 for Sega Saturn previous settings:

Here’s how it looks now:

You can preview these settings before I eventually post them in the show off thread. I may or not do more tweaking but I’ll see by tomorrow.

8/16 bit preset:

shaders = "17"
shader0 = "shaders_slang/dithering/shaders/jinc2-dedither.slang"
filter_linear0 = "true"
wrap_mode0 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input0 = "false"
alias0 = ""
float_framebuffer0 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer0 = "false"
scale_type_x0 = "source"
scale_x0 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y0 = "source"
scale_y0 = "1.000000"
shader1 = "shaders_slang/dithering/shaders/sgenpt-mix.slang"
filter_linear1 = "false"
wrap_mode1 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input1 = "false"
alias1 = "StockPass"
float_framebuffer1 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer1 = "false"
scale_type_x1 = "source"
scale_x1 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y1 = "source"
scale_y1 = "1.000000"
shader2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/afterglow0.slang"
filter_linear2 = "true"
wrap_mode2 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input2 = "false"
alias2 = "AfterglowPass"
float_framebuffer2 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer2 = "false"
scale_type_x2 = "source"
scale_x2 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y2 = "source"
scale_y2 = "1.000000"
shader3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/grade/pre-shaders-afterglow-grade.slang"
filter_linear3 = "true"
wrap_mode3 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input3 = "false"
alias3 = "PrePass0"
float_framebuffer3 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer3 = "false"
scale_type_x3 = "source"
scale_x3 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y3 = "source"
scale_y3 = "1.000000"
shader4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/ntsc/ntsc-pass1.slang"
filter_linear4 = "false"
wrap_mode4 = "clamp_to_border"
frame_count_mod4 = "2"
mipmap_input4 = "false"
alias4 = ""
float_framebuffer4 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer4 = "false"
scale_type_x4 = "source"
scale_x4 = "4.000000"
scale_type_y4 = "source"
scale_y4 = "1.000000"
shader5 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/ntsc/ntsc-pass2.slang"
filter_linear5 = "true"
wrap_mode5 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input5 = "false"
alias5 = ""
float_framebuffer5 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer5 = "false"
scale_type_x5 = "source"
scale_x5 = "0.500000"
scale_type_y5 = "source"
scale_y5 = "1.000000"
shader6 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/custom-fast-sharpen.slang"
filter_linear6 = "true"
wrap_mode6 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input6 = "false"
alias6 = "NtscPass"
float_framebuffer6 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer6 = "false"
scale_type_x6 = "source"
scale_x6 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y6 = "source"
scale_y6 = "1.000000"
shader7 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/convert-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear7 = "true"
wrap_mode7 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input7 = "false"
alias7 = ""
float_framebuffer7 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer7 = "false"
scale_type_x7 = "source"
scale_x7 = "0.500000"
scale_type_y7 = "source"
scale_y7 = "1.000000"
shader8 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear8 = "true"
wrap_mode8 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input8 = "true"
alias8 = "PrePass"
float_framebuffer8 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer8 = "false"
scale_type_x8 = "source"
scale_x8 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y8 = "source"
scale_y8 = "1.000000"
shader9 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/avg-lum-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear9 = "true"
wrap_mode9 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input9 = "true"
alias9 = "AvgLumPass"
float_framebuffer9 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer9 = "false"
scale_type_x9 = "source"
scale_x9 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y9 = "source"
scale_y9 = "1.000000"
shader10 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/linearize-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear10 = "true"
wrap_mode10 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input10 = "false"
alias10 = "LinearizePass"
float_framebuffer10 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer10 = "false"
scale_type_x10 = "source"
scale_x10 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y10 = "source"
scale_y10 = "1.000000"
shader11 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear11 = "true"
wrap_mode11 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input11 = "false"
alias11 = ""
float_framebuffer11 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer11 = "false"
scale_type_x11 = "absolute"
scale_x11 = "640"
scale_type_y11 = "source"
scale_y11 = "1.000000"
shader12 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_vertical.slang"
filter_linear12 = "true"
wrap_mode12 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input12 = "false"
alias12 = "GlowPass"
float_framebuffer12 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer12 = "false"
scale_type_x12 = "absolute"
scale_x12 = "640"
scale_type_y12 = "absolute"
scale_y12 = "480"
shader13 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear13 = "true"
wrap_mode13 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input13 = "false"
alias13 = ""
float_framebuffer13 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer13 = "false"
scale_type_x13 = "absolute"
scale_x13 = "640"
scale_type_y13 = "absolute"
scale_y13 = "480"
shader14 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_vertical.slang"
filter_linear14 = "true"
wrap_mode14 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input14 = "false"
alias14 = "BloomPass"
float_framebuffer14 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer14 = "false"
scale_type_x14 = "absolute"
scale_x14 = "640"
scale_type_y14 = "absolute"
scale_y14 = "480"
shader15 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/crt-guest-advanced-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear15 = "true"
wrap_mode15 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input15 = "false"
alias15 = ""
float_framebuffer15 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer15 = "false"
scale_type_x15 = "viewport"
scale_x15 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y15 = "viewport"
scale_y15 = "1.000000"
shader16 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/deconvergence-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear16 = "true"
wrap_mode16 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input16 = "false"
alias16 = ""
float_framebuffer16 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer16 = "false"
scale_type_x16 = "viewport"
scale_x16 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y16 = "viewport"
scale_y16 = "1.000000"
JINC_SHARP = "3.000000"
SGPT_BLEND_LEVEL = "0.000000"
g_crtgamut = "1.000000"
g_vignette = "0.000000"
g_cntrst = "0.400000"
ntsc_scale = "1.599999"
SHARPEN = "2.000000"
blendMode = "0.000000"
SIGMA_VB = "0.750000"
bloom = "-0.700000"
halation = "0.100000"
gamma_c = "1.360000"
brightboost = "1.300000"
brightboost1 = "1.250000"
gsl = "-1.000000"
h_sharp = "1.100000"
s_sharp = "1.500000"
ring = "0.100000"
warpX = "0.050000"
warpY = "0.070000"
csize = "0.080000"
bsize1 = "0.300000"
shadowMask = "10.000000"
maskstr = "1.000000"
slotmask = "1.000000"
slotmask1 = "1.000000"
slotwidth = "4.000000"
double_slot = "2.000000"
mclip = "0.350000"
gamma_out = "2.000000"
deconrry = "1.250000"
deconrby = "-1.250000"
decons = "1.400000"
addnoised = "-0.100000"
noiseresd = "1.000000"
noisetype = "1.000000"
post_br = "1.100000"
textures = "SamplerLUT1;SamplerLUT2;SamplerLUT3;SamplerLUT4"
SamplerLUT1 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT1_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT1_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT1_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/inv-trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT2_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT2_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT2_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/nec-lut.png"
SamplerLUT3_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT3_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT3_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/ntsc-lut.png"
SamplerLUT4_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT4_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT4_mipmap = "false"

Arcade preset:

shaders = "17"
shader0 = "shaders_slang/dithering/shaders/jinc2-dedither.slang"
filter_linear0 = "true"
wrap_mode0 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input0 = "false"
alias0 = ""
float_framebuffer0 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer0 = "false"
scale_type_x0 = "source"
scale_x0 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y0 = "source"
scale_y0 = "1.000000"
shader1 = "shaders_slang/dithering/shaders/sgenpt-mix.slang"
filter_linear1 = "false"
wrap_mode1 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input1 = "false"
alias1 = "StockPass"
float_framebuffer1 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer1 = "false"
scale_type_x1 = "source"
scale_x1 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y1 = "source"
scale_y1 = "1.000000"
shader2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/afterglow0.slang"
filter_linear2 = "true"
wrap_mode2 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input2 = "false"
alias2 = "AfterglowPass"
float_framebuffer2 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer2 = "false"
scale_type_x2 = "source"
scale_x2 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y2 = "source"
scale_y2 = "1.000000"
shader3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/grade/pre-shaders-afterglow-grade.slang"
filter_linear3 = "true"
wrap_mode3 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input3 = "false"
alias3 = "PrePass0"
float_framebuffer3 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer3 = "false"
scale_type_x3 = "source"
scale_x3 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y3 = "source"
scale_y3 = "1.000000"
shader4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/ntsc/ntsc-pass1.slang"
filter_linear4 = "false"
wrap_mode4 = "clamp_to_border"
frame_count_mod4 = "2"
mipmap_input4 = "false"
alias4 = ""
float_framebuffer4 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer4 = "false"
scale_type_x4 = "source"
scale_x4 = "4.000000"
scale_type_y4 = "source"
scale_y4 = "1.000000"
shader5 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/ntsc/ntsc-pass2.slang"
filter_linear5 = "true"
wrap_mode5 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input5 = "false"
alias5 = ""
float_framebuffer5 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer5 = "false"
scale_type_x5 = "source"
scale_x5 = "0.500000"
scale_type_y5 = "source"
scale_y5 = "1.000000"
shader6 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/custom-fast-sharpen.slang"
filter_linear6 = "true"
wrap_mode6 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input6 = "false"
alias6 = "NtscPass"
float_framebuffer6 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer6 = "false"
scale_type_x6 = "source"
scale_x6 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y6 = "source"
scale_y6 = "1.000000"
shader7 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/convert-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear7 = "true"
wrap_mode7 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input7 = "false"
alias7 = ""
float_framebuffer7 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer7 = "false"
scale_type_x7 = "source"
scale_x7 = "0.500000"
scale_type_y7 = "source"
scale_y7 = "1.000000"
shader8 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/stock.slang"
filter_linear8 = "true"
wrap_mode8 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input8 = "true"
alias8 = "PrePass"
float_framebuffer8 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer8 = "false"
scale_type_x8 = "source"
scale_x8 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y8 = "source"
scale_y8 = "1.000000"
shader9 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/avg-lum-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear9 = "true"
wrap_mode9 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input9 = "true"
alias9 = "AvgLumPass"
float_framebuffer9 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer9 = "false"
scale_type_x9 = "source"
scale_x9 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y9 = "source"
scale_y9 = "1.000000"
shader10 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/linearize-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear10 = "true"
wrap_mode10 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input10 = "false"
alias10 = "LinearizePass"
float_framebuffer10 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer10 = "false"
scale_type_x10 = "source"
scale_x10 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y10 = "source"
scale_y10 = "1.000000"
shader11 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear11 = "true"
wrap_mode11 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input11 = "false"
alias11 = ""
float_framebuffer11 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer11 = "false"
scale_type_x11 = "absolute"
scale_x11 = "640"
scale_type_y11 = "source"
scale_y11 = "1.000000"
shader12 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/gaussian_vertical.slang"
filter_linear12 = "true"
wrap_mode12 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input12 = "false"
alias12 = "GlowPass"
float_framebuffer12 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer12 = "false"
scale_type_x12 = "absolute"
scale_x12 = "640"
scale_type_y12 = "absolute"
scale_y12 = "480"
shader13 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_horizontal.slang"
filter_linear13 = "true"
wrap_mode13 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input13 = "false"
alias13 = ""
float_framebuffer13 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer13 = "false"
scale_type_x13 = "absolute"
scale_x13 = "640"
scale_type_y13 = "absolute"
scale_y13 = "480"
shader14 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/bloom_vertical.slang"
filter_linear14 = "true"
wrap_mode14 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input14 = "false"
alias14 = "BloomPass"
float_framebuffer14 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer14 = "false"
scale_type_x14 = "absolute"
scale_x14 = "640"
scale_type_y14 = "absolute"
scale_y14 = "480"
shader15 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/crt-guest-advanced-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear15 = "true"
wrap_mode15 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input15 = "false"
alias15 = ""
float_framebuffer15 = "true"
srgb_framebuffer15 = "false"
scale_type_x15 = "viewport"
scale_x15 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y15 = "viewport"
scale_y15 = "1.000000"
shader16 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/deconvergence-ntsc.slang"
filter_linear16 = "true"
wrap_mode16 = "clamp_to_border"
mipmap_input16 = "false"
alias16 = ""
float_framebuffer16 = "false"
srgb_framebuffer16 = "false"
scale_type_x16 = "viewport"
scale_x16 = "1.000000"
scale_type_y16 = "viewport"
scale_y16 = "1.000000"
JINC_SHARP = "3.000000"
SGPT_BLEND_OPTION = "0.000000"
SGPT_BLEND_LEVEL = "0.000000"
g_signal_type = "0.000000"
g_crtgamut = "1.000000"
g_vignette = "0.000000"
g_cntrst = "0.400000"
wp_temperature = "11504.000000"
quality = "0.000000"
ntsc_phase = "3.000000"
ntsc_scale = "1.599999"
SHARPEN = "2.000000"
blendMode = "2.000000"
SIGMA_VB = "0.750000"
bloom = "-0.700000"
halation = "0.100000"
gamma_c = "1.360000"
brightboost = "1.300000"
brightboost1 = "1.250000"
gsl = "-1.000000"
h_sharp = "1.100000"
s_sharp = "1.500000"
ring = "0.100000"
warpX = "0.050000"
warpY = "0.070000"
csize = "0.080000"
bsize1 = "0.300000"
shadowMask = "10.000000"
maskstr = "1.000000"
slotmask = "1.000000"
slotmask1 = "1.000000"
slotwidth = "4.000000"
double_slot = "2.000000"
mclip = "0.350000"
gamma_out = "2.000000"
deconrry = "1.250000"
deconrby = "-1.250000"
decons = "1.400000"
post_br = "1.100000"
textures = "SamplerLUT1;SamplerLUT2;SamplerLUT3;SamplerLUT4"
SamplerLUT1 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT1_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT1_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT1_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT2 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/inv-trinitron-lut.png"
SamplerLUT2_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT2_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT2_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT3 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/nec-lut.png"
SamplerLUT3_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT3_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT3_mipmap = "false"
SamplerLUT4 = "shaders_slang/crt/shaders/guest/advanced/lut/ntsc-lut.png"
SamplerLUT4_linear = "true"
SamplerLUT4_wrap_mode = "clamp_to_border"
SamplerLUT4_mipmap = "false"
7 Likes

Guest would it be possible to merge that mame_ntsc pass from the mame_hlsl folder into your advanced ntsc shader? I think that’s the only shader out of all crt shaders that actually does the rainbow banding correctly and I would love to see that setting incorporated into yours.

3 Likes

As an additional comment, I have a NES connected through RF-Switch still up to date and it exposes intense Rainbow colors. Through the NES cores you can get quite convincing results compared to my console just with the Blargg composite video filter in options OR crt.guest.r presets which already fit very well for NES at least.

However, in my experience there’s not such a thing about the rainbow banding that can be achieved through shaders except this very close enough result coming from the mame_hlsl passes (in Sega Genesis department).

2 Likes

Let’s see what happens, if guest pulls this off that’ll only further cement his shader as the greatest of all time. I’m waiting to update my shaders until further notice on this

2 Likes

Doesn’t MDAPT Mode 3 also de-dither “jail bars” (Sonic Waterfall) pretty well? It’s what I use for my Blending and Transparency preset.

Feel free to correct me if I might have misunderstood something.

I second that motion!

It can be merged already with replacing the first two stock passes, but in general i try to avoid too many mainstream presets. Probably i’ll tweak the existing ntsc shaders for a bit more sharpness though. Screenshots of genesis games do indeed show the diagonal banding / rainbow effect, while with current ntsc shaders it’s a temporal horizontal effect (2-phase encoding/decoding).

It seems that GDAPT does a great job too with some parameter tweaks, and it’s only a 2-pass shader. Jinc2 and similar de-dithers can’t do it properly and that’s what i had in mind. :thinking:

5 Likes

Hi @guest.r,

I came across some interesting reading. I immediately thought this might be of interest to your shader. Note that the documents are from 2011, so it surpasses sRGB specification by quite some time.

SpectraCal’s Director of Software Development, Joel Barsotti, argues that the BT. 1886 gamma function (EOTF) more accurately matches legacy CRT technology than previous power law based functions. The argument is that it properly takes into account the legacy “contrast” and “brightness” controls on CRTs.

I was especially surprised by how much focus there is in the documents on matching legacy CRT monitors.

In a Calman FAQ document https://kb.portrait.com/help/bt-1886-10-questions-10-answers some of the advantages are mentioned.

BT.1886 offers several clear advantages over previous practice. First, BT.1886 more closely mimics the behavior of CRTs than previous power functions

Previous gamma functions additionally do not adequately account for independent adjustment of brightness and contrast controls on a display.

BT.1886 makes little difference at the bright end of the gray scale, but it makes a substantial difference at the black end.

Note these documents are from 2011, so are surpassing the sRGB spec / considered a worthwhile improvement on sRGB EOTF.

If you’re interested, please see Annex 1 on page 2 and Appendix 1 (Informative) EOTF-CRT matching on page 3 of the ITU recommendation document: https://www.itu.int/dms_pubrec/itu-r/rec/bt/R-REC-BT.1886-0-201103-I!!PDF-E.pdf

For the shader I was especially triggered by the comments in Appendix 1 (Informative) EOTF-CRT matching, which focuses on matching a CRT for which you know (or can measure) the black level and brightness level:

The EOTF specified in Annex 1 is considered to be a satisfactory, but not exact, match to the characteristic of an actual CRT. When it is desired to match a CRT, the Lw and LB parameters of the EOTF can be set to the corresponding values of the CRT that are being matched.

Do you think that this BT. 1886 implementation of contrast and brightness control directly with the EOTF could improve on the current brightness and contrast controls in the shader?

EDIT: In appendix 2 there’s also the noteworthy comment:

In measuring the EOTF of a large number of CRTs it was determined that the EOTF of the CRT was in fact highly variable when the brightness/contrast was adjusted, it is therefore not possible to 100% emulate CRT capability (or limitations). Users of this Recommendation in combination with the new technologies should be able to achieve a higher degree of image presentation repeatability than that offered in the past.

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I took some looks to the paper and other documentation and i feel somewhat obliged to clarify some issues:

The ‘GDV’ shader with it’s default settings is gamma neutral. It means that which source images are provided, they get out neutral (luminatively same) if other settings are neutral (mask, brightness controls…). The shader’s gamma purpose has basically nothing to do directly with LCD gamma, although different values of input/output gamma can compensate odd gamma feels of the ‘LCD’.

This means that the gamma function can have different application purposes. For consistent looks colors in the shader need to be interpolated and there are several reasons the shader interpolates in linear space, like to match the ‘crt horizontal interpolation’, shape the scanline interpolation respectively, define the glow effect etc.

I’m saying that there is nothing wrong with current gamma implementation as long as the precision offered by the buffer used is sufficient.

With my experimenting with the sRGB 2.4 gamma and buffer the only practically visible difference could be at pixel junctions, but nothing positively observable. The negative is that the user is limited to both gamma values of 2.4, glow looks much worse etc.

The standard for the sRGB buffer was developed with memory savings in mind while still providing decent results. Today 16 bit float buffers (per component) are nothing uncommon and shader registers / processors operate with 32 bit floating precision (mainstream).

The main benefit there could be with the BT.1886 gamma are better contrast controls, but not to forget there are two displays to be considered: target crt and the user’s display. The general approach is simple enough i guess, even if there are more parameters, for a reasonable crt feel.

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Proof I could get about the Rainbow banding in Sega Genesis games: (@sonkun)

  1. Real hardware Sega Genesis (model 1) VS RetroArch Genesis Plus GX (my rainbow sega preset v2.7)

  1. Real console proof by HunterK vs some fast tweak I did to replicate with mame_hlsl for GenesisPlusGX core

https://www.chrismcovell.com/gotRGB/screenshots.html

Rainbow sega preset available in here: Rainbow with composite - MOD preset for Sega Genesis Games

  1. More serious dithering + rainbow effect exposure from real Genesis console:
  1. This is some old preset named rainbow sega v3.0 which gets some Rainbow comparison to real Genesis console:
  1. Some other video comparison from rainbow sega v4.0 and 4.1 presets I did to compare Rainbow effect with original Genesis console model 2

some other video samples for the original Rainbow looking:

https://youtu.be/SwotQNShPvs?t=380 (model 2)

  1. some of my attempts to replicate this source video sample with my preset v6.291

https://youtu.be/EtNjgW5RtyI?t=365 (Genesis Model 1 VA6.8 )

  1. All the NTSC-Rainbow intended shaders available I have tested around with the exception of mame_hlsl, actually have delivered to me a wrong Rainbow banding in Streets of Rage 2 for the Genesis console. Which the results are somehow similar to this:

Big thanks to the author from this video that delivers such a wonderful Streets of Rage 2 gameplay demostration to check the proper Rainbow:

https://youtu.be/bpqmPjpfN1k?t=342 (Genesis Model 2 with Composite-video)

This is a little proof of how the same game look like with my preset rainbow sega v6.26:

Many thanks to all the nice people who recorded all of these great classic games and served for this case situation.

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