Thank you both for your answers. I’ll try your new version (I already liked the previous one a lot), Hari-82, and I’ll also be attentive to your new presets, Nesguy.
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If anyone has ever felt the need to print a screenshot while using a preset that has full mask and scanline strength, you might have noticed that it’s almost impossible to do so without some significant modification to the image or the preset.
This preset is one answer to that. It is also a modern alternative to my venerable RGB_SHARP/SMOOTH presets which aren’t the most realistic to me but still appear to be appreciated by many retro-gamers.
So without further ado, I present to you:
CyberLab_Upscaled_No_Border.slangp
Tap on image then zoom in for best viewing. Desktop users, right click then Open in New Tab, then press F11 for FullScreen. Non 4K users, zoom in until it looks correct.
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This is the thread for showing off right?
Tap on image then zoom in for best viewing. Desktop users, right click then Open in New Tab, then press F11 for FullScreen. Non 4K users, zoom in until it looks correct.
CyberLab_FFMPEG.slangp
CyberLab_Video_Widescreen.slangp
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Just … wow, dude. That is incredible.
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Hello, new user here. I was just reading the conversation about the TV color levels from a few days ago and I wondered if it provides the accurate CRT color emulation when used with PCSX2. What I was thinking is that the PCSX2 outputs full RGB (if I am not mistaken; someone correct me if I’m wrong) just like the actual PS2, and what it means is that the PS2 sends full RGB signal to a limited RGB TV, therefore clipping some of the blacks, which is exactly what we would be doing with the tvout-tweaks applied on top of the PCSX2. Just throwing this idea in, so if someone could maybe confirm if I’m right or not, it would be really appreciated.
Well, I think we can close the book on TVOutTweak’s TV Color Levels parameter being accurate to real hardware on a CRT, at least using RGB:
This is in reference to bsnes’s gamma ramp, but TV Color Levels does something very similar in that exact same shot per my testing, so I think it’s safe to say that it’s not accurate to use when going for an RGB look. That said, the jury may still be out when it comes to NTSC composite or S-video. I have seen some pictures of FFVI taken using S-video where the colors of one particular dark border area don’t appear to be clipped out of existence:
However, TV Color Levels doesn’t completely eliminate those, either, just makes them much darker. So yeah, a bit more investigation may be in order for the purposes of NTSC color emulation.
Oh, and while we’re on the subject of NTSC colors, I have to say a lot of these screenshots, including the Lost Vikings and FFVI shots above, have VERY different colors to what you get out of an emulator. They’re not just more vibrant: blues in particular appear much more saturated. I can sort of approximate the colors using the NTSC LUT in Guest-Advanced, together with the Trinitron color profile, but it still falls a bit short, though the fact the NTSC LUT appears to be the closest might say something. It certainly looks nice, though:
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Well, that makes sense. Now I’m wondering if PS2 actually outputs 16-235, in which case it would produce “correct” look on a 16-235 TV, without any crushed blacks. Which would make it look similar to PCSX2 without color levels adjustment, at least whan it comes to luma. Maybe a gamma adjustment could be applied to emulate CRT gamma curve and better black levels. Playing on a rather mediocre LCD, so I’m trying to achieve as accurate results as I can 
Well done @RetroGames4K, @guest.r and @HyperspaceMadness et al!
It seems as though CRT Shaders (in the right hands) have finally passed the “Coke vs Pepsi” blind test!
This is somewhat of a milestone achievement!
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As much as I love, use and enjoy shaders, the real test would be a real, in presence, live comparison. but I think the road is still very long… masks close up don`t say much about the whole image and general “effect” . Just my opinion!
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Wow!. That really looks really good.Looks like a trinitron.
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Emulating a low end Trinitron around 300 tvl can be done even on 1080p. Games with no scrolling like e.g. Bubble bobble, Cabal etc are pretty close. I know because I have them side by side a Trinitron and my laptop. Of course Crt is way more bright.
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You should check out the side by side comparisons in the Megatron thread. Both photos taken with the same camera settings. The last hurdle to clear is motion clarity, I don’t know if BFI @ 120Hz is enough to preserve mask detail in all situations
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What I’m saying is that still images don’t tell the whole story, when playing a game other than the mask, factors like brightness (and the way it shows), contrast, color rendition, glow and motion they all make the final result. Don’t misunderstand me, I only use modern display and shaders are a real game-changer, plus from many other point of view I prefer modern monitors for many other reasons (power consumptions, easy of use with modern hardware, space and maintenance are the main ones).
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I used to think that the loss of the mask detail during background scrolling or sprite movement was a by product of slow response times or from the sample and hold technology but I’ve put this to the test and confirmed that this is all happening in our eyes and brains and not at the display level. So in other words it’s an optical illusion.
Depending on how you focus on the screen or if you deliberately try to follow the scrolling, you’ll see that in fact the mask never disappears.
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You mean the mask never disappears at 60Hz? Someone better inform Blur Busters that sample and hold blur isn’t real
It doesn’t disappear but it gets blurred together and loses definition.
Respectfully, there’s a large branch of display science dedicated to this very thing, I highly doubt this is all in our heads.
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For masks, at least, they’re static content, so they shouldn’t really get blurred, right?
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Ok so I can finally see this. I had to use a mask size of 2, black and white aperture grille (1080p). If you look at the edges you can still see the mask while it appears to disappear if you’re looking at the entire screen, so yes there is some kind of persistence of vision optical illusion thing going on. I retract my previous comment! Does it work the same on a CRT?
In any case we still need BFI or something to mitigate the blur with moving objects. When eye tracking an individual object on a CRT, it’s crystal clear. Even BFI @120Hz isn’t enough to completely match the CRT’s motion clarity.
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oh yeah, hundred percent. Motion clarity is definitely still an issue.
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…And the results are in:
13 got it correct, while 16 didn’t!
Most folks seemed to have really enjoyed the challenge though!
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Thanks @RetroGames4K! That was something I was experimenting with a very long time ago that I decided I would share with the community.
It’s probably a good idea to test your presets with video as well as games because you might notice things that you otherwise might have missed using games alone.
If only the FFMPEG core could work as well as something like MPC-HC/LAV Filters.
I think we’re lacking a bit in the video playback category. Hopefully at some point someone can give it an overhaul or develop a new video playback core that just works like any other normal media player.
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