RetroArch/Core → Scaling!

RetroArch Additions Shaders
#21

Update: Found out that 240pSuite is some sort homebrew made for consoles for well… “screentesting” purpose :grinning:

But err… when RA doesn’t add the *.sfc nor *.cue (psx) roms to my playlists for some reason !

EDIT : To anyone who’s following this and is new at this… → HERE ← is an very usefull informative utube flick that explains pretty much how bad Flatscreens are for handling Scanlines and what not… that vid pretty much explains what i have experienced… And Input Lag is another BIG thing that i have noticed !! Especially on TrueMotion → Enabled Flatscreens :flushed: LoL !

so…i keep you posted…

#22

Yes 240pSuite is a test rom, it’s available in the Retroarch content downloader for SNES and other consoles.

The GPU screenshot option is in video settings. GPU screenshot ‘off’ will take the raw image before any scaling and processing. GPU screenshot ‘on’ will take the screenshot as retroarch is outputing to your display.

With both we can check the scaling and/or cropping done to the original image and where the scanlines are exactly.

#23

Would it be an non-gpu screenshot if i used “printscreen” you think? If i had to guess, i think it still is since its read back from the OS mem , or GPU vram… i don’t know for sure!

First, i’ll try to get this TestSuite up and running that i have DL through Content-downloader … But both TestSuite for PSX and SNES roms don’t liked to be scanned by RA :sweat_smile:

I don’t find it in the playlists… Oh well, i’ll use stand alone emu to see if i can load the homebrew in there …

cheers, TD

#24

No, yo need to change the option in video settings.

Just load the roms directly from the downloads folder, using playlists is entirely optional.

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#25

Sure enough, that ↑ seems to be the only way to run the romsuite…

so i have loaded the suite using BeetlHW → ALL DEFAULT settings …

And, i took 2 screenies (gpu & non-gpu) using 240psxSuite → Overscan Test …
Since, the overscan setting in Emu’s is key appearantly like i have said and explained the reason why …

When you check the shots, you"ll see nothing unusuall about the scanlines… they are all evenly spaced !! But, i have added an screenshot of the psx bootscreen ←, where you can see the black banding … !!

That’s another thing, you can’t reproduce this by watching static / still image … You need to take an screenshot from active running screen you if you know what i mean, ONLY then scanlines are eratic moving up / down in pairs !!

I don’t know how else to explain…

Shot 1 (gpu)↓

Shot 2 (non-gpu)↓

Shot 3 (bootscreen - non-gpu)↓ mixed people names

Again, shots taken while using shaders for scanline simulation ofcourse… … i told you wouldn’t see any difference between non-gpu & gpu screenie :sweat_smile: Cheers, TD

#26

WEIRD ↑… on my screen, scanlines in screens 1 & 2 LOOKS just perfectly alighned (wich obviously is not , hence bootscreen) !!

And as soon, i’ll enable the setting overscan cropp to → static in BeetleHW, NO MORE DARK foes to combat :smile: :ok_hand:

Again, iam telling yall… something is off … and it isnt this duck !!

Cheers,

#27

Don’t use Beetle HW, use Beetle SW for these screenshots. Non-GPU won’t get the raw image with cores that use hardware rendering.

The bootscreen is double resolution natively, its expected that some scanline shader’s won’t process it as you expect.

#28

Realy … :smirk: !?

Once again, i’ll post 4 screenies gpu & non-gpu , and the latter are 2 screenies again gpu & non-gpu, but with overscan cropp set to → Static AND (important) taken in BeetleSW this time :roll_eyes: …

Shot 1 (gpu)↓

Shot 2 (non-gpu)↓

Shot 3 (gpu → static) pic hosting websites

Shot 4 (non-gpu → static)

So, you see… Once diz duck pummels Overscan Cropp settings in ANY emu, problems solved :smile: :ok_hand:

have an blasting time…

cheers, TD

#29

…odd… the screenshots posted don’t look the same like on my screen here !!

Therefor, here’s the LINK to with the original screenies … one is with dynamic (emu default ) overscan… and the other static scan…

And again, you see the difference very difficult in 240pSuite for some reason !!

EDIT: kay, in Snes Suite it’s captured like it looks on my screen :hot_face:

I will show you the difference between using emu’s overscan cropped default settings and altrenate overscan settings !!

This is how the test pattern looks using Snes Overscan cropp at default → 8px !! ↓ photo for upload

Now, at 0px :smirk: :ok_hand:

And that setting folks ↑ is pretty much consistent in all emu’s i’ve tried so far …

And lastly , it’s no use to take non-gpu screenshot, because you can’t make heads or tails of it…
Check this, non-gpu screenie from snes suite :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

There you have it… something about Overscan Cropp is off when used with certain shaders or combination of shaders !!

cheers, TD

#30

… so yeah, 240ptest suite just makes things more complicated !! In reality, testsuite is just a game you start up with the graphical look and feel you will get in every game.

Because, the right settings for your screen ALL STARTS in the emulator/RA to begin with ! And after that, when you change video settings in one game doesn’t mean it will look like that in other games !! It’s game depended then !!

So yeah the cause and sollution at the same time is to be found in RA, the core core core :smile: and / or Shader files !!

#31

Hi Duck, I’m looking at the image that has evenly spaced scanlines:

240p-Suite-221229-164250-static.png

It looks OK but it has one scanline for every three lines. This image is scaled 4.5 times (224 x 4.5 = 1008, without the black bars).

I’m not sure what type of image you are trying to achieve but this looks like a wrong shader setup to me. A scanline shader should have one scanline for every line of the original raw image.

#32

I guess that’s what i wos looking for … I mean, to me it looks great , watching it 10 inches from the screen … And it sure looks awesome watching it 5 feet from the big screen …

but are you sure, it’s every 3 three lines ? I mean , look at this ↓ screenie i have posted awhile ago… Thats ↓ the image iam looking for (thin scanlines, and like nice rounded polished/washed finishing touch to the image kind of , you know)

&↓ :kissing_heart:

I mean, scanlines looks nice and evenly spaced… right?
Even though it’s drawn every few lines like you’ve said !!
But then again, maybe it’s drawn every xx lines because the scanlines are very small/thin… just the way diz duck likes it :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :ok_hand:

Running games on big screen it sure looks nice, especialy in SNES games :kissing_smiling_eyes:

But i trust you get what i mean by the main difference about the scanline distribution when you overlook and keep default “cropped overscan” settings in pretty much any emulator i have tried to reproduce this issue !!

It alway’s come down to that one setting, to rectify this phenomenon !! → “Overscan Cropp” !!! In BeetleHW / SW you have the option between , none, static, dynamic … in Bsnes just OFF or 8px … fyi.

That, and i have to keep my TV its AR settings… Like i said , these ↑ results is an combination of many things i have to adjust in RA & Core alike !!

4,5x? Stretched image and or → Overscan→= OFF instead of 8px? Yep, i have checked it … That screenshot is taken from SnesSuite, at 1x scale resolution …??? So, screenshots are from emu running everything at default like i have said, with the exception of the cropp overscan setting !!?!? So scaled 4,5x ?!?

Question, did you inspect the images under an magnifying glass / zoomed x300 or something to come to that conclusion ?

cheers, TD,

#33

Yes 4.5x from the original content height. It’s just math.

For your setup it’s the scale that works as you like for your shader chain outputting at 1080p resolution:

1080 / 240 = 4.5 -> shader looks OK

1008 / 224 = 4.5 -> shader looks OK

1080 / 224 = 4.8214(…) -> shader does not look OK

So you need core settings that output the full 240 height image or, if it is 224 height, pads it with 8 pixels above and below.

This is also why integer scaling doesn’t work for your setup and also why I think the setup is wrong since scanlines don’t align with the original content lines.

And yes the scanline for every three lines is evident when looking at the image in an editor.

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#34

So, you think the emu doesn’t output to native resolution !?

Padding is not possible in psx beetle i think, Cropping the image is possible and i have tried that road too. And playing with that doesn’t affect the scanlines in an good way either !! I mean cropping would resize / downscale the image even further wich isn’t desireable for obvious reasons → scanline distribution :sweat_smile:…

Are you refering to my shader stack or emu config (cropp overscan)? Or both…? It did help, as you have noticed yourself…

Could you post an screenshot of how it should look like (according to you) using my shader stack Because to me it looks fine now… But if you think it could be better, show me an example (screenie) pretty please…

But again, i like to keep the output results of the 4xBR-CRT shader…

EDIT: : Here’s an screenshot taken in Bizhawk (not RA) using the →same shader.
And if you zoom in, you’ll see it looks pretty much the same… i"d say, it looks even an bit worse in bizhawk because of the thicker black scanlines, if you ask me :flushed: . But if you look closely, the image in bizhawk looks sharper and more polished/rounded arround the pixel edges/corners, if you know what i mean… And no, msaa is at default 1x, bilenear softening is set to off in RA. So that can’t be it!

Cheers, TD

#35

Hi Duck, I don’t have the time and the setup to test your shader (my hardware is very old).

Regardless, all that you needed to know has been explained. As far as I’m concerned, the matter is resolved. This case is special, so, do whatever works for you :slight_smile:

Cheers!

#36

Indeed THAT right over there ↑ is KEY about many things in Live as we know it, isn’t it :grin: :ok_hand:

Take care KITT :sunglasses:

TD