CRTs really are like magic aren’t they? Truly the best.
3 Likes
Seriously. I read a lot of the discussion here about OSSCs and Framemeisters and all the other doodads that people are using to approximate the original stuff and I feel really lucky that I have all the original hardware and many of the games including a nice Sony TV and old monitors, etc. to play on. That said, at some point we’ll probably all need the doodads and my kids most certainly will after I’m gone so it’s all good work being done.
2 Likes
I know I am really really happy for the progress being made in alternative ways to “emulate” the original experience and image quality of retro systems without degradation. Even though I love my CRTs I no longer fear a future where that experience isn’t just gone with noone caring. Things like the OSSC and all the FPGA stuff provide an evolving solution to the very real issue of these older systems and displays dying out/becoming too cost prohibitive.
Yep, the Doodads add a lot. Getting an Analogue NT led me down the path of figuring out the best way to get signal out of all my old hardware on a new TV. That led me back around to tracking down good CRTs. I think that there’s a place for all of it. I tend to spend more time with my old consoles through a framemeister than with my CRT set up in the basement out of convenience. Seeing RGB signal through the framemeister on a modern HD tv was a game changer for me.
Wanted to post a couple screens of In the Hunt on PS1 upscaled through a Framemeister on a 4K OLED. I know some people don’t like 1080p scanlines through the meister but I kind of like them.
![IMG_2644|666x500]
1 Like
This isn’t a scanline shot, but this looked so good in person I had to upload a photo of it. Pictures don’t do it justice though.
I always found Twilight Princess to be an ugly game. I didn’t even like the HD version. But now I’m playing it via Component in 480p on a proper native screen for the first time, and I find the art style to be spectacular.
The art style feels really falls flat when upscaled or uprendered to anything above 480p in my humble opinion. I’m not sure why this game looks so bad outside it’s original native res.
But it shines when played properly.
Edit: I think the reason why is because higher resolutions reveal the simplicity of the geometry and textures. Of course when scaled it also magnified aliasing which seems especially bad in a game where polygons are coated with textures that have a subdued color pallet as opposed to a high contrast cartoony artstyle. It gives things a very muddy effect.
But even in the HD version, the geometry of the character models and environments just look so unnaturally angular. In enhanced definition, the angularity is still there, but there’s less pixel distance between the various “points” of the 3D models, so it all looks far more natural to the eye.
It’s interesting how higher resolutions aren’t always better if the game wasn’t designed with it in mind. Of course, the only way to show this is with offscreen shots. It doesn’t work if you try to use a capture device - the higher res version will always appear nicer.
It kind of upsets me when people say games with these art styles “age poorly” when really it’s not the artist’s fault. They just intended it to be viewed on a particular display. I’d argue that when played in 480p, Twilight Princess holds up as well (graphically) as Wind Walker and any other game from the era.
In fact, by saying so, I’m totally eating crow here - for a long time I maintained that TP’s artistic direction was a mistake for the series. Now, I think it’s equal in artistry to really any other game I’ve played from Nintendo.
I still have issues with the game - particularly the wolf sections - but the graphics are no longer one of them.
5 Likes
Its very beautiful, no doubt
I love Twilight Princess. Both the graphics and its gameplay was top notch then, and still is imo.
That looks niiiice. I need to take more pics for this thread as I play the games for high score and monthly threads.
Indeed. I originally played TP back in 2007 in a late model Sony Wega SDTV from that same year using Component cables, it was just 480i mind you, but it looked terrific. I don´t find the HD remaster appealing at all.
True,but there’s a point we’re things become a little too sharp and you lose some of that natural fuz that crts produce. It’s one of the reasons I stopped using 800 TVL BVMs and switch to a 600 line PVM 2030. It’s a super clear picture but not as harsh as a BVM.
Those are two different things! I agree that you don’t always want to play on a CRT with razor sharp lines – it’s not always the best option. But I think you generally want the cleanest, clearest output at the beginning of the chain. Then you can play around with display options.The monitor’s display properties, such as phosphor glow or line thickness, are welcome enhancements as opposed to a worse/degraded signal that’s blurry or noisy. I may be wrong until we see it action, but it’s possible the NT with the DAC will end up looking appreciably better on your 600 line PVM than an original SNES with blurry PQ, while still avoiding looking emulator sharp.
I personally think of it like film grain vs sensor noise. In which the CRT softness is like pleasant film grain but a console with bad output is like unwanted picture noise.
1 Like
Playing around with Retroarch and the new Run-Ahead Latency feature (wow!!! very impressive) and loaded up the Analog Shader Pack 3,man this looks so friggin good! Its the BVM S-video shader,one of the most impressive shaders I’ve ever seen! This looks EXACTLY like a BVM 20F1U,so cool.
(sorry Mega,didnt mean to post as a reply to you)
2 Likes
Its called BVM S-video so it looks just like a bvm running s-video or rgb?