Super Game Boy Aspect Ratio

[RGB0b]

Does anyone know why the aspect ratio of the Super Game Boy (both 1 and 2) is different then the original GB game? The Game Boy Player (image on the right) seems to be correct:

[blizzz]

I haven't used the Super Gameboy in a while, but on my screenshots from September the AR seems to be correct.

[RGB0b]

Interesting. Are you using a PAL or NTSC SNES? Unfortunately, all I have are NTSC consoles.

[blizzz]

I used a 1CHIP-02 SFC connected to the Framemeister, recorded with my Elgato HD.

[Fudoh]

I haven't used the Super Gameboy in a while, but on my screenshots from September the AR seems to be correct.

it looks nice, but in reality it's too wide (~1.23 instead of about 1.11)

[RGB0b]

it looks nice, but in reality it's too wide (~1.23 instead of about 1.11)

That's what I thought as well when I measured it. The Game Boy Player was almost exactly 1.11.

[blizzz]

I compared my screenshot to yours. In your picture, the SGB2 has an AR of 1.40 and the Game Boy Player has 1.23. In my screenshot the SGB2 has the same AR (1.23) as your Game Boy Player. But yes, it's a bit wider than a real Game Boy.

[Arcade-TV]

I suspect this is related to the pixel-aspect ratio that crt tubes have, they're not square but rectangular. The GBPlayer may have a certain scaling sone in software to keep the image within the natural GB aspect ratio, on SNES the pixels will most likely render out 1:1 which leads to a wider screen, even wider when the SNES is PAL and in 50Hz-Mode...
But that's just me spaculating.

[Fudoh]

But that's just me spaculating.

no, that's actually right on spot.

[RGB0b]

I took screenshots on my XM29 RGB monitor, as well as captures, just to compare:

http://www.retrorgb.com/gameboyplayer.html#GBPvsSGB

[RGB0b]

I suspect this is related to the pixel-aspect ratio that crt tubes have, they're not square but rectangular. The GBPlayer may have a certain scaling sone in software to keep the image within the natural GB aspect ratio, on SNES the pixels will most likely render out 1:1 which leads to a wider screen, even wider when the SNES is PAL and in 50Hz-Mode...
But that's just me spaculating.

Good info!

[jay_are]

It's certainly not intentional for the Super GB to be wider than GB, but it was a limitation of the SNES resolution, which doesn't do things like 320x240, but I like it the way they did it instead of ruining the pixels to make the screen have a proper aspect ratio. Just look at 3DS NES Virtual Console. That crap looks like absolute CRAP.
As well as some PS1 games on PSP (Castlevania SotN), also looks like absolute CRAP on the PSP in their attempt to stretch the image a bit to match the intended aspect ratio.
The PS Vita does a similar thing, too! And it makes it worse. It would stretch the image, but without any softening. It's actually a high definition screen, it would have been capable of "smoothing" it without it looking as crappy as 3DS or PSP, but it has no smoothness. So, some in-game pixels would take about 2 screen pixels width, and others would take about 3 screen pixels width.
SNES: 1
PSP: 0
3DS NES VC: 0
Vita: 0

[Smashbro29]

This is a very old topic I know but what is the aspect ratio for GB/C? With GBI and upscalers how can we set it to be exactly right?

[BONKERS]

The Original GB is 160x144 , which comes out at 10 : 9

[Xan]

As well as some PS1 games on PSP (Castlevania SotN), also looks like absolute CRAP on the PSP in their attempt to stretch the image a bit to match the intended aspect ratio.
The PS Vita does a similar thing, too! And it makes it worse. It would stretch the image, but without any softening. It's actually a high definition screen, it would have been capable of "smoothing" it without it looking as crappy as 3DS or PSP, but it has no smoothness. So, some in-game pixels would take about 2 screen pixels width, and others would take about 3 screen pixels width.

I think this kind of thing is hard to avoid on digital display setups though, at least on the horizontal axis. When treating resolutions like 512x240 or 640x240 as having square pixels you would wind up with quite crazy ARs, wouldn't you? The games were ultimately designed for how CRTs handle aspect ratios.

I believe the Vita actually has a 2x scaling mode without interpolation though, but I agree that the PSP "normal" mode typically looks like blurry crap.

[FBX]

On my SGB 7X profile for the SNES, I don't believe I accounted for the original Game Boy aspect. Does anybody know if the actual physical pixels on the Game Boy are perfectly square? Anyone physically measure the visible screen of one?

[RGB0b]

Anyone physically measure the visible screen of one?

I measured all of the ones I have: http://www.retrorgb.com/gbversions.html

[12345]

Anybody knows if the goomba (color) emulator(s) for the GBA have the correct aspect ratio?

[FBX]

Anyone physically measure the visible screen of one?

I measured all of the ones I have: http://www.retrorgb.com/gbversions.html

Awesome thanks for that! I assume the measurements are of the actual active pixels and not the extra screen edge around the perimeter?

Edit: Nvm, I was able to take your screen shot, rotate the image to perfect horizontal alignment, and check the width versus height myself. It ended up being 45.5 x 41.55 for aspect ratio of 1.0952 to 1. However, the slight variance may be due to the camera. Let's assume it's actually 45.5 to a perfect 41.5, so that makes an aspect ratio of just about 1.0964 to 1.

[Smashbro29]

The Original GB is 160x144 , which comes out at 10 : 9

Game Boy Color is identical?

[FBX]

The Original GB is 160x144 , which comes out at 10 : 9

10 : 9 would be 1.1111 to 1, but physical measurements show the original Game Boy AR is closer to 1.0964 to 1. I think this has to do with the tiny borders in between each pixel on the Game Boy display screen.

[Ed Oscuro]

Huh, I learned something today! Must be something to do with the line addressing hardware in the GB screen? I wonder if this holds true for all original GB series machines (the Pocket, Color, etc.)

[FBX]

Huh, I learned something today! Must be something to do with the line addressing hardware in the GB screen? I wonder if this holds true for all original GB series machines (the Pocket, Color, etc.)

RetroRGB's page shows they each have slightly different sizes. It might be the same ratio though, but I haven't checked the math.

At an rate, I did a rotation and crop of retroRGB's Game Boy backlit screen photo, and the aspect ended up EXACTLY matching his measurement of 45.5 x 41.5. Here's the perfectly aligned image as proof of concept:

Spoiler