NESRGB version 2.0 palettes?

[erik343]

Can anyone explain what the purpose of these color palettes are for the new NESRGB 2.0 board?: Sony CXA Palette, FirebrandX’s “smooth” palette, and the YUV palette

Thanks!

[Sirotaca]

They're exactly what they sound like, slightly different sets of RGB values to represent the palette entries of the NES, which in a stock console are generated directly as NTSC/PAL signals. They were created because no one can agree on the exact shade of blue the sky in Super Mario Bros. should be, even though the real answer is obviously and indisputably given in the official Nintendo-approved PlayChoice-10 palette.

[erik343]

I know what a palette is and what they do. I am just wondering what each of these three custom palettes simulate or what they are designed to represent?

For example, I was reading somewhere that the Sony CXA pallete simulates a CRT look and the YUV represents PAL NES consoles. Is this true? Also, I am wondering what the FirebrandX’s “smooth” palette does too?

I just want your opinion on all three of these color palettes.

[Sirotaca]

FBX's Smooth palette is probably best described by the man himself. The Sony CXA2025AS palette is supposedly based on a decoder found in some Sony consumer TVs (I remember there being some question as to whether it was done correctly, but a lot of people like the results regardless). YUV is from the software NTSC decoder in the Nestopia emulator, which I believe is based on Bisqwit's work.

NTSC decoding is a messy can of worms, so it's best to just try them all and decide which one you like best. I usually go with YUV personally; Smooth is a bit too muted for my taste, and I don't like what the Sony one does to certain colors.

[evil_ash_xero]

I was checking out the palettes, in NEStopia. I prefer the Sony one. The others look more "accurate" (YUV), but I like the brighter colors of the Sony palette. It looks like a toned down FCEUX palette, where the reds aren't so overpowering. But red isn't magenta, so much of the time, like in the YUV palettes.