RetroTINK 5x-Pro

[fernan1234]

It's funny how this firmware update for a scaler that came out years ago made another mid-price point scaler that is about to launch obsolete.

[Konsolkongen]

The Morph 2k is a lot cheaper though at $199 vs $325.

[fernan1234]

That's true, the price difference still can make it have its own place. But IMO what the energy conservation scanlines and everything else bring to the table is worth the difference and more. I guess if anything the Morph 4K lost more of its reason to be, unless they figure out how to implement these features.

[Konsolkongen]

The Morph 4k does HDMI input and has a higher output resolution.

I don’t think they have said if this kind of scanlines is a planned feature. They are rolling out auto sampling this month, I don’t know what’s on the table after that.

[Josh128]

It's funny how this firmware update for a scaler that came out years ago made another mid-price point scaler that is about to launch obsolete.

Mike be doing things like that. I remember when there was all this talk on here about Morph and OSSC Pro for years with no hardware to be seen anywhere, Mike makes a single Xitter post about a working RT4K prototype w/in game screenshot well over a year after the others were talked about, then does a huge global RT4K launch exactly 1 month later than the OSSC Pro and well before the Morph, eclipsing the features of both. He's simply a madman, not much else you can say about it.

[Guspaz]

It's worth noting that this new RT5X firmware is an alternative or fork rather than a successor. It's focused completely on CRT simulation, and sacrifices a bunch of other things to do it. Some of that is to free up resources for doing this (features take up resources on the FPGA even when they're not active/used), some of it is because the features don't make any sense with this fork's goal of CRT simulation. For example, optimal sampling is out, because they don't make sense for CRT simulation: CRTs are by definition "generic sampling". MADI is out because it's resource intensive and doesn't make sense for CRT simulation anyway, instead a real CRT is doing something more like bob deinterlacing, but with the scanline offset changing each field, and that's what this branch supports.

So there are two goals with this firmware: bring as much of the RT4K's CRT emulation to the RT5X as possible, and to make it as plug-and-play as possible. You should be able to just connect it to your TV, maybe picking the appropriate output resolution and mode, pick or create a CRT preset, and play the game.

The important thing is that you can change between the firmwares whenever you want. If you're not into CRT simulation, then stick to v3.97. If you want the best CRT simulation experience you can get out of the RT5X, go with this new one.

[fernan1234]

The Morph 4k does HDMI input and has a higher output resolution.

The HDMI input is something, but largely irrelevant for retro needs. And the "Quasi-4K" resolution also makes a higher output resolution irrelevant, given use of generic sampling, which connects to...

CRTs are by definition "generic sampling". MADI is out because it's resource intensive and doesn't make sense for CRT simulation anyway, instead a real CRT is doing something more like bob deinterlacing, but with the scanline offset changing each field, and that's what this branch supports.

Unless someone is part of the unique crowd who is really into a sharp square pixel look for retro games and a flat look for interlaced video, generic sampling and interlace simulation is really the best solution, at least when combined with the energy normalization scanlines and enough brightness headroom to do BFI/flicker for clearer motion (in some cases you don't even need HDR). I say this as someone who has been a diehard CRT user all his life, and having a tink4K shelved for years since launch, until last year this whole combination of CRT sim features came together. After trying it, I haven't hooked up my CRT in months so far (eventually I will get back to it, or so I want to tell myself). It's that much of a game changer. Knowing pretty much all of it available on a tink5X is mindblowing.

[bobrocks95]

The HDMI input is something, but largely irrelevant for retro needs.

HDMI is the most used input on my Tink 4K, I have 12 systems hooked up to it *shrug*

[fernan1234]

HDMI is the most used input on my Tink 4K, I have 12 systems hooked up to it *shrug*

I also get a lot of use from the HDMI input on my tink4K. It's great to be able to add LCD grids to 720p and 1080p sources. That's not retro stuff though.

If you have a bunch of retro consoles modded for HDMI, then yeah, sure. But if you're using direct video output with a Tink4K and also using CRT simulation features then, video-wise, there's no difference. On the other hand, getting clean digital audio from these consoles is a plus for sure, though that is independent of scaler use.

[Konsolkongen]

The Morph 4k does HDMI input and has a higher output resolution.

The HDMI input is something, but largely irrelevant for retro needs. And the "Quasi-4K" resolution also makes a higher output resolution irrelevant, given use of generic sampling, which connects to...

Yeah but this “Quasi-4k” doesn’t work with all displays. I wouldn’t buy a RT5X expecting it to work in my setup without someone else having tested this feature on a similar display first.

[fernan1234]

That would be a good move. Though at this point these Tink features are so good that I would suggest going out of your way to get a display that works with these scalers (pick which one depending on budget) rather than the other way around.

[Konsolkongen]

That would be a good move. Though at this point these Tink features are so good that I would suggest going out of your way to get a display that works with these scalers (pick which one depending on budget) rather than the other way around.

That seems like the wrong way round. I wouldn’t want to limit my choice of display based on my choice of scaler.

From my understanding the Morph 2k is a lot more powerful than the RT5X, and at a much lower price too. You seem very certain that similar features can’t work on the Morph. I’m sure it’s more than capable.

I’ve also argued in another thread in favor of the wi-fi which seems like a a mistake to not include on the RT products. It cannot be overstated how much of a difference it makes. Not only for ease of firmware updates and profile management, but it also offers some wild possibilities for control via restful api and websocket connections. If you have the knowhow and imagination you can use this for all sorts of things.

[fernan1234]

That seems like the wrong way round. I wouldn’t want to limit my choice of display based on my choice of scaler.

It depends on your circumstances. If you can have more than one display, finding one that pairs best with the most feature-rich scalers would make sense. Otherwise what you're saying would make more sense.

From my understanding the Morph 2k is a lot more powerful than the RT5X, and at a much lower price too. You seem very certain that similar features can’t work on the Morph. I’m sure it’s more than capable.

For sure, it just hasn't happened yet. It's been half a year since Mike introduced energy conservation scanlines (which marks the watershed moment IMO), and still no sign that this and other crucial CRT simulation features are coming to the Morph products. But I imagine it's just a matter of time.

Now the wifi stuff, to me doesn't seem that much more convenient than popping an SD card onto your computer and dragging and dropping files. If anything, at least to me it's more annoying to manually change wifi on my phone or computer to access the device configuration. But I'm sure there are cool possibilities that wifi opens up.

[Konsolkongen]

Now the wifi stuff, to me doesn't seem that much more convenient than popping an SD card onto your computer and dragging and dropping files. If anything, at least to me it's more annoying to manually change wifi on my phone or computer to access the device configuration. But I'm sure there are cool possibilities that wifi opens up.

You don’t need to change wi-fi. The Morph connects to your home wi-fi, so it’s as simple as typing ‘morph4k.local’ in your browser and you are connected.

If for some reason you still don’t like the webUI you can of course just pop the sd card into your computer. Same as the other scalers.