PixelFX Morph

[Hoagtech]

I saw the pre order was up, but I have so many questions about functionality.

I don't mind the fact it uses HDMI in and out as I have plenty of scalers to piggy back to.
How is 4k upscale and color space?

Any chance of rotation features being added?

Why no testers? I would love to test this unit and provide arcade pcb and x68000 compatibilities.

Where is the owner? His demographic is right here in this forum and I haven’t seen any word from the Author?

Does this device downscale to 240p over hdmi? I wouldnt mind using a DAC to play my mini consoles on my PRO CRT.

Where can I reach the author?

[BuckoA51]

They managed to reach this price by cutting down certain features, like analog inputs, how much is the addon analog bridge going to cost? I'm personally not a fan of chaning multiple video scalers and would rather just have a standalone product that does the heavy lifting.

$100 for the bridge, so still quite a bit cheaper than the competition.

How is 4k upscale and color space?

4K HDMI at 60hz and 4:4:4 colour

Any chance of rotation features being added?

Yes, it's planned.

Why no testers? I would love to test this unit and provide arcade pcb and x68000 compatibilities.

Units are going out to testers, I'm hoping to get my hands on one, I'm not really a content creator but I'll do my best.

Does this device downscale to 240p over hdmi? I wouldnt mind using a DAC to play my mini consoles on my PRO CRT.

Yes it can do that.

[bobrocks95]

Where can I reach the author?

Woozle and Dan are both pretty responsive on the PixelFX discord server if you message them there with any specific questions you still have.

Just a reminder before anyone says they cut features to hit a certain price point- the HDMI only version was always $400 and the version with analog inputs was always $475. It looks like the analog bridge modules were going to push back their launch date so they're releasing the HDMI version a bit early at a discount. Even if adding the analog bridge later is $100 like Bucko said that's still $450 (barring shipping/import costs, in which case I'd say non-US buyers probably want to be patient and only buy once)

[Sargon]

They managed to reach this price by cutting down certain features, like analog inputs, how much is the addon analog bridge going to cost? I'm personally not a fan of chaning multiple video scalers and would rather just have a standalone product that does the heavy lifting.

You aren't chaining scalers with the analog bridge. It goes inside the Morph itself, so it is still a single unit.

[Konsolkongen]

Where can I reach the author?

Woozle and Dan are both pretty responsive on the PixelFX discord server if you message them there with any specific questions you still have.

Just a reminder before anyone says they cut features to hit a certain price point- the HDMI only version was always $400 and the version with analog inputs was always $475. It looks like the analog bridge modules were going to push back their launch date so they're releasing the HDMI version a bit early at a discount. Even if adding the analog bridge later is $100 like Bucko said that's still $450 (barring shipping/import costs, in which case I'd say non-US buyers probably want to be patient and only buy once)

I thought they said somewhere that they would offer shipping from europe too.

I hope so. Import taxes here is an additional 25%.

[BuckoA51]

Yeah I'll be carrying it in my store.

[VEGETA]

well, full featured model is about 475$ which is 300$ cheaper than competition, this could be the best scaler overall if it delivers what it promises.

if they could show some slot mask stuff on youtube, many people will buy it since this feature seems to be most hyped one. some inverse telecine features are also needed but i guess not by many.

what can this thing do that tink4k can't? or vise versa? << this is the decisive question.

[tongshadow]

They managed to reach this price by cutting down certain features, like analog inputs, how much is the addon analog bridge going to cost? I'm personally not a fan of chaning multiple video scalers and would rather just have a standalone product that does the heavy lifting.

You aren't chaining scalers with the analog bridge. It goes inside the Morph itself, so it is still a single unit.

I was refering to the Morph itself, without the analog bridge it's just a digital upscaler. My sources would have to go through the OSSC first, take a look:

[BuckoA51]

That's the beauty of it though, just buy what you need...

Sold all your older systems and just got a Mister and e.g a HDMI modded Xbox and PS2? Just get the HDMI version and leave it at that.

On a budget and want to make the most of your old OSSC? Just chain that through.. of course it won't work as elegantly as the full analogue bridge package, but it'll still work.

[bobrocks95]

well, full featured model is about 475$ which is 300$ cheaper than competition, this could be the best scaler overall if it delivers what it promises.

if they could show some slot mask stuff on youtube, many people will buy it since this feature seems to be most hyped one. some inverse telecine features are also needed but i guess not by many.

what can this thing do that tink4k can't? or vise versa? << this is the decisive question.

PixelFX is a bit behind firmware feature-wise though I think they could catch up, they have plenty of FPGA headroom and good talent on it.

Things I've seen the Tink 4K show off that I haven't seen with Morph 4K (most are promised for Morph though)
- Rotation
- Auto analog resolution detection/switching (huge for PS1/Saturn and other consoles with tons of resolutions between different screens)
- Auto cropping
- Full colorspace conversion (D65 <-> D93 without changing your display's settings)
- Maybe some automatic gain/phase stuff as well, not sure on Morph's status on that and I think the Tink 5x has the same thing.
- 3:2 pulldown and 2:2 pulldown, maybe some other video stuff (has TBC come up again from either party?)

Main pro I continue to anticipate for the Morph 4K is seamless integration with the GEM kits
- Control the Morph OSD with your console's controller
----- Done through full HDMI CEC implementation which Mike explicitly said he was not adding
- Automatic resolution switching/optimal sampling for HDMI sources (Tink4K will probably add this in the future as well, but I guess everyone involved in retro gaming hates each other now so who knows if GEM kits will be fully supported)

Both are now confirmed to support up to LPCM 7.1 passthrough as well, Dan said they can do it on the Morph after looking into it more.

Tink seems set to launch with more mature firmware. I'd speculate if the Tink is too expensive for you and you're willing to wait around 6 months, things will have shaken out and they'll end up much closer to feature comparable as the Morph has time to mature, but you never know for sure. It's priced appropriately imo.

[tongshadow]

On a budget and want to make the most of your old OSSC? Just chain that through.. of course it won't work as elegantly as the full analogue bridge package, but it'll still work.

The OSSC is still a wonderful machine, but compared to the much more advanced OSSC Pro it is starting to fall behind. Investing $375 just to get 4k and other features isnt worthwhile, to me.
Rather, I think it makes more sense to sell my old OSSC and buy the Pro. Sure, it doesnt do "real 4k" like the Morph, but the feature set cant be beat for the price.

I feel this is going to be the most popular and logical choice for many.

[BuckoA51]

I'd add that the Morph also has wifi (very useful for remote controlling the unit on e.g your phone and potentially lots of other things) and USB (for controlling external switching equipment), an optional header for a OLED/LCD display (like OSSC style) and of course its expansion slot could hypothetically be used for all kinds of things. None of these features are present on the RT4k.

The OSSC is still a wonderful machine, but compared to the much more advanced OSSC Pro it is starting to fall behind. Investing $375 just to get 4k and other features isnt worthwhile, to me.
Rather, I think it makes more sense to sell my old OSSC and buy the Pro. Sure, it doesnt do "real 4k" like the Morph, but the feature set cant be beat for the price.

I feel this is going to be the most popular and logical choice for many.

I'm actually really happy at the overall positive reception the OSSC Pro has had. I did wonder if everyone was basically 4k or bust these days, and obviously the lack of composite is a issue for some.. but yes the launch went better than we could have hoped really. I will of course work on getting more, what's right for one person isn't necessarily right for another.

[ZellSF]

I haven't heard yet how this is controlled for those who don't want it connected to Wifi?

[Tubo]

I haven't heard yet how this is controlled for those who don't want it connected to Wifi?

Morph has 4 ways of controlling it:
Remote Control (it ships with a remote)
Front Panel Buttons
HDMI CEC (You can use your GEM enabled system to control the Morph through the controller)
Web-UI

[Guspaz]

$100 for the bridge, so still quite a bit cheaper than the competition.

$100 is the advertised price difference between the HDMI-only and analog bundled versions. They have not, as far as I know, publicly stated that it will cost $100 to purchase the analog bridge/connector PCB/backplate separately.

the HDMI only version was always $400 and the version with analog inputs was always $475.

The advertised regular prices are $400 and $500, not $400 and $475.

I'd add that the Morph also has wifi (very useful for remote controlling the unit on e.g your phone and potentially lots of other things) [...] None of these features are present on the RT4k.

I've been working on a wifi web interface for the RT4K via an ESP32-powered SD card. It won't be as comprehensive as a full-up directly integrated web interface, but it should get people most of the way there.

[Tubo]

$100 is the advertised price difference between the HDMI-only and analog bundled versions. They have not, as far as I know, publicly stated that it will cost $100 to purchase the analog bridge/connector PCB/backplate separately.

This is confirmed on the discord. $100 to purchase the analog bridge separately.

[Sargon]

$100 is the advertised price difference between the HDMI-only and analog bundled versions. They have not, as far as I know, publicly stated that it will cost $100 to purchase the analog bridge/connector PCB/backplate separately.

This was stated on Discord:

Woozle said the cost of the boards are not cheaper buying them together. So you're just saving shipping by combining.

So if that is true, the price shouldn't be any different when buying separate versus combined (with the exception of any additional shipping charges).

[bobrocks95]

the HDMI only version was always $400 and the version with analog inputs was always $475.

The advertised regular prices are $400 and $500, not $400 and $475.

Whoops, that's RetroRGB's fault since I popped up an old news post from their site, whoever wrote it. Price was always $400 and $500, with the initial plan for "early bird" pricing to be $375 and $475- early bird for analog may or may not be a thing, and so early bird for the digital version was just made a further $25 cheaper.

[VEGETA]

well, full featured model is about 475$ which is 300$ cheaper than competition, this could be the best scaler overall if it delivers what it promises.

if they could show some slot mask stuff on youtube, many people will buy it since this feature seems to be most hyped one. some inverse telecine features are also needed but i guess not by many.

what can this thing do that tink4k can't? or vise versa? << this is the decisive question.

PixelFX is a bit behind firmware feature-wise though I think they could catch up, they have plenty of FPGA headroom and good talent on it.

Things I've seen the Tink 4K show off that I haven't seen with Morph 4K (most are promised for Morph though)
- Rotation
- Auto analog resolution detection/switching (huge for PS1/Saturn and other consoles with tons of resolutions between different screens)
- Auto cropping
- Full colorspace conversion (D65 <-> D93 without changing your display's settings)
- Maybe some automatic gain/phase stuff as well, not sure on Morph's status on that and I think the Tink 5x has the same thing.
- 3:2 pulldown and 2:2 pulldown, maybe some other video stuff (has TBC come up again from either party?)

Main pro I continue to anticipate for the Morph 4K is seamless integration with the GEM kits
- Control the Morph OSD with your console's controller
----- Done through full HDMI CEC implementation which Mike explicitly said he was not adding
- Automatic resolution switching/optimal sampling for HDMI sources (Tink4K will probably add this in the future as well, but I guess everyone involved in retro gaming hates each other now so who knows if GEM kits will be fully supported)

Both are now confirmed to support up to LPCM 7.1 passthrough as well, Dan said they can do it on the Morph after looking into it more.

Tink seems set to launch with more mature firmware. I'd speculate if the Tink is too expensive for you and you're willing to wait around 6 months, things will have shaken out and they'll end up much closer to feature comparable as the Morph has time to mature, but you never know for sure. It's priced appropriately imo.

thanks for your explanation.

for me i have a crt setup and won't ever play on modern displays.. i do have original ossc if i really want to use some consoles on lcds in future.

however, i am interested in such products to learn about them and how will they scale vs each other. for entry level scaler i do suggest gbs-c as it has nearly all features for less than 90$, but also morph can be really nice choice since 500$ is way less than 750$. if they could make a tamed down version for around 250$ which can do up to 1080p\1440p then it can cut off the 5x.

now we have multiple choices with different budgets... good.

[BuckoA51]

So thanks do DHL this morning I now have my prototype in hand:-

morph by videogameperfection, on Flickr

Though I'm actually kinda badly set up at the moment as I need a HDMI switch and some other bits.. also I don't have a 4k capture setup yet, but I'm working on it.

[Konsolkongen]

Yeah I'll be carrying it in my store.

Excellent. Forgot that you were located in Ireland

Will you be selling the RetroTink 4K too?

[BuckoA51]

No sorry, I hoped to support both devices but, well, we'll just say it didn't work out like that, so yes that means I'm biased toward Morph of course but I'll be as objective as possible.

[Konsolkongen]

No sorry, I hoped to support both devices but, well, we'll just say it didn't work out like that, so yes that means I'm biased toward Morph of course but I'll be as objective as possible.

I haven’t decided on which of the three I’ll be getting, but if RetroTink is import from the US only that rules it out.

Looking forward to some comparisons:)

[SavagePencil]

I haven’t decided on which of the three I’ll be getting, but if RetroTink is import from the US only that rules it out.

Looking forward to some comparisons:)

Per this link it sounds like Mike will have non-US distribution as well.

[Konsolkongen]

I haven’t decided on which of the three I’ll be getting, but if RetroTink is import from the US only that rules it out.

Looking forward to some comparisons:)

Per this link it sounds like Mike will have non-US distribution as well.

Excellent. Thank you for posting that

[spmbx]

How far along is the firmware you have on your unit?

[BuckoA51]

So far it looks pretty polished, the web interface etc is all working. I ran into a fair few bugs but the team have been pretty responsive with my reports.

Still waiting on hardware for 4k capture and even 4k display lol, so will have a better idea when that's all here.

(edit - by that I mean I need new switching hardware and cables, I have a 4k tv).

[bobrocks95]

I haven’t decided on which of the three I’ll be getting, but if RetroTink is import from the US only that rules it out.

Looking forward to some comparisons:)

Per this link it sounds like Mike will have non-US distribution as well.

Excellent. Thank you for posting that

Won't be available for the first run though, you'd have to wait for at least batch 2 before distributors get them, which Mike I believe said would be a few months after launch.

One thing I totally forgot about was web features on the Morph which the Tink definitely won't get all of. Among other things they've shown a Discord companion app that can add rich presence status messages to your discord while playing games which would be really nice to have (I feel so unplugged while playing a retro game, gotta have my online status updated).

[RebeL9]

What are the chances that we will have three different upscalers released during the same time? LOL
Reotrotink 4K, OSSC Pro and PixelFX Morph.

[BuckoA51]

Released is one thing, in stock is another