Which next-generation retro-gaming video processor are you most interested to buy?

[Extrems]

Following viewtopic.php?p=1540518#p1540518, I'm curious to hear what this specific community thinks.

[SGGG2]

Right now I’m leaning towards an OSSC Pro to pair with PC capture jank , it’ll help simplify the preset and capture chain and eliminate a frame of lag, but I find all three processors appealing for different reasons.

I’m very interested in seeing how Retro GEM and Game ID integrate with Morph, and if Mike Chi implements a Night Mode (temperature and white point adjustment), I might pick up a 4k at some point.

Sitting this out for a bit to see how features shake out. Exciting times!

[Gara]

The Retrotink 4k. The Morph hasn't given me anything to get excited over yet. The price difference isn't much of an influence since I'm thinking of it as something I'll be using for years. I had planned to have all 3, but with them all releasing at once I decided to wait on the OSSC Pro and Morph until I see unique features added. The OSSC was incredibly impressive with its updates so I don't imagine it will be long until the Pro tempts me.

[Guspaz]

and if Mike Chi implements a Night Mode (temperature and white point adjustment), I might pick up a 4k at some point.

The RT4K supports user-defined CSC via files on the SD card, so you can have it do whatever kind of temperature/whitepoint adjustment you want. What sort of adjustment were you looking for?

[SGGG2]

Right, but I’m not sure I can assed to figure it out myself. I have photophobia and can’t use screens at all without enabling dark mode and a blue light filter. So, something comparable to the Night Shift and Reduce White Point settings in iOS. This is what finally pushed me over the edge into figuring out a way to play games via capture on PC. I missed using original hardware, but wanted the visual benefits of emulation.

I usually set the color temperature between 2700 and 2950k, reduce white point is set to 76% on my iPad.

[Guspaz]

Right, but I’m not sure I can assed to figure it out myself.

I believe this CSC profile from Extrems gets you most of the way there:

https://twitter.com/Extrems/status/1727462192469910002

CIE Standard Illuminant A is 2856K.

[strayan]

I’m buying all of them.

Ossc pro for downscaling duties
Rt4k for loungeroom
Morph for secondary screen.

[fernan1234]

I'll probably end up with all of them as well even though I primarily game on CRT and thus don't really need them for their primary use cases.

I'd probably get an OSSC Pro right now if it were in stock, mainly to scale/process inputs from retro Japanese PCs like PC-98/88 and FM Towns into a CRT. Since it's not, I'll just wait and see the firmware mature. Who knows maybe there'll even be some hardware revisions like with the old OSSC.

For actual upscaling into flat panels, BFI would be a must or there's no point, which means 4K output won't even be an option, so technically the OSSC Pro would cover all my needs. But I'll keep them around especially the Tink4K just to have a powerful tool in my toolkit.

[Josh128]

I'll probably end up with all of them as well even though I primarily game on CRT and thus don't really need them for their primary use cases.

I'd probably get an OSSC Pro right now if it were in stock, mainly to scale/process inputs from retro Japanese PCs like PC-98/88 and FM Towns into a CRT. Since it's not, I'll just wait and see the firmware mature. Who knows maybe there'll even be some hardware revisions like with the old OSSC.

For actual upscaling into flat panels, BFI would be a must or there's no point, which means 4K output won't even be an option, so technically the OSSC Pro would cover all my needs. But I'll keep them around especially the Tink4K just to have a powerful tool in my toolkit.

The 4K wont be able to do BFI? I know it wont do 4K120, but it should be able to do 1440p120 and that should allow for BFI and still look amazing on a bright 4K display.

[Extrems]

The RetroTINK-4K does have BFI up to 2560x1440p120. Blur Busters collaborated on that.

[fernan1234]

The OSSC Pro would top out at 1080p120 for BFI, right? That'd probably still be good enough for me but on most 4K displays 1440p is definitely a better option.

[Josh128]

The OSSC Pro would top out at 1080p120 for BFI, right? That'd probably still be good enough for me but on most 4K displays 1440p is definitely a better option.

1440p is definitely better, as all common sub 1080p resolutions integer scale to it. You just need to be really careful that your 4K display can actually accept it before getting it for this feature.

[strayan]

I might buy one of those 38.5 1440p monitors for 1440p BFI. The Acer version has ‘VRB” which I believe means it has backlight strobing.

[orange808]

I can't pick just one!

I'll be getting a Tink4k. It has a very robust feature set and analog inputs (for the analog game systems we use) already in place and available when I open the box.

I'll get an OSSC Pro later if it gets analog output. The analog out functionality will be great, but I also like to support open source development. If we keep that project alive, it could eventually be ported ahead into even better open source community projects. I also just really appreciate marqs and the OSSC.

[bobrocks95]

RT4K at launch, and adding a digital Morph later. Depending on how feature-sets turn out in the future, I can either keep both or buy an analog card for the Morph and sell the Tink.

[BuckoA51]

I can't see a way to vote I guess maybe as Team Morph I'm not eligible anyway Edit - It let me vote now maybe you have to post first?

Hand on heart, I think the Morph is better from a hardware stand point. You get WiFi, USB for controlling external switching, expansion port for adding things like DACs etc, and it's still cheaper than the competition (well one of the competition). The FPGA may be slower but that doesn't seem to be stopping it from doing computationally expensive things like XBR etc. What features are going to be dreamed up that need the extra FPGA power on the RT4k? Who knows, but yes that bit of extra power is there (how much is debatable of course but whatever...)

Obviously I don't think anyone's claiming that the software on the Morph is to the same level as the RT4k right now, but software can grow and mature, while adding hardware features to a device that doesn't have an expansion port is considerably more difficult (yes I know people are trying via some SD card wizardry).

For me OSSC Pro is by far the best choice for people using things like HD CRTs, VGA monitors or who want to do downscaling, or of course its a solid choice for anyone who isn't really interested in getting a 4k screen right now. Particularly having the OLED on the front of the device as a standard feature is great for taking the device to a new monitor and being able to dial in settings that at least get a picture is a huge plus I think. Incidentally OLED display is optional DIY add-on on the Morph but not supported at all on the RT4K I believe? For the asking price I'd have expected at least a little OLED display especially as we're sans Wifi remote. At leAsT iT haZ CompOSTite though amiright lol OSSC pro

Despite what internet gossip might say I don't really have any beef with Mike and I don't really know why VGP couldn't have supported both products and let the market decide. I might pick up a RT4k 6 months down the line if Morph really doesn't catch up on its features (not super worried about rotation right now for instance), but the gap seems to narrow every day and I don't really feel like I'd be missing out on much to be honest (plus yes I won't lie I mean I am in a privileged position to basically have OSSC Pro and Morph before most folks).

I think what I said above is fair and truthful and if not maybe people can tell me politely why not and if it turns out I got something wrong I'll apologise and edit my post. I am so sick of this scaler war bullshit.

[spmbx]

I'm getting all 3, i think it's far more enjoyable to mess about with the devices myself than to spend my time watching youtube movies to see someone else do it.

[ZellSF]

RetroTink4K as main scaler, OSSC Pro for temporary testing things. Hoping that there won't be anything that makes me want to buy the Morph, spending enough money as is.

Why not Morph? Both marqs and Mark Chi have proven themselves with their previous products. The Morph is PixelFX's first scaler. There are other reasons, but ultimately I think that's the most important one.

[BuckoA51]

Respectfully it's not their first scaler, they launched multiple HDMI mods with full scaling capabilities, first general purpose scaler I suppose you could say.

[fernan1234]

At leAsT iT haZ CompOSTite though amiright lol OSSC pro

Hey don't take composite lightly! It's arguably the best way to go in certain situations even when something else is available.

Respectfully it's not their first scaler, they launched multiple HDMI mods with full scaling capabilities, first general purpose scaler I suppose you could say.

Personally I don't feel that great about some of the team's track record with previous projects that I got from them. I felt kinda burned by Woozle's GBA Consolizer being abandoned after the latest FW release a few years ago had great sound except it was broken with GBA games, forcing a rollback to a previous FW with lower quality audio. The WiiDual was also problematic, launching with an obvious graphical issue that required disassembly and re-flashing, and the flashing process itself is bad design requiring soldering just to get to the GC video version that allows further updates via SD card. I also experienced some issues with the DCHDMI. And then there's all the audio issues with the PS1Digital (which I'm glad I skipped). Of course, there are also seemingly flawless products like the N64Digital (though I don't own one so can't vouch for it).

I still think the Morph will be a fine product but I wouldn't put any bets on it, whereas I'm happy to trust Mike's development blindly at this point, and to an extent marqs' also.

[ZellSF]

Respectfully it's not their first scaler, they launched multiple HDMI mods with full scaling capabilities, first general purpose scaler I suppose you could say.

PixelFX's previous products are scalers as much as GPUs, monitors and TVs are. Sure they all contain scaling capabilities, but I would never call them scalers. That's a separate device type.

It's also just not their first general purpose scaler, it's also their first more consumer oriented product.

[maxtherabbit]

I'm completely happy with my original OSSC. I do not own a display > 1080p and have no desire to

[Rulumi]

I'm interested in buying the OSSC Pro in the future, I like the open source nature and also the freedom in the options avaliable to control the inputs and how they are treated is very useful to me. I also really like the work marqs (and contributors) have done on the original OSSC firmware.

But the other two products also look like good ones and may be of interest to a different public, I think probably and specially the RetroTINK-4K to a different public with it's main focus being 4K. I personally don't have much interest on 4K for this kind of thing, but other people will do.

[Extrems]

There's something for every flat panel users in the RetroTINK-4K. I even pushed for Adobe RGB support for those older wide gamut monitors that are decidedly not 4K nor HDR, and may or may not have a usable sRGB emulation mode.

[EnragedWhale]

I’ll be getting the RT4K on release hopefully. I’ve seen more than enough to reassure me that it’s going to be a fully featured, mature product straight out of the box.

If the RT4K didn’t exist I’d have preordered a morph in a heartbeat. I have Black Dog tech/pixel fx HDMI mods in my DC, PS1 and N64 and have been pleased with them and so I do believe the Morph will get there. But the RT4K is so compelling I don’t feel the slightest need to preorder yet another unfinished product with a wooly release date and still developing software.

OSSC pro isn’t on my radar without 4k and I don’t believe it really offers anything than I personally need above my current RT5X.

[Josh128]

I’ll be getting the RT4K on release hopefully. I’ve seen more than enough to reassure me that it’s going to be a fully featured, mature product straight out of the box.

If the RT4K didn’t exist I’d have preordered a morph in a heartbeat. I have Black Dog tech/pixel fx HDMI mods in my DC, PS1 and N64 and have been pleased with them and so I do believe the Morph will get there. But the RT4K is so compelling I don’t feel the slightest need to preorder yet another unfinished product with a wooly release date and still developing software.

OSSC pro isn’t on my radar without 4k and I don’t believe it really offers anything than I personally need above my current RT5X.

This is pretty much my take. While the OSSC Pro does offer the best and most varied modes for CRT (240p120/540p/1080i) , if Mike ever decided to do an updated "VGA/HD CRT" firmware, the 5X hardware is easily capable of those so it feels strange to buy another $400 box just for a couple of modelines that could be easily implemented into what I already have.

[Konsolkongen]

Probably the Morph, but I’m in no rush, so I’ll wait for a comparison between them all.

I also don’t mind waiting for features on the Morph, if it is lacking compared to the RT4K. Actually I don’t really care about BFI or 120Hz or whatever. I primarily just want a box that can do 720 and 1080p to 4k with integer scaling, and I would be happy with that as a start.



This doesn’t influence my decision but I think it’s a damn shame that most of these creators have left this forum for twitter.

Marqs is doing a great job answering questions here, and I also remember Dan being incredibly helpful with support for the DIY GCvideo-board and WiiDual.
I think Woozle is still here. I hope so

[tongshadow]

Here's how I see it, people who already have the RetroTINK 5x will probably see the TINK4K as the only upgrade. The other options might not feel worthwhile, to them.
For folks who are still running their OSSC's, GBS-C's or Framemeisters, the OSSC Pro at that price point is a very interesting propositon. You're getting 90% of the features the TINK4K for less than 50% of the price, after all.
And finally, the Morph is quite unique because of the modular nature. You can either have it as standalone upgrade for your current setup or a customized scaler with I/O options of your choice. Having many options is good for the user, but later down the road it might be more difficult to sell it, you'll need to find another person looking for the exact configuration.

[SavagePencil]

For me I’d like to future proof and simplify. It’s time to move to 4K and I’d rather not half-ass it.

Today, I use both an OSSC and an RT5X, depending on system. I use all three analog plug formats. And with 1080p systems now benefiting from processing, I’d like whatever system to support HDMI in. One box doing everything reliably at 4K is my goal.

To date I haven’t seen a plate for the Morph that has SCART, VGA, and Component (but I understand one could be built). I’m curious to see how the Morph is received before I choose one.

[Josh128]

To date I haven’t seen a plate for the Morph that has SCART, VGA, and Component (but I understand one could be built). I’m curious to see how the Morph is received before I choose one.

I was just looking at the above plates and thinking the same thing-- very odd indeed. Meanwhile the 4K has literally everything, including S-Video, only "missing" BNC, which no gaming console outputs. Oh, and its missing RF too, lol.

The more one looks at it, the more the 4K stands out as in a class all its own. Its not even close.