Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2021-08-14, 04:27:
I used ZSNES and ePSXe back in the day and I remember them running pretty well on hardware from the early 2000s. I was happy with them at the time, but later on, I discovered that they weren't so great in terms of accuracy.
I guess that explains a lot then.
I've never been interested in accuracy too much.
Same goes for power efficiency and switching-PSUs, they're my natural enemies, haha. 🙂
I'm afraid I'm rather the relaxed, "let 5 be a straight number" type of user. 😂
Except if it's about aspect ratio. I can't stand stretched images. 😁
Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2021-08-14, 04:27:
Nowadays, I mostly use real consoles connected to a CRT TV using RGB SCART cables.
Me, too. I love to tinker with physical devices, too.
However, I do have a little aversion against emulator boxes.
If I had to decide, I'd rather use a clone console than one of the new FPGA/ARM consoles.
Because, I like the idea of an old 70s/80s technology doing its job "live" in front of me.
Always makes me happy if some glitches happen from time to time.
Makes the whole situation more real (which is a bit paradox).
What I'm also have an aversion against is the RGB output.
To me, it makes sense for homecomputers that used colours.
However, when it comes to consoles, I can't help but feel that raw RGB does take away something.
Game developers of the past relied on dithering techniques and artifact colours,
which need pixels to be blended together.
S-Video, Component and RGB do not allow this, however.
That's why I prefer Composite and even RF.
Early low-res consoles like Atari 2600 or the more modern Sega Mega Drive look most natural via RF, by the way.
Composite, or more correctly, CVBS, has a big advantage over RF, though.
The frame rate can be either 50 or 60Hz, independent of the colour encoding (PAL, NTSC, SECAM)..
That's handy for running modded consoles in NTSC50/PAL60, if needed.
On RF, that's not possible, because that would have an effect on timings like the carrier signal, so TVs wouldn't be able to sync properly.
Of course, S-Video, Component and RGB can also be used to run a modded console in 50/60Hz.
But they lack support for dithering and blur.
That's why I decided for myself that I use CVBS/RF on a CRT for the real consoles and raw RGB in emulators.
Because, that's what emulators can do best.
That way, I also have access to authentic graphics on the physical consoles.
If needed, I will use shielded cables and filter caps to improve signal quality.
Or use an external TV tuner box that has CVBS outputs.
Because, emulation of CVBS/RF is in an early stage ironically.
Kega Fusion is doing it rather well, I admit, but it's too blurred.
What none of the emulators gets right currently is emulation of a black/white TV over RF.
That's ironic, I think. The oldest format is the one that's understood the least. 😉
Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2021-08-14, 04:27:
On rare occasions when I do meddle with emulation, I usually go for RetroArch paired with accurate cores such as Higan and Mednafen, even though they need much more powerful hardware.
Ah, I see. I remember BSNES. It was horrific in terms of performance.
I guess it's just me, but I was very disappointed of it.
Maybe because I was so amazed by the demoscene productions of the 90s.
ZSNES, Nesticle and No$GMB were nifty pieces of software made my true blue computer freaks/geeks.
BSNES, on the other hand, seemed like the work of a professor on an university who had been using Java.
Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate the author's work.
It's just something that I don't wish to use right now.
It defies its own purpose, I think. Using an actual SNES is much better for the environment than using a PC with 90% CPU usage and screaming fans,
that needs several hundres watts to emulate a 30 years old console.
BSNES is nice as an educational tool, I suppose. Or as a development tool when writing SNES games.
But even here, an FPGA could be an alternative. 😀
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