Retropie Shaders and Pixel Smoothing on Retro Gaming

[@swordguy1243]

One good trick that helps with pixelation it’s to go on configuration editor and change the resolution of each individual emulator to a lower one like 600x400 that way your monitor and the game meet halfway . I tried it for psx games and reduces the jaggyness about 50%

[@tournesol74]

This is exactly what I was looking for ! A big big big thank you !

[@francescob.3529]

Congratulations for the nice video that is very useful. I think the best performance is the "original" game that is: Video smoothing: False Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Video Shaders: True Video Shaders file: crt-pi-curvature vertical. Resolution: I have not seen great differences with the scanlines that cover the pixels.

[@666jamie666]

Good video Drew but you can switch shaders and video modes much easier by going directly into the retroarch menu within the rom while playing by using hotkeys "select+X" That way you don't have to go into the retropie setup all the time. Just remember that when you find an ideal setting to save across the whole core. Also remember with these older games they were made in a aspect ratio usually of 4:3 so always run them at that ratio in order to preserve to correct aspect ratio and play the game how it was meant to be played otherwise the image is stretched.

[@drewtalks]

Nice

[@tlogank]

I don't see the smoothing option in access it via this method

[@ItaliaAJ]

It would be nice to have the option to use 16:9 on a "per game" basis, rather than across the entire game folder. I prefer some of the games on 16:9.

[@MrRockfish01]

I believe you can set aspect ratio by pressing select plus x While running the game . Going into the retro arch menu go down to setting press a , go into video press a down aspect ratio now move the d-pad left or right and it will cycle through the aspect ratios to save I believe you have to go to game overrides not core overrides hope that helps

[@Vanpotheosis]

I thought they were all made in 8:7. Not sure why, but the SNES looks squashed / stretched on an old CRT and you wouldn't ever notice until you change the aspect ratio. It's crazy.

[@LWiacko]

thank you for this comprehensible instruction and comparison! This is the most important advantage of this emulation system!

[@drewtalks]

Thanks for the comment lucas

[@MrRabbott1]

Did the changes this morning on my Neo pi and boy does it make a difference! X2 shader file seems best. Fixed those pixelation issue but does affect performance of pi a touch (occasional slow response in game)

[@gnastyg7798]

Drew u are on time bro with the vids keep it up!!

[@zenithFTW]

Thanks, i was wondering why me snes games looked and ran so bad, turning these off helped, alot!

[@li__suarez]

"ctr-pi" is another great shader! It simply simulates the crt tv natural filter,great for 8 and 16 bits games, and it doesn't consume much resources.

[@surendersinghbisht548]

Really a help full tutorial. Thanks Man..

[@David22Lee]

Thanks for the video. I've recently modded my Arcade 1UP cabinet and set the CRT shader for all arcade games on Retropie. The Street Fighter games look great with the shader. Only problem is the shader does not appear to work for any Midway/Williams games (such as Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam, etc). Do you happen to know why the shader doesn't work for these games?

[@grimmbilly9263]

Good stuff here. I had an old image that was using the Lakka interface and Gameboy games on that image were grayscale instead of yellow. I've tried all the shaders and Gameboy emulators but still haven't reproduced that look. I wish I hadn't written over that image because Lakka is pretty cool.

[@drewtalks]

Nice

[@salerusin]

After milion of hours spent on YT... finally the best video clip for pixel smoothing!!! Can be done on NeoGeo too?

[@ThePunis-Her]

Awesome you rly a RetroPie god! There are so many settings, what is your personal choise of setting? On some settings it seem verry FPS dropping.

[@ryanroe4600]

I personally think the crt-pi-curvature shader is the best.

[@drewtalks]

nice!

[@JihadNinja]

Nobody in their right mind would turn video smoothing and force 16:9 on Metal Slug.

[@drewtalks]

This is an older image

[@justin7332]

facts

[@linuxstreamer8910]

or every 4:3 game

[@JoeHusosky]

Thanks for all the examples, but I am thinking no alterations is the best.

[@drewtalks]

Thanks joe!

[@playconsolasyvideojuegos1158]

Hello Drew, thanks for your video. Do you know the reason why if applying changes on shaders / overlays in MAME are not applied? for example I want diable or enable overlays in configedit setting then cancel back, but overlays still there...

[@drewtalks]

no not sure, anyone else have this?

[@nicktibbets]

Hey Drew, for some reason, I'm not seeing the 1920x1080 resolution option anywhere. the highest resolution I see is 1280x960. I tried setting it to custom, but it will not stay. I have a newer Samsung 4K tv, not sure if there is another setting somewhere I need to switch to get the higher resolution, or, if it's even necessary.

[@drewtalks]

Yup you have to set it when you press "a" during the rom launch screen, not in configuration and tools

[@push_start_button_6008]

By running shader filters for example crt scanlines the sound starts to hook. I didn't check all the filters because I have over 490 of them but on those with scanlines the sound is distorted .... What to do?

[@spacecomplex7180]

your pc is not powerful enough, most certainly that is. Try and begin with lesser demanding shaders. I know what I'm talking with my laptop that's not quite the powerhouse, only some shaders work without distorting the framerate. i will someday get a more powerful PC. just for emulation greatness haha ;)

[@Kig_Ama]

How can I cycle through shaders in RetroArch, using the keys m or n doesn't really work.

[@videosmas3206]

Just a lil update after going to retropie setup>c:configuration tools on my pie 805 its for bazelprojet, configedit is actually 807

[@videosmas3206]

Can you do an update on this video. I am doing everything you saids but it is not affecting my game when I go to retroarch menu to see what emulator its running the game it says 1.7.6 - FBAlpha2012 v0.2.97.29 follow by other numbers and letter is it libreto using it own configuration file instead of the one I’m making change to it? Please you have time try to do another video show how to smooth the video, my games look all pixelated, the only way for me to fix it its by going into the retroarch menu, setting, video, and turning on Bilinear filtering

[@845H1R]

I appreciate the efforts in trying to educate others regarding emulation video output options but you need to edit your videos a little better. Like when you jumped to the game after selecting the video options, a little consistency would have been nice. For example sometimes you showed the intro, sometimes you didnt. Also you showed different shaders at different lengths, for some reason you had some last a lot longer than others. And you selected shader 30 and didnt show it and then showed shader 29 instead? It would have been a more pleasant viewing experience if every time you selected your options it cut straight to the game. at the exact same stage every time. You see this from other, more established KZbinrs and It's things like this that make for a slicker presentation and more professional video.

[@there_is_no_switch]

Side-by-side would have been nice. especially when there are longer gaps between seeing gameplay footage.

[@Luistx22]

I wish hq4x wasn't so choppy... the scanlines look more like dot matrix instead of the traditional scanlines I'm used to... torn on what to choose

[@zeldaneo]

Have you tested all of the emulators at 1080p, just curious to know after seeing this run at 1080p how many can be upscaled and still run fine(meaning all games on that emulator). I am only curious because I noticed like the N64 games are default to 320x240, and I tried upscaling and it got worse but there was no option to go back to a resolution lower than 640x480.. Also, I have noticed that on the N64 Waverace works fairly well, but when I updated the emulator I could no longer do stunts even though all controls seems to work fine. Went back to earlier version and I could do stunts again. Wondering if anyone else noticed this issue?

[@drewtalks]

depends some run better on lower resolution

[@Vanpotheosis]

2:35 I noticed that all SNES games look better in 8:7 Aspect Ratio. Why is this? Are the TV's in Japan using this ratio instead of 4:3?

[@MrStreetboy80]

I like h2qx shader its for a gbz so not sure how it'll look on a small screen. Iv screwed my retropie setup up so need to reinstall a fresh first. I'm in mid build so just playing around with different settings to find the best setup for a gbz. Wasn't concerntrating and deleted vital files lol. Il try these shades when up n running again. Thanks.

[@SacRaFiX24]

Hey drew,,Why after doing this would my in game audio on snes be lower than the display menu...on the display it is nice and loud,,go into the game and the volume is extremely lower,,can barely hear it...any thoughts

[@drewtalks]

because one is emulation station the other is retroarch so two different front ends.

[@SacRaFiX24]

DrewTalks so how would I go about match8ng them up permanently?

[@ScottRomeo]

according to Floobs curvature can cause more power drain. at least that's what he said. he seems to be the expert of shaders and Bezels.

[@drewtalks]

hmmmm interesting! So maybe if your overclocking a bad idea?

[@ScottRomeo]

DrewTalks I heard overclocking doesn't benifit much. maybe get extra 100 ghz but wear your unit out faster. dosent seem to make much difference. having a fan can cool things and adding the heat sinks will help reduce heat. but lose the paper sticky on them and use thermal paste.

[@drewtalks]

ahh i was just saying someone people change voltage etc when overclocking, so if your overclocking be careful when adding shaders, etc that consume more draw

[@kevinmiller3869]

all my games like water paintings, I followed your guide nothing changed. Please help...

[@plumpye474]

When I turn on the video smoothing on does its apply it to all the games right ?? ?

[@drewtalks]

in retroarch yes

[@giovannigiorgio2262]

how install the shaders ?

[@Sr.D]

In fact video smoothing or bilinear filtering it's the more simpler and almost more true to original, add a simple not very taxing scanlilne effect and that's all

[@jny78]

Eazy Hax has a pretty good tutorial too. He makes n64 graphics look HD

[@drewtalks]

nice

[@Hightower2804TP]

nice

[@bstnbrr6640]

nice

[@Leo9az]

nice

[@siaosimanu]

great video....thank you

[@drewtalks]

Thanks George

[@trilobitemmmxxx8019]

there's not perfect solution for the pixel problem in retro games on modern tvs, is a compromise thing.

[@rodneyabrett]

Give me raw, unfiltered pixels every time. :)

[@justosoler8408]

can the video smoothing be activated individually for certain games?

[@drewtalks]

maybe, try pressing a when you load and game and do it there if its possible

[@teddybeer6206]

Anyone know how to add NTSC shaders?

[@boberbib3178]

You can turn blood on in meatal slug.

[@gnastyg7798]

Drew, do you have any idea why MK2 wouldnt have shadows?? MK3 has shadows!!!

[@darreldanos9286]

How weird. I do know on the Pit II stage, there are no shadows. Is this arcade or a home console?

[@myoldblackdog]

I can't stand looking at pixelated characters so video smoothing and shading are improvements. My eyes want to merge pixels into something more coherent. Guess it's a personal preference. Thanks for the tutorial.

[@jamesreamesjr6024]

Your voice over drops out at 7:33. I can faintly hear you in the background but it's really hard to hear what you are saying.

[@drewtalks]

Yup switch programs, sorry

[@inceptional]

For me it's either no shaders whatsoever or a little bit of smoothing.

[@Topesio66]

Watching metal slug with this aspect ratio makes me sick. First thing first! Correct 4:3 aspect ratio.

[@KassieCBR600RR]

how about stfu i play in 21:9

[@ShinyArjunSingh]

Wow

[@drewtalks]

nice

[@sackofsadkittens4397]

love me sum scanlines

[@valhallaoutcast]

I am driving my self nuts trying to pick a shader, I like the CRT Curved one because it fits the overlay best, but I also like the look of no scanlines better so I end up with no shader but then it doesn't fit the overlay the best Then there is resolution, and aspect ratio so many options I am flopping all over

[@drewtalks]

YUP! Limitless

[@aguyandhiscomputer]

Let me play a little and show you the differences. 20 mins later...

[@dogeymon83]

Ratio is pronounced “ray-shee-oh”…..not “radio”……anyways, just sayin

[@TomGeek1980]

FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@drewtalks]

got em tom!

[@massv953]

ugghhh big time fail here...you ran all of these with the games gfx stretched out. to 16:9. Notice how wide and distorted the statue head is at the start? This game made for 4:3 like most old game, setting it to 16:9 screwed the gfx up big time no matter what shader you use

[@massv953]

Also stretching it like that will really screw up games that made heavy use of scanlies in CRTs

[@mrmonday677]

Shame u play Metal Slug without BLOOD. smfh.

[@drewtalks]

true

[@MobileDecay]

“I kinda prefer... What?!!! 😡🔪😵”

[@SteveEricJordan]

damn this video is a mess on so many levels. sorry but unwatchable.

[@drewtalks]

for sure, one of my older videos