MiSTer FPGA in 4K! Direct Video Mode 1 on RetroTink 4K over HDMI...Super Impressive!

[@TheHiddenFortress81]

The Retrotink 4K has ruined my life. Ive been playing games all night and i just realized its 3am. Its friggin awesome.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Haha happens to the best of us

[@sockpuppet7881]

Thank you for this. Cleared all my lingering confusion.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

👍 happy to do it

[@dirtydata]

Thanks!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Super appreciate it

[@MichaelM28]

Are there any profiles for PS1 games through Direct Video from the MISTER I can download? All the PS1 profiles pre-loaded on the MISTER are for analogue inputs only.

[@markkilborn512]

This is great, thank you! Any chance of you doing a future video where you get into the masks and CRT profiles?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Perhaps. We shall see how these do first

[@timothyscotthendrix]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Second this too! I'd love to know more specifically about how the HDR CRT emulation works on an OLED with the Direct Video scaler. (I think KZbin even supports HDR now? Memory fails.)

[@prufrockrenegade]

​​​​@@VideoGameEsoterica the mask stuff, to me, is the main selling point of the RT4k when I already have a MiSTer. What I've seen so far from these videos looks great, but not a $700+ difference to the MiSTer's native output IMHO. But that's kind of moot to me anyway because I pretty much never go for the clean pixel look when I use MiSTer's HDMI output. I'm always trying to emulate one of my CRTs, which I think the MiSTer by itself only does an adequate job of doing. Seeing the RT4k really nail even just one type of CRT (consumer shadow mask, consumer aperture grille, high res PC shadow mask, high TVL PVM, etc) would be the deciding factor for whether an RT4k is worth getting for me. Personally, for clean pixel output, MiSTer's more than sharp enough for my needs at this point 🤷‍♂️. I can see how super clean output is important to others though, especially content creators

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I mean the diff between 1080p and 4K, resolution wise, comes down a lot to viewing distances too. At a certain distance it’s not that ascertainable

[@iwillnotcomply007]

Awesome video. It would be great to see some upclose comparisons of the cores processed with mister vs retrotink 4k, or some before/after with different settings applied in the retrotink if you are looking for ideas for future content.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Like zoomed in? Just trying to understand :)

[@madison4698]

@@VideoGameEsotericayeah I’d love to see a zoomed in crop with side by side comparisons or at least back and forth A/B comparisons.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’d I do another vid I’ll try and throw some in

[@NanoCresta1982]

I love how the Sega Genesis core looks in composite video. That for me is pure nostalgia!!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It does have a nostalgic look for sure

[@SurroundedByidiots83]

Can all mister io boards do direct video out thru hdmi into the tink 4k and will it work with my 16 port hdmi switch ?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Direct video out comes from the Terasic FPGA board, not any IO board. So every MisTer ever can output direct video. It MAY work with your switch. But there are some switches out there it doesn’t play nice with

[@SurroundedByidiots83]

Thank you. I enjoy the videos. I’ve been here since the channel was 400 strong 🤣 and now you have 40,000 that’s just crazy. Congratulations 🫵👍

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Wow 400? Would you believe that somehow at 40K…I somehow feel small? I don’t think I’ll really feel like a “big channel” til 100K! The march continues

[@SurroundedByidiots83]

I’m sure you’ll get there. I have 1 more question. I’ve got my mister running direct video into my retrorink 4k and i can’t get the n64 core to work. Is there something extra I need to do ? All the other cores work fine and look glorious. I’ve never seen such a good picture.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No should just work on N64 too

[@MesonW]

Loving these Retrotink4K+MiSTer videos. Hope they're doing well enough to trigger more :) I have a question about scan lines in the video: aren't they in white rather than black? They don't stand out in black areas but seem a brighter pixel edge rather than a black gap. The image looks nice n bright n doesn't need HDR to compensate, but is this dark vs light scanline just an option somewhere?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I have a few more planned :)

[@brobocop8293]

those subtle scanlines looks fantastic... almost looks like my JVC-D series. i cant wait until my tink4k gets here.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

The screen effects are very good. You’ll enjoy them

[@jimkincaidz]

Amazing, love this so much!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad you enjoyed :)

[@jmssun]

Great to see direct video! Looks so clean but I always wish there would be an NDI option to export source signal to OBS or hdd via RJ45 🎉

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

There is now groovymister which is moving a signal across the RJ45 port. I’ve yet to test it

[@H6rdc0re]

Nice video but can I request another Mister DV1 video? I would like to see how 480i games and 240p/480i switching games look like. Think Tekken 3 (PS1), Silent Hill (PS1), Die Hard Arcade (Saturn) and Resident Evil 2 (N64).

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Maybe in the future :) I may do an interlacing specific vid

[@MichaelM28]

Just tried it myself and it works perfectly with Silent Hill and Chrono Cross plus you get the benefit of motion adaptive deinterlacing

[@AlexRoseGames]

I'd love to see a 1:1 comparison between mister pure vs retrotink + mister at 1080 to see if there's a difference

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I could check in a future vid but the MiSTer scaler is so great I feel like we’d be looking at 1:1 footage at 1080

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

If these videos do well I’ll certainly make more

[@Witchboard1]

My favorite is Metal Slug 3 as well. That's pretty awesome, but I can't drop the bones on a RetroTink 4K. I understand it's cheap for what it does, but it's not in the cards for me, at least not anytime soon.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

That’s fair. Everyone gets to decide where to spend their retro gaming cash :)

[@carlmeanwell9180]

Brilliant stuff, thanks again

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Happy to do it 👍

[@phillai]

That looks absolutely amazing! I might have to upgrade and part with my RetroTINK 5X! 😬

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’m sure you could get decent $$ for the 5X

[@phillai]

@@VideoGameEsoterica maybe not as much when I've misplaced the remote! 😆

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Hahaha losing remotes is what I do. Every damn time

[@rolux4853]

Two days ago I finally got my Retrotink 4K and no matter what I do it will not detect the Direct Video of the MISTer FPGA. It always shows HDMI 720p even if all the settings in the ini file are correct ant the RT4K has the latest firmware. This is the only thing which I bought the RT4K for and now it is not working, I don’t know what to do. I even think about sending that thing back since I don’t use it for real consoles. My real consoles are only connected to CRTs. I wanted something to play CRT quality games on the OLED in the living room, but now im truly disappointed since I cant figure out what on earth is prohibiting it from working.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Contact me on Twitter. Send me a dm. You can send me your INI and I can take a look because it should not have an issue

[@antivanti]

Latest firmware also rotates scanline and masks in RoTATE mode. Not necessary with DV1 via HDMI but for analog MiSTer or real hardware it is. Now I just gotta figure out what kind of quality Arcade monitors were used back in the day 😊

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Like what brand of monitors or? If you are looking for one I recommend a tri sync for ease of use

[@antivanti]

@@VideoGameEsoterica What kind of mask they had and how sharp they were when it comes to the scanlines and the "horizontal" blur factor. One other thing still on my wishlist is ability to emulate composite and RF picture degradation mainly from NTSC and PAL color encoding but also noise and scanline wobble Looking at the lava/quicksand in Metroid for NES in Retroarch for example. Normally it looks like a weird pixel mosaic but turn on NTSC color encoding and it looks a lot more natural 😊

[@simon41978]

Taito F3 and CPS3 running at 4k will be heavenly.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

F3 is one of the prettiest 2D platforms IMO

[@lpuzzello]

After watching the video and trying here, what a difference , not sure if is a placebo but the color are more vibrant comparting to RGB. I think I'll keep the Mister like this until I got a decent HDMI switch that works with DV1.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Vibrancy could change between digital and analog. Lot of factors involved

[@James23031976]

Awesome setup, but it seems that the Ro-tate function is not available. It mentions check framerate. What to do? Thnx!!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Lower sample rate to 1024 I believe. Check the RetroTink 4K manual for specific number. Doing this from memory

[@ericcreton4762]

I have try but , some core have double picture side by side with my rétro tink 4k in direct vidéo

[@matthewhall6288]

I'm wondering why the "dark" part of the scanline filter looks light in this video. Please note I'm not watching in 4K.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

YT compression sadly kills so much of what I see in Resolve / on my monitor. So it could be compression issues. It could be the super Gaussian filter I was showing. It could be your screen. It could be a large number of variables honestly

[@drdroop2163]

Can you tell a difference between a real PS1 over RGB and the mister over digital through a RT4k? In my experience the RT4k kind of makes them pretty much equal. I, however, haven't done side by side screenshots zoomed in. MiSTer + RT4K is an absolute killer combo.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

With zero enhancements on the PS1 core no. Most games feel identical

[@TheHiddenFortress81]

Yeah that’s a good question. I’m torn between unhooking my PS1 from my CRT or just trying to run the Mister core. Was thinking of doing a Lunar and or SotN play through again. Are those fully working? They must be at this point I would assume.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Yes both should be fully working

[@mindscan420]

Setting direct video to 1 I just get a weird pink-ish image on everything… anybody know the issue and fix?

[@cwells7285]

man, that looks so good! what kind of latency did you get?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Fluctuated but always under 16ms

[@TheHiddenFortress81]

Anyone getting just like a red output when using Video Direct via HDMI directly into Tink4K?

[@TheHiddenFortress81]

Figured this out. Had to change VGA to “0” in the ini. Working great now. This is amazing!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Glad you already solved it

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

👍

[@cornellouis]

I'm confused. The direct video inputs to the tink 4k through the HDMI "out"? Then where is the tink 4k outputting its video?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No I pointed at the wrong hdmi. Mister goes IN, output goes OUT

[@Uzumaki82]

Can you use the firebrand x / wobbling pixels profiles on DV1 mister mode? Or they are only for the scart port right now? Does the mister main menu outside of the cores still display 1080p or 240p?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

They pivot to the SCART mode but it seems if you activate them and it changes inputs, if you change BACK to the MiSTer input the effects of the profiles stay active. Obv that’s a weird trick

[@antivanti]

The input is part of the the profile. Normally you just change the input and save over the current profile. Haven't tried with this auto-stuff with the MiSTer tho because my SD card turned read only so I can't update the firmware atm (Mike apparently got a bad batch of cards for the first shipments of RT4K)

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Mine did as well. I had to set up a new card. No amount of toggling the switch would get it out of read only mode

[@skrich2]

When I run my Mister in Direct video via hdmi the cores have a red tint to them, except the chess utility core, but the menu looks perfect. Is there a setting that I have messed up on the Mister?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Check color range and make sure it’s full

[@MichaelM28]

So the MISTER sends out a 240p signal to the Retrotink? What about 480i games? Can I output them as 480i so I can use motion adaptive deinterlacing on the Retrotink 4K?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It should send out whatever the core specifies. I could test some interlaced stuff later for sure

[@MichaelM28]

@@VideoGameEsotericaI tried Dead or Alive on PS1 which is 480i but everything outputs as 3148x255p

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Hmm I’ll have to check into it

[@MichaelM28]

​@@VideoGameEsoterica Just got my Retrotink 4K and the MISTER does in fact send 480i to the Tink over HDMI with Direct Video to allow for motion adaptive deinterlacing. As for my previous comment about all PS1 games outputting as 3148x255p, that was direct to my TV from the MISTER over HDMI as I didn't have a Tink4K then. I'm guessing Direct Video mode uses some kind of off-spec 240p that only the MISTER can correctly interpret?

[@bodine1231]

The 4k refuses to show any signal via hdmi from my Mister. Even after a fresh install, sucks. All other hdmi sources (switch, ps3) work perfectly.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Direct_video=1 yes? Might be best to try a diff HDMI cable. Start with simple things

[@renesav]

Anyone else triee the 480p move on n64 core, it doesnt work on the retrotink 4k in DV1 mode, it just go black, audio work but yea shame..

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I haven’t tried yet myself

[@renesav]

Yea DB0 work, DB1 black screen, had to put on 0 as now that i saw the 480p mode.. i csnt go back? Too blurry lol

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’ll try in the next few days

[@RetroRockGamer]

I'm kind of confused as to the benefit of this vs just using the MiSTer, is it just that it upscale to 4k?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Upscale to 4K / filters natively at 4K

[@eltoncavalcanti1]

Hi! Are the scanlines being generated by mister or retrotink 4k? Thanks!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

All scanlines shown are generated by Tink

[@MichaelM28]

After enabling Direct Video the MISTER front-end is all glitchy and on the left side of the screen. Is this normal?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Depending on settings yes it can be

[@MichaelM28]

@@VideoGameEsotericaany idea how to fix it? i tried downloading the default mister ini file and didn't change anything apart from direct video = on and it's still happening. if i use the cropping/scaling function on the tink4k to fix it it messes up the scaling on my cores.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

I’ll ask around. I saw one other person with the issue but I haven’t seen much on it info wise yet

[@RossallB]

@@MichaelM28 I had this issue and fixed it by setting Dvi_mode=1 in the Mister.ini file, it was set to 0 and on the menu this pushed it all the way over to the left

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

But then you’d lose audio wouldn’t you? That’s what the INI says

[@aschmidtm]

So you connect the video out from the MiSTer to the video out on the RT4K?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

HDMI out on MiSTer to HDMI IN on Tink

[@aschmidtm]

You may want to review the video from 0:50 to 1:00

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Ahh I inverted the word. In, out…muddled it. I’m sure people till know but I’ll make a note in description

[@mhmetalheart]

I met a very stupid issue. the MD, CPS1, CPS1.5, TGFX16 doesn't work on DV1 (show: HDMI NO SIGNAL). Yes, the rest JT's cores work fine like JHOUSE, alien, TNMT, Ddragons2, and NES, SNES, SS, PS, N64,GB,GBA,neogeo are also work fine. Do you have any ideas on it? I deleted all these nvm, cfg. Even use a clean new SD card, Update all. Nothing happened. And my mister is dual sdram.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

No I’ve never encountered that. I’ll ask around and see if anyone has but I haven’t heard mention of it

[@mhmetalheart]

@@VideoGameEsoterica Many thanks. Maybe the dual sdram issue?

[@mhmetalheart]

@@VideoGameEsoterica by the way, main core is 240331. Jt is 240426. Everything is newest (unstable also updated)

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Shouldn’t really affect direct video modes

[@mhmetalheart]

issue resolved. I disconnected my matrix/spliter. Use the Mister link 4K directly. It was totally resolved. How stupid I am.

[@TheHiddenFortress81]

Question, if youre using an HDMI switch, does it need to be HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 to pass the metadata along?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Great question. I haven’t heard anything so I’d have to test it myself. I couldn’t find a spec on the Terasic site specifying what gen of HDMI it’s putting out

[@TheHiddenFortress81]

@@VideoGameEsoterica as soon as i clock out from work i’ll mess around and see if i can tell if its working on the neogeo and genesis cores.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s HDMI 1.4. So obv either is fine

[@linkzz00]

Is this using a custom main/cores still or in update_all yet?

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

DV1 data is in main now. Most cores aren’t sending crop info yet so you need firmware 1.0.5 or greater to get cropping on the remote. I’m sure cores will update in the future to accommodate for more info but this is still the “early days”

[@_BELMONT_]

damn! i want to get one so bad! i would have to get a 4k tv or monitor too! a lot of the features make seem worth it even without a 4k display! i just fell down the 3d printer rabbit hole so maybe next midlife crisis ill scoop one!

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It’s legit at 1080p60 too

[@METR0lD]

More 4K goodness! I love my crispy pixels. 😍

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

And they are most definitely crispy here

[@METR0lD]

The crispier the better! I want to be able to cut myself on those pixels.

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Like sharp cheese 😂

[@KyleShawXD]

I'd perform favors for a Retrotink 4k

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

🤣 probably head to the back alley of your local Wendy’s then

[@kenkwok83]

Will this look good on OLeD monitor

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

Absolutely

[@kenkwok83]

@@VideoGameEsoterica cool. I just got a new Alienware 3225qf just to work with mister fpga and retrotink4k

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

@kenkwok83 will be a great combo

[@WarlikeSRK]

I was hyped, but then I saw the price of that thing! I have no idea where people get so much cash to spend after paying their bills and mortgages... I wish I had disposable income lol

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It certainly has a price tag lol. There’s value in the price but I do understand it’s a high price

[@DrLilo]

Now we're talking. I cannot justify $750 just to go from 1080p to 4K right now but... HOT BALLS does that look good

[@VideoGameEsoterica]

It genuinely looks great stock and then you can do whatever you want on top of that

[@treepizzle]

Why put into hdmi out. That’s confusing. Out goes to tv. In goes to mister.