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[Stike]

EDIT: I connected it wrong! IT WORKS! See below!

ORIGINAL POST:
The dream is dead.

The cable was advertised as „up to 1080p“ and „120Hz, compatible with VR“, so I decided to order one and hopefully improve somehow the image quality of PSVR.

Today, it arrived and I set it all up correctly. Of course, in order to get a better image on the headset, the mCable had to be placed between the PS4 Pro and the PSVR processor unit. (Update: Which turned out to be the wrong way to connect it!)

However, there are some quirks I first ran into:
- The PS4 image is only displayed (processor box only turns on) when you turn on the headset. Before that, the TV stays black.
- When using the PSVR headset, the forwarded picture to the TV turns black, thus removing any chance for asynchronous multiplayer or spectators in the room

Well, I thought I could deal with this, but here comes the real kicker:
- When the PSVR headset switches from „cinema screen mode“ to VR mode, the headset somehow doesn‘t notice this.

The result is this: https://twitter.com/StikeGamer/status/921376698968559622/photo/1

You get the unoptimized VR image on the PSVR screen on both eyes

I think the cable will work nicely with the Switch and PS3 and others, but any hope to improve the PSVR image with it is crushed ;(

—END OF ORIGINAL POST—

Update:
The mCable has to be connected like this:
- Connect the „Source“ side to the right HDMI port on the front of the VR processor box
- Connect the „TV“ side to the now openly dangling PSVR cable with a female-female adaptor (!)

Then the cable works as advertised. I can‘t believe it, but yes, it works. VR games now are even more smoothly anti-aliased than before. RE7 and „Robot Rescue“ from Playroom were the first ones I tried, and I noticed barely any flickering or aliasing, where it was more noticeable before.

As a first conclusion, I‘d say it is a quite expensive way to improve the image quality, but if you really want to squeeze out the best image you can get from PSVR, it‘s worth it. I mean, it‘s not like you can buy a better gfx card for your PSVR, so...

 

[marc^o^]

I think the cable will work nicely with the Switch

Sorry to hear that. I'll report early next week about pairing it with Switch and a 65' 4K TV, as I should receive it on Monday.

 

[radewagon]

A Redditor asked that I take some photos of Wii titles using the WiiU's 480p output. I thought they turned out pretty great.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom via HDMI (480p)



Tatsunoko vs. Capcom via mCable (1080p)



Skyward Sword via HDMI (480p)



Skyward Sword via mCable (1080p)

 

[DOT DASH DOT]

A Redditor asked that I take some photos of Wii titles using the WiiU's 480p output. I thought they turned out pretty great.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom via HDMI (480p)



Tatsunoko vs. Capcom via mCable (1080p)



Skyward Sword via HDMI (480p)



Skyward Sword via mCable (1080p)

Surely you should have just taken 480p shots with and without the Mcable? It's really hard to get a handle on your comparison.

 

[forrest]

It might just be me, but I'm perceiving a bit of crushed blacks or increase in black levels from all of the comparisons including the cinema examples given in the Linus Tech Tips video.

 

[Timu]

A Redditor asked that I take some photos of Wii titles using the WiiU's 480p output. I thought they turned out pretty great.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom via HDMI (480p)



Tatsunoko vs. Capcom via mCable (1080p)



Skyward Sword via HDMI (480p)



Skyward Sword via mCable (1080p)

Yep, there's definitely a difference!

 

[marc^o^]

Looks like a good upgrade, can’t wait to see it with Switch games.

 

[Golden_Pigeon]

So, what is the downside of using that cable ?

 

[Blam]

So, what is the downside of using that cable ?

Other then losing a usb port I don't see anything.

 

[xxbrothawizxx63]

I definitely want this for my Switch, but I'm willing to wait until the price comes down.

Edit: Definitely agree it would be better suited to being built right into the TV.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

There's no point in trying to play PS2 games through this cable. It's only really effective with games outputting at their native resolutions, and PS2 games almost universally use odd frame buffer sizes that are neither 640x480 or 720x480. Also all PS2 games output by the PS3 are blurred by the PS3 unless you output at 480i. This blurring would defeat the edge detection of the cable.

This is why I suggest trying it on a real PS2 using the Graphic Synthesizer Mode Selector. It may not work at all, but no one will really know until they try. I haven't had time to play with it myself, but I'd like to see the results.

 

[Timu]

There's no point in trying to play PS2 games through this cable. It's only really effective with games outputting at their native resolutions, and PS2 games almost universally use odd frame buffer sizes that are neither 640x480 or 720x480.

In my experience, they seem to all output at 720x480, proof is in the capture cards I use for it!

 

[radewagon]

Surely you should have just taken 480p shots with and without the Mcable? It's really hard to get a handle on your comparison.

Oh, sorry for not explaining. The mCable does its own scaling. So, both images are from the WiiU outputting in 480p but the signal going to the TV is different when the mCable is attached since it sends an upscaled 1080p image.

This is why I suggest trying it on a real PS2 using the Graphic Synthesizer Mode Selector. It may not work at all, but no one will really know until they try. I haven't had time to play with it myself, but I'd like to see the results.

Not sure what using Graphic Synthesizer Mode Selector means, but the images I took are from a real PS2 being fed through an OSSC to get a 480p HDMI signal using bob deinterlacing.

 

[DOT DASH DOT]

Oh, sorry for not explaining. The mCable does its own scaling. So, both images are from the WiiU outputting in 480p but the signal going to the TV is different when the mCable is attached since it sends an upscaled 1080p image.



Not sure what using Graphic Synthesizer Mode Selector means, but the images I took are from a real PS2 being fed through an OSSC to get a 480p HDMI signal using bob deinterlacing.

Oh right, well in that case it looks great!

 

[Saint Gregory]

The Linus video I watched had him say high resolutions benefit less then lower and you need to have the game running at the same Res as the TV, so if the switch is set to 1080p and a game runs at lower Res it's going to fail to work as well.

Try running the switch docked at 720p it might show some cool improvements to Zelda, maybe.

I lost track of this thread so I missed this. I didn't even realize that games would actually render at 720P if I lower it in the menu so I'll give it a shot .

After a couple of weeks using the cable I still can't say for sure if it's work the price of admission but it's really impressive with games like MK8, Splatoon 2, Arms and FE Warriors. MK8 and Arms look like different games almost.

 

[Peterthumpa]

Well, since GAF is back I'm bumping this thread to share my experience with the cable, as I don't know if I'm going to keep posting here as often. Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with the results, so judge for yourself:

Summary:

Comparisons:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

 

[marc^o^]

Well, since GAF is back I'm bumping this thread to share my experience with the cable, as I don't know if I'm going to keep posting here as often. Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with the results, so judge for yourself:

Summary:

Comparisons:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

Looks like it's fantastic for Switch games 0_o

I just got mine and will test it tonight with FIFA 18

 

[Litri]

Those pics look great. Is there any lag when using the cable?

 

[Peterthumpa]

Those pics look great. Is there any lag when using the cable?

Nope, none at all.

 

[RowdyReverb]

This is god damned sorcery

 

[jobrro]

Just learnt about this today while GAF was down. Googled it because it was, I thought, obviously snake oil and found the Linus video. Still not overly useful for consoles IMO because according to the video I watched at least output resolution needs to match the rendered resolution. That's getting more difficult in today's environment of Xs and Pros and the more and more often used dynamic resolution, not to mention games which flat out render at 720p or 900p on the base systems.


Still pretty amazing tech from the sounds of it, would like to see a DF video.

Some of the pics from the update are from 900p games so maybe something has changed.

 

[Peterthumpa]

Just learnt about this today while GAF was down. Googled it because it was, I thought, obviously snake oil and found the Linus video. Still not overly useful for consoles IMO because according to the video I watched at least output resolution needs to match the rendered resolution. That's getting more difficult in today's environment of Xs and Pros and the more and more often used dynamic resolution, not to mention games which flat out render at 720p or 900p on the base systems.


Still pretty amazing tech from the sounds of it, would like to see a DF video.

Well, Zelda is 900p docked and as you can see, works very well with it. My guess is that the Switch is actually upscaling the output to 1080p, so the cable gets what it expects.

 

[jobrro]

Well, Zelda is 900p docked and as you can see, works very well with it. My guess is that the Switch is actually upscaling the output to 1080p, so the cable gets what it expects.

Yeah just edited my post.

That's interesting. Maybe the Linus video I saw was more focused on PC aspect. If it works with console based resolution upscaling that is great.

I kept waiting for some downside like muddied textures or something when I watched the Linus video but it never really came.

 

[JayBabay]

Nope, none at all.

This cable seems like a godsend for docked Switch play. As long as there is no loss in detail then this is a no brainer.

 

[Peterthumpa]

This cable seems like a godsend for docked Switch play. As long as there is no loss in detail then this is a no brainer.

And frankly, I couldn't see any. It really sounds too good to be true, but it is.

 

[marc^o^]

And frankly, I couldn't see any. It really sounds too good to be true, but it is.

Switch graphic card upgdrade through a cable, amazing!

Does it have a chance to upgrade HTC Vive visuals as well (better AA)?

 

[Peterthumpa]

Switch graphic card upgdrade through a cable, amazing!

Does it have a chance to upgrade HTC Vive visuals as well (better AA)?

Well, apparently yes, read the first post in this same page.

 

[gingerbeardman]

Has anybody tried this Seiki cable that purports to do a similar thing?

Seiki SU4KC1 SH4KC1 U-Vision
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071X6SBWQ/

Apparently this uses the same chip as the first generation (grey) mCable.

There's also a similar Philips upscaling cable:

Philips 4K (Technicolor) Ultra HD Upscaling HDMI Cable (SWV9401W) 1.8m UHD 2160p https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MS7XTNF/

 

[kristianity77]

So would this lead be decent in improving the image on an original Xbox 360? Always thought about picking one up and if this improved image quality it would be even better.

 

[radewagon]

This cable seems like a godsend for docked Switch play. As long as there is no loss in detail then this is a no brainer.

Well, loss of detail is pretty contingent on what you're feeding to the cable. The way that it smooths things out seems to vary from game to game. In some games, you get a smeary look that is similar to what games like Skyward Sword or Breath of the Wild look like. It is reminiscent of heavy DNR that was used on older blurays to eliminate grain. It really seems to vary either how much it's applied or how noticeable it is.

I've got more photos of what the cable does in a review I did. Available at this link (no ads).

Other than that, the cable does wonders. I've been testing the cable for a while now and even I'm shocked at how great those Switch screenshots look.

 

[f@luS]

Wow just read about this thread


So for the switch : yay ?
What about ps4(pro) / Xbox One (x)???


Don’t mind the price tag

 

[Jigolo]

Well, since GAF is back I'm bumping this thread to share my experience with the cable, as I don't know if I'm going to keep posting here as often. Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with the results, so judge for yourself:

Summary:

images

Bro THANK YOU. Seems like a good buy for Nintendo consoles which games typically don't have AA. I'm leaning towards buying this thing when it's cheaper just for my switch and Wii U. I do still want to see more tests done. Like why is there a color shift and can this just be reproduced by increasing sharpness on the TV

 

[tkscz]

I have a capture device (hauppauge hd pvr 2) and I'm wondering, if I plugged the MCable into the input (from game to capture device) would it record the visuals with the anti-aliasing? Does anyone else have a capture device that can test this?

 

[Xcell Miguel]

This looks nice but I really dislike the sharpening effect it adds. It's like a bad ReShade preset.

 

[SMOK3Y]

Linus did a review he seemed pretty impressed

 

[sirap]

This looks nice but I really dislike the sharpening effect it adds. It's like a bad ReShade preset.

It's a tad exaggerated in screenshots, but from a distance it adds some nice micro-contrast. I do wish we could tweak the value, but atm I'm getting by with reducing the TV's sharpness.

 

[Peterthumpa]

Bro THANK YOU. Seems like a good buy for Nintendo consoles which games typically don't have AA. I'm leaning towards buying this thing when it's cheaper just for my switch and Wii U. I do still want to see more tests done. Like why is there a color shift and can this just be reproduced by increasing sharpness on the TV

No worries mate. There's no colour shift, difference in colours is just my phone compensating the light adjustments automatically. It looks exactly the same to me, colour wise.

 

[Peterthumpa]

I have a capture device (hauppauge hd pvr 2) and I'm wondering, if I plugged the MCable into the input (from game to capture device) would it record the visuals with the anti-aliasing? Does anyone else have a capture device that can test this?

One end of the cable must be plugged into the TV's HDMI input, or else it doesn't work.

 

[Peterthumpa]

Wow just read about this thread


So for the switch : yay ?
What about ps4(pro) / Xbox One (x)???


Don't mind the price tag

As long as you set the PS4/XB1 to output at 1080p, you're good to go. The cable does not support 4K output.
EDIT: yeah, forgot to quote all of you in a single reply, sorry.

 

[f@luS]

As long as you set the PS4/XB1 to output at 1080p, you're good to go. The cable does not support 4K output.
EDIT: yeah, forgot to quote all of you in a single reply, sorry.

Oh so if I have a 4k TV it’s useless for Xbox One /ps4 pro.

So it’s only for the switch in my situation right ? And is it a buy or no ??

 

[f@luS]

Where Can I order this in Europe ?

 

[Timu]

Well, since GAF is back I'm bumping this thread to share my experience with the cable, as I don't know if I'm going to keep posting here as often. Anyway, I'm pretty impressed with the results, so judge for yourself:

Summary:

Comparisons:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

Generic:

mCable:

No lie, that is amazing!!!

 

[f@luS]

Bought it on official site for my switch

 

[Espada]

Yeah, these images + Linus' review definitely killed the idea that this is snake oil. It has some definite limitations though, and on the PC side it applies a really aggressive sharpening to the final image.

But for stuff like the Switch this looks like a godsend.

 

[phoisgood495]

These look extremely impressive, but 120 bucks is a hard sell. If this ever drops down to 50-60 bucks I will buy it instantly mainly for use with my Switch.

I remember in the Linus Tech Tips video he said there was some wonkiness with 4k. Do you guys know how well this plays with the Switch on a 4K TV?

 

[Afrikan]

anyone try this with DriveClub?

 

[Espada]

These look extremely impressive, but 120 bucks is a hard sell. If this ever drops down to 50-60 bucks I will buy it instantly mainly for use with my Switch.

I remember in the Linus Tech Tips video he said there was some wonkiness with 4k. Do you guys know how well this plays with the Switch on a 4K TV?

Didn't he say it straight up doesn't support 4K or something along those lines. I'd just stick to a regular HDMI cable in your arrangement.

 

[phoisgood495]

Didn't he say it straight up doesn't support 4K or something along those lines. I'd just stick to a regular HDMI cable in your arrangement.

I think since it's only HDMI 1.4 it supports 4k at 24FPS, but most TVs support outputting at a lower resolution. So I think I could set it to 1080p mode and it should work in theory.

But yeah I'll probably wait for an HDMI 2.0 cable or a significant price drop before jumping on this.

 

[gingerbeardman]

But yeah I'll probably wait for an HDMI 2.0 cable or a significant price drop before jumping on this.

why not try the less expensive Seiki or Philips cables?

I'm thinking I'll take a punt on the Seiki one.

 

[geomon]

This looks pretty hot but man that's pricey for a small cable.