Hey everyone!
Welcome back to the Pixel FX monthly newsletter! We appreciate everyone’s excitement over the first newsletter, and hope to continue supplying everyone with useful information about what’s going on at Pixel FX HQ.
New Firmware For RetroGEM/ Digital Mods and Morph
Over the past few months, we’ve been hard at work adding new firmware features to our RetroGEM/Digital mods and the Morph in their unstable branches. After thorough refinement and testing, these features are now part of the latest stable firmware releases (available today) for both the GEMs/Digitals and the Morph. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new in these updates:
RetroGEM/Digitals Firmware
Improved Motion Adaptive Deinterlacing for all GEMs/Digitals, with code ported from the Morph.
Enhanced Direct Video with multiple modes:
FX-Direct: Normalized video output to 720p with PixelFX metadata.
DV1 Passthrough: Standards-compliant output with DV1 metadata.
DV1 Direct Video: Raw uncompressed video output with DV1 metadata.
Reduced OSD menu size in Direct Mode.
New horizontal/vertical auto-correct option for PS1/PS2.
Added option to invert the status LED(s), useful for transparent shells.
Updated Discord companion app (Pixel FX Discord Companion App) with new features:
Added N64 Support
Added some cover art
For a full list of changes, check out the changelogs:
Morph 4K Firmware
Added HDR pipeline:
HDR10 color correction.
12-bit linear light processing pipeline for higher color precision.
SMPTE 2084 Perceptual Quantizer with adjustable nits for HDR brightness control.
Dithering for smoother gradients and reduced banding.
Saturation and gamma control (gamma control for both input and output).
Color profile support for importing and exporting color correction settings from other devices. For example, color profiles can be used to adjust white point, such as D93 for Japanese media.
New profile preset system:
Save and load console-specific settings.
.ini file based preset management, accessible via the OSD menu.
Slotmask editor with .ini mask upload support.
Web UI and SD card manager
Enables multi-file uploading for easy remote SD card management.
Supports ZIP file extraction for uploads to the top-level SD directory.
Apply console-specific presets directly from the WebUI.
Apply firmware updates, including previous versions, from the WebUI.
Import MiSTer masks into subdirectories.
Includes temperature monitoring.
Other highlights
Improved motion adaptive deinterlacing.
LED color control for customizable lighting.
Debug logging for easier troubleshooting.
SD card information screen in the OSD.
Fan speed control for optional cooling fan (see below for more details).
Support for alternative FPGA firmware loading and configuration for future specialized updates.
For a full list of changes, check out the changelog.
Previous stable versions
If you experience any issues with new firmware, the previous stable versions are available at the links below.
Other Software Announcements
In addition to the firmware changes, we’ve revamped the firmware portal to make it easier to manually download the latest or previous firmware versions for most PixelFX products. We’ve also introduced RSS feeds, so you can stay up to date with new firmware releases and changes as they happen. RSS feed URLs are available in the firmware portal.
We've begun documenting several key APIs and protocols to help developers integrate and extend our products. This is still a work-in-progress, but currently available documentation includes:
Analog Crosspoint vs Analog Bridge
If you are a member of the Pixel FX Discord, you’ve likely come across discussions from the team about an “Analog Crosspoint” module for the Morph. Let’s talk about the differences between the Analog Crosspoint and the Analog Bridge.
Before we discuss details of the Analog Crosspoint, we want to be clear that it will not be released at the same time as the Analog Bridge module and the release date is still to be determined (TBD). While much of the physical design of the Analog Crosspoint is completed, keep in mind that aspects of its functionality may still change before the final release. With that said, we want to ensure you have the most up-to-date information to help you decide which of the Morph’s modules and extension PCBs are right for you.
The Analog Crosspoint is a module for the Morph (similar to the Analog Bridge) that is capable of handling both analog video input and output. Note that because the Analog Bridge and Analog Crosspoint both connect to the Morph’s expansion slot, both modules cannot be used in the same Morph at the same time. One advantage of the Morph’s modularity is that the same extension PCBs will work with both the Analog Bridge and the Analog Crosspoint.
When examining the Morph extension PCB backplates, you’ll notice “A” and “B” markings on the groups of analog ports. With the Analog Crosspoint module installed, ports with the “A” marking will act as an analog video output, powered by a DAC on the module. Ports with the “B” marking will remain usable as analog input for the Morph.For the initial release the Crosspoint’s analog video output will conform to RGB video standards (RGBHV or RGBS, depending on the resolution). Future updates may support additional video output standards.
The Analog Crosspoint will have two operating modes. The first mode is “Passthrough Mode”, which outputs any analog signals sent into the Morph through the analog output. It also supports digital input sources, such as direct mode from a RetroGEM-equipped console or MiSTer. In this mode, the console’s original resolution can be output to a CRT while the digital output can display scaled video on a modern TV or capture device.
Two key things to note about this mode: The “passthrough” analog output uses the RGB color format, regardless of the colorspace of the original analog video signal. Additionally, this mode does not support upscaling or downscaling of the original resolution via the analog output, although the digital output can still be scaled.
The second mode, called “Mirror Mode”, enables the Morph to upscale analog or digital inputs to a different resolution, with a maximum of 480p. In this mode, the analog and digital outputs will always share the same resolution, allowing input to be upscaled to suit your CRT, TV, or capture device.
We hope these details clarify the differences between the Analog Bridge and the Analog Crosspoint. Stay tuned for more updates on the Analog Crosspoint as we get closer to the release date.
New Morph Fan Mount
Finally, we’re excited to share an optional 3D printable fan mount for the Morph!
This fan mount attaches to the base Morph PCB with a few screws. The fan is centered over the vent slots in the new vented Morph case, improving airflow throughout the Morph enclosure. This is useful if you want to use the Morph in an enclosed environment, such as a TV stand or network rack.
Using a simple pin header, you can easily power and control 5v fans from the Morph PCB.
The fan features static RPM control, meaning that while the fan can be disabled and the RPM can be adjusted, it currently cannot adjust speed based on temperature. RPM can be changed from the Morph menu.
3D print files for the fan mount are available here: M4K_FAN.zip
Any 40x10mm 5v 3 pin fan will work, but we recommend this Noctua fan.
That’s all for this month’s newsletter. Please let us know what you think! Reach out and say “Hi!” in the PixelFX Discord! discord.gg/pixelfx
Until next month, take care everyone!