Default RetroArch render resolution

[petrockblog]

Yesterday we switched video_smooth to off as users wanted. Now there is another thing I want to find a preference on.

Currently by default runcommand will set a default render resolution of 640×480 which will be hardware upscaled RPI (with some filtering by default). This can cause scaling artifacts (and will not be as sharp – I am aware dispmanx scaling method can be altered but don’t want to complicate things further)

I would like to change the default RetroArch render resolution to “config” which would by default be the video output resolution. eg if you are running in 1920×1080 it would use that. if your monitor is 1024×768 it would use that or if you have 800×600 it would use that.

This may have performance issues on some emulators or with some shaders on full HD screens, but should be fine for most platforms on a RPI2. The render resolution can also be reduced as needed on a per emulator basis. Alternatively the video mode can be switched down. With the config editor a lower output resolution can also be set for ALL systems by the user which is easier than having to switch every emulator via runcommand.

So my reasoning is:

a) let’s not have obvious scaling artifacts by default – people want a clean output – so let’s go with that.
b) it’s easier to lower the render res/reduce video mode by default for a few cases that need it, or to change for all in the main config, than having to switch it via runcommand on every emulator.
c) means that if switching video output the render res will match it by default – currently if you switched to an 800×600 video mode, it would by default render to 640×480 (that setting would need to be changed to use the output res)

So the question is should we:

Stick with rendering retroarch emulators at 640×480 by default or

Switch to rendering retroarch emulators at the config res by default (which would be the video output res unless changed in the configuration editor)

[dankcushions]

+1 for config resolution. in my experience the pi2 performance was never affected by retroarch render resolution, so i went with video-output/1080p for optimal scaling.

that said, i don’t use shaders.

[lilbud]

Config resolution at default, games look SO much better when displayed at a higher res

[petrockblog]

I am of course for changing it to use “config” by default. The more I think about it the more it makes sense. runcommand for everything else doesn’t set default configs, but enables overriding of them on a per core / per rom basis. Except this case, where it ignores your retroarch.cfg and sets 640×480 render res.

If switched to config as I would like – I could also add an additional entry to the config editor to set the default render res in a simple way for those that were happy with 640×480 being the render res for everything.

[zigurana]

Well, then it’s hardly a difficult choice at all, is it? Users who would like to force everything to 640×480 still can do so, and every one else has automatic scaling to the displays native resolution. Whats not to like?
Question : what happens if you use a smaller (resolution – wise) display? We’ve seen some portable builds on the site, those often use displays with limited resolution.
On first glance, the proposed change is still an improvement, but I’m not an expert.

Another side effect to consider: If you use a single installation of RetroPie on multiple displays, performance might vary, depending if you have a SD or UHD monitor, right?

[lilbud]

What next on the list of improvements for ES?

[petrockblog]

ziguara: if someone had a 320×240 display, currently it out render to 640×480 and scale to 320×240 – with the proposed change it would render to 320×240.

The downside of these changes is basically just for RPI1 users with HD displays – if they don’t lower the overall render resolution, they may get performance problems – especially using shaders. But it would be easy to switch.

Yes if you ran it on different displays performance could vary. The old behaviour would be switchable from the config editor (I’m putting in some settings for it now)

See discussion here also: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/issues/1288#issuecomment-192469767

[zigurana]

[quote=119172]See discussion here also: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/issues/1288#issuecomment-192469767

[/quote]
Thanks, I hadnt seen that.
It looks like the technical grounds have been covered much more thorough than I could.
My feeling is though, that the solution will need to be equal parts technical improvements as well as user education (probably using the wiki, to explain what the default settings are, and what the consequences of changing them are).

(I still like the proposal)

[danrbball]

+1 to change to config. You outlined good arguments and it appears most will not be impacted.

[herbfargus]

Just as a reference to further emphasize the current userbase these are the latest download counts as of right now. The vast majority of users are on a Pi 2 or Pi 3.

“name”: “retropie-v3.6-rpi1_zero-berryboot.img256”,
“download_count”: 859,

“name”: “retropie-v3.6-rpi1_zero.img.gz”,
“download_count”: 3763,

“name”: “retropie-v3.6-rpi2_rpi3-berryboot.img256”,
“download_count”: 3358,

“name”: “retropie-v3.6-rpi2_rpi3.img.gz”,
“download_count”: 128655,

I think the above points are valid. Config sounds good to me.

[Anonymous]

Could somebody tell me where I change set the default retroarch render resolution by myself?

Thx

[InsecureSpike]

+1 all sounds good, thank you for trying to better our gaming experience

[petrockblog]

This has been implemented now, but on the rpi1 if the output resolution is great than 640×480 the render res will be set to 640×480 to help with performance. It can easily be switched from the configuration editor – the runcommand launch script will default to the resolution in the config, but can still be used to change the resolution on a per emulator/rom basis.

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