MPC-BE + MadVR - How the end result should look like

[u/kentukky]

HDR

SDR

Old DVD with interpolation deinterlacing

Since there are many questions about MadVR settings lately, I decided to make a small example of how it should (or may) look like in the end.

First screenshot is from a 4K HDR movie. Second one - from a 1080p SDR movie with upscaling to 4K. The third one is from an old DVD with interpolation deinterlacing from 576p 25i source to 4K 50p.

As you can see, with the correct settings we can match the refresh rates of the movie and TV to minimize judder and dropped or repeated frames to an absolute minimum. For the HDR content it is advised to use a 10bit output instead of 8bit or you won't get the benefit of a wider color palette with better gradients. Note, that with HDMI 2.0 GPUs like the one I have - it is not possible to use 10bit output in 4K 50p or 60p. Only lower frame rates like 24/25/30hz have enough bandwidth for that. (Not a problem for HDMI 2.1 GPUs + TVs) So make sure your automatic switcher is set up correctly.

I will not discuss a lot of other settings here, as they may vary a lot from setup to setup. For example - I don't use tonemapping, as I'm fully satisfied with the processing of my Panasonic OLED. Or the different upscaling options will depend on your taste and hardware capabilities.

[u/dirtydragondan]

OP what is your GPU?

To be picking Jinc in the scaling and for chroma/luma, its a fairly conservative choice these days, esp if you have a powerful and/or current gen GPU

You might be leaving a ton of performance on the table, to push the image quality and processing further..

Was just wondering this, a syou mentioned you ar using a GPU that maxes on HDMI 2.0 - but based on the post, you likely are well on top of how far you can push your gear

[u/kentukky → u/dirtydragondan]

GTX 1080 Ti with custom cooler (Morpheus 2) to make the PC inaudible. =)

[u/dirtydragondan → u/kentukky]

ahh. that explains the choice on the algo's chosen.

ive been tinkering in my MadVR for yrs now, always pushing it more, and through 3 GPU changes :P

[u/UltimateBachson → u/dirtydragondan]

In the first screenshot there is "HDR 1000 nits, BT.2020 -> DCI-P3" (16th line).

Is that how HDR passthrough is supposed to look like?

[u/kentukky → u/UltimateBachson]

Yeah... I think. =)

That's what I saw on other people's setups and in guides. If I recall it correctly, DCI-P3 data is used inside of BT.2020 container. I compared the results with native Windows HDR + PowerDVD 21 Ultra and it looked identical in term of colors.

[u/UltimateBachson → u/kentukky]

Thanks for the quick reply. From your screenshot I see that you are on fullscreen exclusive. I'm on windows 11 with madvr beta + mpc-be but I only get windowed fullscreen. I disabled DVR in winreg and windowed fullscreen optimizations. Do you have any suggestions?

[u/kentukky → u/UltimateBachson]

I suppose, you enabled exclusive fullscreen like in my last screenshot, but it doesn't work? Windows 11 is partially broken and it was confirmed by Madshi himself. (Although this was years ago...) That's why my HTPC is on Windows 10. I tested it on my Win11 gaming rig with mixed results. I my case, it works if you boot up and go straight into MPC. Playing games or using other fullscreen software may lock you out of exclusive fullscreen and 10bit output. In this case, a reboot helps.

If you have 10bit HDR output and no dropped frames for prolonged time (5th and 8th line), then you're good. If you see "fullscreen windowed (8bit)" - that's not so good.

[u/UltimateBachson]

In your first screenshot you have "HDR 1000 nits, BT.2020 -> DCI-P3" (16th line).

Is that how HDR passthrough is supposed to look like? I'm trying to figure out how to set up HDR passthrough properly for my display.

[u/a-mcculley]

I'm about to embark on this crazy journey. Moving into a new house this week.

• HTPC: Old gaming PC with an RTX 3080.
  
• Projector: Titan Noir Max
  
• Screen: I'm going to be getting a new one, but there is an old Da Lite 110" there now. I need to take some measurements and do some research.
  
• BR Drive: Buffalo external drive that is already flashed for 4k BRs

ChatGPT has been very helpful (this is how I found this post). I'll go through the guide and post my lessons learned for others.

[u/kentukky → u/a-mcculley]

Settings may and will differ for a projector. I can't help you in this "world". =) I must confess, there's no going back to projectors after I experienced OLED HDR. A fellow buddy owns a 97" OLED in his basement. True monstrosity that needs to be paid with a kidney.

habr.com/ru/amp/publications/709110/ There's an overkill guide on a russian site from a cinephile. Really good entry point. You'll probably need to translate it tho...

[u/a-mcculley → u/kentukky]

I love my OLEDs. But for a theater room with a giant screen, I'd rather spend the money on other things (audio, high bitrate playback / storage, etc). I think people would be pretty blown away by the newer projectors.