An update to the various ways to improve Anime watching on the computer

1. I was searching the net for other asharp parameter combinations. Aside from the default 2-4-1 and the standard (and recommended by the programmer) 2-2-1, I read that some people wrote that 4-6-1 yields much better results both in sharpness and low noise for them. So I tried that out, and...

4-6-1 is terrible. Really. Lots of jagged edges even for high quality source and even worse for low quality ones. Any macroblock previously unseen is obvious also.

But, one thing to praise, is that the details are really, really, clear now. If the source is high quality enough. Else the only extra details you're going to see are jagged microblocks.

For simpler understanding, a good analogy would be SRS WOW effect at the max on a low-quality MP3, or, less accurately, turning up the treble/bass till it distorts into boominess and high-harsh. It's good, but unatural.

So the moral of the story is, always experiment and get something to your own liking.

Even 2-2-1 gives visible noise. But this is the best compromise I've tried, just that slight little increase in noise for that subtle but relatively significant increase in sharpness.


2. I refer to the guide where I change the resolution to that of the screen such that the subtitles will appear in the black bar area. Turns out there is a much simpler way to do this. And hence I apologize for the less correct method in my guide.

Under FFDShow's decoder settings, there is this Subtitles settings. Just check Letterbox and set the aspect ratio to the same as that of your screen. Done.


3. You can use CoreAVC/RealAlternative/watever thing in conjunction with FFDShow/CCCP's filters. Just enable Raw Video under the codecs. Thanks to simplyadvanced (VRZ) for pointing that out.


4. Aside from Lanczos, try Spline resize if you're upscaling by large multiples. It's supposed to be better than Lanczos for its lower ringing especially when upscaling by large multiples, and yes it is indeed better than Lanczos in this aspect. But the speed impact may make it unusable for normal playback. Use at personal preference.