Both are 64bit. So 4*4Gb LPDDR4X chips would still be cheaper than one LPDDR5 chip... If we consider that place on the board and power consumption are free.
Both are 64bit. So 4*4Gb LPDDR4X chips would still be cheaper than one LPDDR5 chip... If we consider that place on board and power consumption are free.
That's 1/3 the capacity, and you're not considering the extra expense on the PCB, die space on the main SoC's memory controller or physical space costs.
That's 1/3 the capacity, and you're not considering the extra expense on the PCB, die space on the main SoC's memory controller or physical space costs.
That's 1/3 the capacity, and you're not considering the extra expense on the PCB, die space on the main SoC's memory controller or physical space costs.
Considering that Switch is limited in space overall, it seems getting 2x32Gb modules for (8GB of RAM and upwards of 68GB/s memory bandwidth). Might be a better starting point for higher bandwidth as long as they are sticking with the hybrid form factor.
I hope Nintendo doesn't screw up the placement of the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas if Nintendo uses a magnesium alloy housing in the next Nintendo Switch model since metal is very good at blocking radio waves in comparison to plastic.
And I wonder how Nintendo can keep the magnesium alloy housing reasonably cool enough to touch when playing graphically intensive games in handheld mode.
I hope Nintendo doesn't screw up the placement of the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas if Nintendo uses a magnesium alloy housing in the next Nintendo Switch model since metal is very good at blocking radio waves in comparison to plastic.
And I wonder how Nintendo can keep the magnesium alloy housing reasonably cool enough to touch when playing graphically intensive games in handheld mode.
I hope Nintendo doesn't screw up the placement of the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas if Nintendo uses a magnesium alloy housing in the next Nintendo Switch model since metal is very good at blocking radio waves in comparison to plastic.
And I wonder how Nintendo can keep the magnesium alloy housing reasonably cool enough to touch when playing graphically intensive games in handheld mode.
I'm sure the power draw wouldn't be that high to worry about Magnesium alloy or Aluminum getting to hot to hold, since neither metallic solution are not great conductors of energy, but would dissipate heat far better than plastics. My aluminum body laptop draws far more power than Switch ever would docked and it's a pretty thin device but only barely gets warm to the touch. On most occasions the device is pretty stark cold against the skin when using it primarily...
The Nokia 7 plus was a midgrade in 2018 and it has a aluminum body build and cost around $450-475 when new. It seems like the next Switch could achieve something like this for $350 and break even(possibly)...
I'm sure the power draw wouldn't be that high to worry about Magnesium alloy or Aluminum getting to hot to hold, since neither metallic solution are not great conductors of energy, but would dissipate heat far better than plastics. My aluminum body laptop draws far more power than Switch ever would docked and it's a pretty thin device but only barely gets warm to the touch. On most occasions the device is pretty stark cold against the skin when using it primarily...
The Nokia 7 plus was a midgrade in 2018 and it has a aluminum body build and cost around $450-475 when new. It seems like the next Switch could achieve something like this for $350 and break even(possibly)...
(1 of 2: This is going to be a long post, thus split into two halves.)
As mentioned in my recent posts, I experimented with piping the Switch output through the Shield TV's "AI" upscaler to simulate how this technology can potentially be implemented on the 2021 Switch.
Methodology
[First trial] A 1080p Switch feed was fed to a computer via an (borrowed) HDMI capture card. The computer Chromecasted the feed to a Shield. The Shield upscaled the feed to 4K. The Shield feed was fed to a second computer via a second (borrowed) HDMI capture card, and the 4K screenshots were taken there.
[Second trial] Although the first trial was successful, the Chromecast compression introduced way too many artifacts, which the Shield upscaler then enhanced into a noisy video. So I gave up on Chromecasting the feed in real-time and simply recorded the Switch feed on the computer, copied the recorded videos to the Shield, played the videos through the upscaler, and fed the Shield feed back to the computer for screenshots.
[Third trial] The second trial worked as intended. In many instances, however, I noticed that the upscaler accentuated a game's jagged edges, resulting in suboptimal output. Therefore, a Marseille mClassic post-processor was added between the Switch and the computer to perform anti-aliasing. This improved the upscaled video quality in most cases; see screenshots below.
[720p trial] To test how the upscaler would perform with a 720p source, I tried the same setup with a 720p Switch feed. The HDMI capture card unfortunately crashed frequently with the 720p input; the mClassic also automatically upscaled the signal to 1080p, thus defeating the purpose. So I decided to run a simulated test by downsampling the aforementioned 1080p recordings to 720p and running them through the 4K upscaler.
Notes:
Keep in mind that the screenshots were a product from 3 lossy conversions (Switch to computer, video recording, and Shield to computer), and for the 720p test one additional lossy conversion (video downsampling). It may not be a full representation of the technology.
The mClassic post-processor not only adds anti-aliasing to the signal, but also "depth of field". It is not really DoF but a combination of smart sharpening and contrast enhancement. This feature is unnecessary, if not unwelcome, for the purposes of this test but it cannot be disabled. Please disregard this effect when looking at the mClassic screenshots below.
On Shield there are 3 "enhancement" levels for the scaler—low, medium, and high. Ideally you'd pick a level for each game, but for this test I kept it at medium.
Just to repeat myself, the 720p signal was simulated through downsampling.
Result—Home Screen
The AI upscaler works well with the 720p source; the mClassic makes things just a bit smoother. On the other hand, the output from 1080p does not look as good because the Home Screen is natively 720p and upscaled to 1080p; running the AI upscaler over this already upscaled signal creates some unpleasant artifacts, which the mClassic helps alleviate but not completely.
Result—Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends is rendered beautifully both at 720p and 1080p. The high quality source leads to very nice output from the AI scaler, the 720p version being a little coarser but not by much. The mClassic enhances the video only marginally since the original quality is already high.
Result—Luigi's Mansion 3
One of the best looking games on Switch is dutifully enhanced by the AI upscaler, including the lighting and textures. When zooming in, you can see the 1080p version providing finer details than the 720p but also many jagged edges caused by Nintendo's refusal to anti-alias. The mClassic's anti-aliasing is indispensable in this case.
Result—Okami
I wasn't sure whether the AI upscaler could handle Okami's sumi-e (ink wash) style and it surprised me with very competent outcomes. Because the original brush strokes are rendered smoothly to begin with, the mClassic only contributes marginally.
Result—Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Probably due to the (IMHO) softer rendering quality of Mario + Rabbids, the AI enhancement here is less pronounced than the examples above. Worth noting that when zooming in you'd notice the AI upscaler having issues with DK's fur and also applying overzealous edge enhancement to the HP gauge; the mClassic is able to mitigate the former but only made the latter worse.
(2 of 2: First half of the post can be found here.)
Result—Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
As for the flat anime/manga artstyle, the "AI" makes easy work out of upscaling it to 4K. Unless you blow up the images to compare them, the upscaled 720p looks just as good as the upscaled 1080p. The mClassic's anti-alias feature does nothing here (aside from the text), and its "depth of field" feature takes a hatchet job on the color contrast. 🤦♂️
Result—Lonely Mountains Downhill
The low poly style of Lonely Mountains wears its jagged lines proudly, but that does not sit well with the AI upscaler. The output is sharp but unflattering. The anti-aliasing provided by mClassic is essential in this case. Since the game seems to be rendered at 720p natively, I find no differences between the 720p and 1080p upscales.
Result—Pikmin 3
I enjoyed the Pikmin 3 demo thoroughly, but despite it being rendered modestly at 720p the visual is nonetheless rough and blurry. And here we are seeing the limit of the AI upscaler: it can't do anything if the source is a blurry mess. The vegetation and stone bridge are somewhat enhanced (ignoring the jagged edge due to Nintendo's aversion to anti-aliasing), but the ground textures and the weird water edges remain ugly. The mClassic helps remove the jagged edges but makes the ground textures even blurrier. (I encountered the same issues with the upscaling of Yoshi's Crafted World, another fun but blurry title. See screenshots here.)
Result—L.A. Noire
Most L.A. Noire screens that I tried are too blurry for the AI upscaler to take meaningful screenshots. Only with stationary screens such as this it makes a big enough impact. The game is too blurry for mClassic too; you can barely see its anti-aliasing effect around the edges of the tie and collar.
Result—Fantasy Zone
Lastly just for kicks let's try AI upscaling some eighties pixel arts. In this case the 720p output is flat-out inferior due to the rounded edges that it produced. The 1080p output on the other hand is sharp and crisp. The mClassic was not tested because no anti-aliasing is needed.
Observations
Art style matters: In the examples above, the AI upscaling succeeds to varying degrees. There are also cases in which it simply doesn't work; some are obvious such as Return of the Obra Dinn, and others not so such as Life is Strange 2 (via GeForce Now). Octopath Traveller is another interesting example; its mixture of low-res pixel arts and modern lighting/camera effects seems to confuse the "AI", creating some weird results.
720p is a-ok, sometimes: One main benefit of DLSS is that games can be rendered at a lower resolution, thus improving performance. The AI upscaler isn't as magical but does an decent job with 720p sources when a) the video feed is of high quality, b) the art style works, and c) you don't mind a slightly noisier output.
Developers need to do work: If the AI upscaler is added to the Switch as a user configurable feature (like Shield), it will certainly lead to uneven results, disappointing the players. The game should be optimized for it by generating a smooth, non blurry feed set at a supported resolution, and selecting a proper level of enhancement (as mentioned earlier, low/medium/high) based on their creative preference. If the art style is not supported, disable it altogether. Note that this could explain the Bloomberg report of Nintendo "asking developers to make their games 4K-ready."
Latency mitigation: The latency of the AI upscaler is 1-2 frames on the 2019 Shield Pro. Although we may safely assume that the 2021 Switch will be more powerful than the former, I believe that to truly mitigate the latency the upscaling should be integrated into the NVN, instead of a pure post processing add-on. For the same reason I'm skeptical of the in-dock-upscaler speculation (not to mention that it'd make the dock even more expensive).
Implementation in 2021 Switch?
So based on what we've seen, what do you think the AI upscaling can be potentially implemented in the rumored 2021 Switch? My thoughts so far:
Nvidia needs to train the neural network with as many Switch game art styles as possible. The Shield's upscaler is really for media playbacks; imagine how much better it could be if specifically trained.
If the 2021 Switch still uses a Mariko or a new SoC not powerful enough for DLSS (😿), the AI upscaling would be an adequate if unexciting option. I don't see it as a major sales driver as much as other improvements such as a larger screen or magnesium alloy body.
Even if DLSS is indeed the calling card of the 2021 Switch, the AI upscaler may still have value as part of its repertoire. Since the real-time motion vector info is required for DLSS 2, some developers may choose not to utilize it. The existing games, except those evergreen titles, are probably not going to receive an update for DLSS either. The AI upscaling can be a more accessible option for the developers to add 4K support quickly and inexpensively.
bmfrosty suggested that the DLSS, Al upscaling, and native 4K output may be used in tandem. That is a very interesting idea that I didn't consider. I can see that a developer may analyze the different resource requirements of these 4K options, and use them on different elements of their game. It seems a bit complicated though, and might only be reserved for the more advanced titles.
Excellent post(processing) fwd-bwd . It's amazing how much detail you can get away rendering from lower resolutions with just AI upscaling alone, and this isn't even DLSS. The idea that there might be different teirs ofor upscaling (AI upscaling for previous releases with no current support, DLSS for games where developers/publishers would be willing to release a patch to implement it, and native 4k as a possibility for games that do not require the bandwidth to output 4k (such as 2D games).
(2 of 2: First half of the post can be found here.)
Result—Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
As for the flat anime/manga artstyle, the "AI" makes easy work out of upscaling it to 4K. Unless you blow up the images to compare them, the upscaled 720p looks just as good as the upscaled 1080p. The mClassic's anti-alias feature does nothing here (aside from the text), and its "depth of field" feature takes a hatchet job on the color contrast. 🤦♂️
Result—Lonely Mountains Downhill
The low poly style of Lonely Mountains wears its jagged lines proudly, but that does not sit well with the AI upscaler. The output is sharp but unflattering. The anti-aliasing provided by mClassic is essential in this case. Since the game seems to be rendered at 720p natively, I find no differences between the 720p and 1080p upscales.
Result—Pikmin 3
I enjoyed the Pikmin 3 demo thoroughly, but despite it being rendered modestly at 720p the visual is nonetheless rough and blurry. And here we are seeing the limit of the AI upscaler: it can't do anything if the source is a blurry mess. The vegetation and stone bridge are somewhat enhanced (ignoring the jagged edge due to Nintendo's aversion to anti-aliasing), but the ground textures and the weird water edges remain ugly. The mClassic helps remove the jagged edges but makes the ground textures even blurrier. (I encountered the same issues with the upscaling of Yoshi's Crafted World, another fun but blurry title. See screenshots here.)
Result—L.A. Noire
Most L.A. Noire screens that I tried are too blurry for the AI upscaler to take meaningful screenshots. Only with stationary screens such as this it makes a big enough impact. The game is too blurry for mClassic too; you can barely see its anti-aliasing effect around the edges of the tie and collar.
Result—Fantasy Zone
Lastly just for kicks let's try AI upscaling some eighties pixel arts. In this case the 720p output is flat-out inferior due to the rounded edges that it produced. The 1080p output on the other hand is sharp and crisp. The mClassic was not tested because no anti-aliasing is needed.
Observations
Art style matters: In the examples above, the AI upscaling succeeds to varying degrees. There are also cases in which it simply doesn't work; some are obvious such as Return of the Obra Dinn, and others not so such as Life is Strange 2 (via GeForce Now). Octopath Traveller is another interesting example; its mixture of low-res pixel arts and modern lighting/camera effects seems to confuse the "AI", creating some weird results.
720p is a-ok, sometimes: One main benefit of DLSS is that games can be rendered at a lower resolution, thus improving performance. The AI upscaler isn't as magical but does an decent job with 720p sources when a) the video feed is of high quality, b) the art style works, and c) you don't mind a slightly noisier output.
Developers need to do work: If the AI upscaler is added to the Switch as a user configurable feature (like Shield), it will certainly lead to uneven results, disappointing the players. The game should be optimized for it by generating a smooth, non blurry feed set at a supported resolution, and selecting a proper level of enhancement (as mentioned earlier, low/medium/high) based on their creative preference. If the art style is not supported, disable it altogether. Note that this could explain the Bloomberg report of Nintendo "asking developers to make their games 4K-ready."
Latency mitigation: The latency of the AI upscaler is 1-2 frames on the 2019 Shield Pro. Although we may safely assume that the 2021 Switch will be more powerful than the former, I believe that to truly mitigate the latency the upscaling should be integrated into the NVN, instead of a pure post processing add-on. For the same reason I'm skeptical of the in-dock-upscaler speculation (not to mention that it'd make the dock even more expensive).
Implementation in 2021 Switch?
So based on what we've seen, what do you think the AI upscaling can be potentially implemented in the rumored 2021 Switch? My thoughts so far:
Nvidia needs to train the neural network with as many Switch game art styles as possible. The Shield's upscaler is really for media playbacks; imagine how much better it could be if specifically trained.
If the 2021 Switch still uses a Mariko or a new SoC not powerful enough for DLSS (😿), the AI upscaling would be an adequate if unexciting option. I don't see it as a major sales driver as much as other improvements such as a larger screen or magnesium alloy body.
Even if DLSS is indeed the calling card of the 2021 Switch, the AI upscaler may still have value as part of its repertoire. Since the real-time motion vector info is required for DLSS 2, some developers may choose not to utilize it. The existing games, except those evergreen titles, are probably not going to receive an update for DLSS either. The AI upscaling can be a more accessible option for the developers to add 4K support quickly and inexpensively.
bmfrosty suggested that the DLSS, Al upscaling, and native 4K output may be used in tandem. That is a very interesting idea that I didn't consider. I can see that a developer may analyze the different resource requirements of these 4K options, and use them on different elements of their game. It seems a bit complicated though, and might only be reserved for the more advanced titles.
That's amazing. I see a noticable difference, especially combined with mclassic. Do you think you can do xenoblade definitive edition and Pokemon shield, if you have those games?
(1 of 2: This is going to be a long post, thus split into two halves.)
As mentioned in my recent posts, I experimented with piping the Switch output through the Shield TV's "AI" upscaler to simulate how this technology can potentially be implemented on the 2021 Switch.
Methodology
[First trial] A 1080p Switch feed was fed to a computer via an (borrowed) HDMI capture card. The computer Chromecasted the feed to a Shield. The Shield upscaled the feed to 4K. The Shield feed was fed to a second computer via a second (borrowed) HDMI capture card, and the 4K screenshots were taken there.
[Second trial] Although the first trial was successful, the Chromecast compression introduced way too many artifacts, which the Shield upscaler then enhanced into a noisy video. So I gave up on Chromecasting the feed in real-time and simply recorded the Switch feed on the computer, copied the recorded videos to the Shield, played the videos through the upscaler, and fed the Shield feed back to the computer for screenshots.
[Third trial] The second trial worked as intended. In many instances, however, I noticed that the upscaler accentuated a game's jagged edges, resulting in suboptimal output. Therefore, a Marseille mClassic post-processor was added between the Switch and the computer to perform anti-aliasing. This improved the upscaled video quality in most cases; see screenshots below.
[720p trial] To test how the upscaler would perform with a 720p source, I tried the same setup with a 720p Switch feed. The HDMI capture card unfortunately crashed frequently with the 720p input; the mClassic also automatically upscaled the signal to 1080p, thus defeating the purpose. So I decided to run a simulated test by downsampling the aforementioned 1080p recordings to 720p and running them through the 4K upscaler.
Notes:
Keep in mind that the screenshots were a product from 3 lossy conversions (Switch to computer, video recording, and Shield to computer), and for the 720p test one additional lossy conversion (video downsampling). It may not be a full representation of the technology.
The mClassic post-processor not only adds anti-aliasing to the signal, but also "depth of field". It is not really DoF but a combination of smart sharpening and contrast enhancement. This feature is unnecessary, if not unwelcome, for the purposes of this test but it cannot be disabled. Please disregard this effect when looking at the mClassic screenshots below.
On Shield there are 3 "enhancement" levels for the scaler—low, medium, and high. Ideally you'd pick a level for each game, but for this test I kept it at medium.
Just to repeat myself, the 720p signal was simulated through downsampling.
Result—Home Screen
The AI upscaler works well with the 720p source; the mClassic makes things just a bit smoother. On the other hand, the output from 1080p does not look as good because the Home Screen is natively 720p and upscaled to 1080p; running the AI upscaler over this already upscaled signal creates some unpleasant artifacts, which the mClassic helps alleviate but not completely.
Result—Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends is rendered beautifully both at 720p and 1080p. The high quality source leads to very nice output from the AI scaler, the 720p version being a little coarser but not by much. The mClassic enhances the video only marginally since the original quality is already high.
Result—Luigi's Mansion 3
One of the best looking games on Switch is dutifully enhanced by the AI upscaler, including the lighting and textures. When zooming in, you can see the 1080p version providing finer details than the 720p but also many jagged edges caused by Nintendo's refusal to anti-alias. The mClassic's anti-aliasing is indispensable in this case.
Result—Okami
I wasn't sure whether the AI upscaler could handle Okami's sumi-e (ink wash) style and it surprised me with very competent outcomes. Because the original brush strokes are rendered smoothly to begin with, the mClassic only contributes marginally.
Result—Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Probably due to the (IMHO) softer rendering quality of Mario + Rabbids, the AI enhancement here is less pronounced than the examples above. Worth noting that when zooming in you'd notice the AI upscaler having issues with DK's fur and also applying overzealous edge enhancement to the HP gauge; the mClassic is able to mitigate the former but only made the latter worse.
(2 of 2: First half of the post can be found here.)
Result—Pikmin 3
I enjoyed the Pikmin 3 demo thoroughly, but despite it being rendered modestly at 720p the visual is nonetheless rough and blurry. And here we are seeing the limit of the AI upscaler: it can't do anything if the source is a blurry mess. The vegetation and stone bridge are somewhat enhanced (ignoring the jagged edge due to Nintendo's aversion to anti-aliasing), but the ground textures and the weird water edges remain ugly. The mClassic helps remove the jagged edges but makes the ground textures even blurrier. (I encountered the same issues with the upscaling of Yoshi's Crafted World, another fun but blurry title. See screenshots here.)
This whole post was interesting seeing all the different results and gets me really excited to see what a possible Switch Pro could do.
That being said I hadn't actually played the Pikmin 3 demo yet and am quite shocked it looks so rough.
Anyway, my hope for Switch Pro remains what it's always been. Xbox One S level performance/visuals in docked mode (so 4k output is included but not really used for games) and current docked performance in handheld mode.
I'm fine with 720p remaining the max res in handheld. Not a huge issue as long as most games are actually reaching that resolution
hmm OK would nice if the Switch 2 could do 90hz 900p handheld. would be good for VR.
imagine these system settings.
540p -720p 60hz handheld mode.
720 - 900p 90hz VR mode.
900p - 1440p 120hz docked mode. with DLSS and HDR. it will hit all the points. i would pay $400 for it.
(1 of 2: This is going to be a long post, thus split into two halves.)
As mentioned in my recent posts, I experimented with piping the Switch output through the Shield TV's "AI" upscaler to simulate how this technology can potentially be implemented on the 2021 Switch.
Methodology
[First trial] A 1080p Switch feed was fed to a computer via an (borrowed) HDMI capture card. The computer Chromecasted the feed to a Shield. The Shield upscaled the feed to 4K. The Shield feed was fed to a second computer via a second (borrowed) HDMI capture card, and the 4K screenshots were taken there.
[Second trial] Although the first trial was successful, the Chromecast compression introduced way too many artifacts, which the Shield upscaler then enhanced into a noisy video. So I gave up on Chromecasting the feed in real-time and simply recorded the Switch feed on the computer, copied the recorded videos to the Shield, played the videos through the upscaler, and fed the Shield feed back to the computer for screenshots.
[Third trial] The second trial worked as intended. In many instances, however, I noticed that the upscaler accentuated a game's jagged edges, resulting in suboptimal output. Therefore, a Marseille mClassic post-processor was added between the Switch and the computer to perform anti-aliasing. This improved the upscaled video quality in most cases; see screenshots below.
[720p trial] To test how the upscaler would perform with a 720p source, I tried the same setup with a 720p Switch feed. The HDMI capture card unfortunately crashed frequently with the 720p input; the mClassic also automatically upscaled the signal to 1080p, thus defeating the purpose. So I decided to run a simulated test by downsampling the aforementioned 1080p recordings to 720p and running them through the 4K upscaler.
Notes:
Keep in mind that the screenshots were a product from 3 lossy conversions (Switch to computer, video recording, and Shield to computer), and for the 720p test one additional lossy conversion (video downsampling). It may not be a full representation of the technology.
The mClassic post-processor not only adds anti-aliasing to the signal, but also "depth of field". It is not really DoF but a combination of smart sharpening and contrast enhancement. This feature is unnecessary, if not unwelcome, for the purposes of this test but it cannot be disabled. Please disregard this effect when looking at the mClassic screenshots below.
On Shield there are 3 "enhancement" levels for the scaler—low, medium, and high. Ideally you'd pick a level for each game, but for this test I kept it at medium.
Just to repeat myself, the 720p signal was simulated through downsampling.
Result—Home Screen
The AI upscaler works well with the 720p source; the mClassic makes things just a bit smoother. On the other hand, the output from 1080p does not look as good because the Home Screen is natively 720p and upscaled to 1080p; running the AI upscaler over this already upscaled signal creates some unpleasant artifacts, which the mClassic helps alleviate but not completely.
Result—Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends is rendered beautifully both at 720p and 1080p. The high quality source leads to very nice output from the AI scaler, the 720p version being a little coarser but not by much. The mClassic enhances the video only marginally since the original quality is already high.
Result—Luigi's Mansion 3
One of the best looking games on Switch is dutifully enhanced by the AI upscaler, including the lighting and textures. When zooming in, you can see the 1080p version providing finer details than the 720p but also many jagged edges caused by Nintendo's refusal to anti-alias. The mClassic's anti-aliasing is indispensable in this case.
Result—Okami
I wasn't sure whether the AI upscaler could handle Okami's sumi-e (ink wash) style and it surprised me with very competent outcomes. Because the original brush strokes are rendered smoothly to begin with, the mClassic only contributes marginally.
Result—Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Probably due to the (IMHO) softer rendering quality of Mario + Rabbids, the AI enhancement here is less pronounced than the examples above. Worth noting that when zooming in you'd notice the AI upscaler having issues with DK's fur and also applying overzealous edge enhancement to the HP gauge; the mClassic is able to mitigate the former but only made the latter worse.
That's amazing. I see a noticable difference, especially combined with mclassic. Do you think you can do xenoblade definitive edition and Pokemon shield, if you have those games?
(1 of 2: This is going to be a long post, thus split into two halves.)
As mentioned in my recent posts, I experimented with piping the Switch output through the Shield TV's "AI" upscaler to simulate how this technology can potentially be implemented on the 2021 Switch.
Methodology
[First trial] A 1080p Switch feed was fed to a computer via an (borrowed) HDMI capture card. The computer Chromecasted the feed to a Shield. The Shield upscaled the feed to 4K. The Shield feed was fed to a second computer via a second (borrowed) HDMI capture card, and the 4K screenshots were taken there.
[Second trial] Although the first trial was successful, the Chromecast compression introduced way too many artifacts, which the Shield upscaler then enhanced into a noisy video. So I gave up on Chromecasting the feed in real-time and simply recorded the Switch feed on the computer, copied the recorded videos to the Shield, played the videos through the upscaler, and fed the Shield feed back to the computer for screenshots.
[Third trial] The second trial worked as intended. In many instances, however, I noticed that the upscaler accentuated a game's jagged edges, resulting in suboptimal output. Therefore, a Marseille mClassic post-processor was added between the Switch and the computer to perform anti-aliasing. This improved the upscaled video quality in most cases; see screenshots below.
[720p trial] To test how the upscaler would perform with a 720p source, I tried the same setup with a 720p Switch feed. The HDMI capture card unfortunately crashed frequently with the 720p input; the mClassic also automatically upscaled the signal to 1080p, thus defeating the purpose. So I decided to run a simulated test by downsampling the aforementioned 1080p recordings to 720p and running them through the 4K upscaler.
Notes:
Keep in mind that the screenshots were a product from 3 lossy conversions (Switch to computer, video recording, and Shield to computer), and for the 720p test one additional lossy conversion (video downsampling). It may not be a full representation of the technology.
The mClassic post-processor not only adds anti-aliasing to the signal, but also "depth of field". It is not really DoF but a combination of smart sharpening and contrast enhancement. This feature is unnecessary, if not unwelcome, for the purposes of this test but it cannot be disabled. Please disregard this effect when looking at the mClassic screenshots below.
On Shield there are 3 "enhancement" levels for the scaler—low, medium, and high. Ideally you'd pick a level for each game, but for this test I kept it at medium.
Just to repeat myself, the 720p signal was simulated through downsampling.
Result—Home Screen
The AI upscaler works well with the 720p source; the mClassic makes things just a bit smoother. On the other hand, the output from 1080p does not look as good because the Home Screen is natively 720p and upscaled to 1080p; running the AI upscaler over this already upscaled signal creates some unpleasant artifacts, which the mClassic helps alleviate but not completely.
Result—Rayman Legends
Rayman Legends is rendered beautifully both at 720p and 1080p. The high quality source leads to very nice output from the AI scaler, the 720p version being a little coarser but not by much. The mClassic enhances the video only marginally since the original quality is already high.
Result—Luigi's Mansion 3
One of the best looking games on Switch is dutifully enhanced by the AI upscaler, including the lighting and textures. When zooming in, you can see the 1080p version providing finer details than the 720p but also many jagged edges caused by Nintendo's refusal to anti-alias. The mClassic's anti-aliasing is indispensable in this case.
Result—Okami
I wasn't sure whether the AI upscaler could handle Okami's sumi-e (ink wash) style and it surprised me with very competent outcomes. Because the original brush strokes are rendered smoothly to begin with, the mClassic only contributes marginally.
Result—Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Probably due to the (IMHO) softer rendering quality of Mario + Rabbids, the AI enhancement here is less pronounced than the examples above. Worth noting that when zooming in you'd notice the AI upscaler having issues with DK's fur and also applying overzealous edge enhancement to the HP gauge; the mClassic is able to mitigate the former but only made the latter worse.
(2 of 2: First half of the post can be found here.)
Result—Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
As for the flat anime/manga artstyle, the "AI" makes easy work out of upscaling it to 4K. Unless you blow up the images to compare them, the upscaled 720p looks just as good as the upscaled 1080p. The mClassic's anti-alias feature does nothing here (aside from the text), and its "depth of field" feature takes a hatchet job on the color contrast. 🤦♂️
Result—Lonely Mountains Downhill
The low poly style of Lonely Mountains wears its jagged lines proudly, but that does not sit well with the AI upscaler. The output is sharp but unflattering. The anti-aliasing provided by mClassic is essential in this case. Since the game seems to be rendered at 720p natively, I find no differences between the 720p and 1080p upscales.
Result—Pikmin 3
I enjoyed the Pikmin 3 demo thoroughly, but despite it being rendered modestly at 720p the visual is nonetheless rough and blurry. And here we are seeing the limit of the AI upscaler: it can't do anything if the source is a blurry mess. The vegetation and stone bridge are somewhat enhanced (ignoring the jagged edge due to Nintendo's aversion to anti-aliasing), but the ground textures and the weird water edges remain ugly. The mClassic helps remove the jagged edges but makes the ground textures even blurrier. (I encountered the same issues with the upscaling of Yoshi's Crafted World, another fun but blurry title. See screenshots here.)
Result—L.A. Noire
Most L.A. Noire screens that I tried are too blurry for the AI upscaler to take meaningful screenshots. Only with stationary screens such as this it makes a big enough impact. The game is too blurry for mClassic too; you can barely see its anti-aliasing effect around the edges of the tie and collar.
Result—Fantasy Zone
Lastly just for kicks let's try AI upscaling some eighties pixel arts. In this case the 720p output is flat-out inferior due to the rounded edges that it produced. The 1080p output on the other hand is sharp and crisp. The mClassic was not tested because no anti-aliasing is needed.
Observations
Art style matters: In the examples above, the AI upscaling succeeds to varying degrees. There are also cases in which it simply doesn't work; some are obvious such as Return of the Obra Dinn, and others not so such as Life is Strange 2 (via GeForce Now). Octopath Traveller is another interesting example; its mixture of low-res pixel arts and modern lighting/camera effects seems to confuse the "AI", creating some weird results.
720p is a-ok, sometimes: One main benefit of DLSS is that games can be rendered at a lower resolution, thus improving performance. The AI upscaler isn't as magical but does an decent job with 720p sources when a) the video feed is of high quality, b) the art style works, and c) you don't mind a slightly noisier output.
Developers need to do work: If the AI upscaler is added to the Switch as a user configurable feature (like Shield), it will certainly lead to uneven results, disappointing the players. The game should be optimized for it by generating a smooth, non blurry feed set at a supported resolution, and selecting a proper level of enhancement (as mentioned earlier, low/medium/high) based on their creative preference. If the art style is not supported, disable it altogether. Note that this could explain the Bloomberg report of Nintendo "asking developers to make their games 4K-ready."
Latency mitigation: The latency of the AI upscaler is 1-2 frames on the 2019 Shield Pro. Although we may safely assume that the 2021 Switch will be more powerful than the former, I believe that to truly mitigate the latency the upscaling should be integrated into the NVN, instead of a pure post processing add-on. For the same reason I'm skeptical of the in-dock-upscaler speculation (not to mention that it'd make the dock even more expensive).
Implementation in 2021 Switch?
So based on what we've seen, what do you think the AI upscaling can be potentially implemented in the rumored 2021 Switch? My thoughts so far:
Nvidia needs to train the neural network with as many Switch game art styles as possible. The Shield's upscaler is really for media playbacks; imagine how much better it could be if specifically trained.
If the 2021 Switch still uses a Mariko or a new SoC not powerful enough for DLSS (😿), the AI upscaling would be an adequate if unexciting option. I don't see it as a major sales driver as much as other improvements such as a larger screen or magnesium alloy body.
Even if DLSS is indeed the calling card of the 2021 Switch, the AI upscaler may still have value as part of its repertoire. Since the real-time motion vector info is required for DLSS 2, some developers may choose not to utilize it. The existing games, except those evergreen titles, are probably not going to receive an update for DLSS either. The AI upscaling can be a more accessible option for the developers to add 4K support quickly and inexpensively.
bmfrosty suggested that the DLSS, Al upscaling, and native 4K output may be used in tandem. That is a very interesting idea that I didn't consider. I can see that a developer may analyze the different resource requirements of these 4K options, and use them on different elements of their game. It seems a bit complicated though, and might only be reserved for the more advanced titles.
You can see a real tangible difference in the AI upscaled photos and especially in tandem with the mClassic. This could be a pretty inexpensive way to make Switch games 4K ready. I'd be happy with this. Luigi's Mansion and Mario + Rabbids look much sharper for example.
That's amazing. I see a noticable difference, especially combined with mclassic. Do you think you can do xenoblade definitive edition and Pokemon shield, if you have those games?
Sorry I don't have those games. Judging from their art styles, the AI upscaling should work well. Hopefully both games will get a 4K patch, be it the DLSS or AI upscaler.
In theory they can put a binned Mariko in the dock to perform and anti-aliasing and AI upscaling. The Jetson Nano 2GB (binned Erista) retails at $59; Nintendo would get a binned Mariko for much cheaper. The question is whether the latency introduced by the dock would be acceptable to more demanding players. My guess is that the upscaling should be done by the Switch itself to reduce the latency.
In theory they can put a binned Mariko in the dock to perform and anti-aliasing and AI upscaling. The Jetson Nano 2GB (binned Erista) retails at $59; Nintendo would get a binned Mariko for much cheaper. The question is whether the latency introduced by the dock would be acceptable to more demanding players. My guess is that the upscaling should be done by the Switch itself to reduce the latency.
The problem with having the Switch itself do it is that you're asking the same SoC that's likely going to be stretched it its limit in some games to sacrifice some of its processing capacity to do this.
Unless they can essentially reserve a portion of the GPU and CPU for these tasks at a system level. I have no idea if something like that is possible.
But yeah that's a good point about latency. I'd guess whatever custom solution Nvidia and Nintendo come up with would minimize any additional latency.
Sorry I don't have those games. Judging from their art styles, the AI upscaling should work well. Hopefully both games will get a 4K patch, be it the DLSS or AI upscaler.
In theory they can put a binned Mariko in the dock to perform and anti-aliasing and AI upscaling. The Jetson Nano 2GB (binned Erista) retails at $59; Nintendo would get a binned Mariko for much cheaper. The question is whether the latency introduced by the dock would be acceptable to more demanding players. My guess is that the upscaling should be done by the Switch itself to reduce the latency.
I expect a switch plus to have HDMI 2.1 with a high refresh rate screen for VRR. Some games will be 1440p(4K DLSS) and some will be 540p(1080p or 4K DLSS).
Sorry I don't have those games. Judging from their art styles, the AI upscaling should work well. Hopefully both games will get a 4K patch, be it the DLSS or AI upscaler.
In theory they can put a binned Mariko in the dock to perform and anti-aliasing and AI upscaling. The Jetson Nano 2GB (binned Erista) retails at $59; Nintendo would get a binned Mariko for much cheaper. The question is whether the latency introduced by the dock would be acceptable to more demanding players. My guess is that the upscaling should be done by the Switch itself to reduce the latency.
Yes, and it's cool to know that there are other generally effective ways for NVidia to have these type of results if DLSS is too much for the 2021 Switch.
I expect a switch plus to have HDMI 2.1 with a high refresh rate screen for VRR. Some games will be 1440p(4K DLSS) and some will be 540p(1080p or 4K DLSS).
Unless they split video out into a separate plug, I'm not sure it would be practical to support HDMI 2.1 at this point. Not sure how Display Port bandwidth requirements compare to HDMI's, but even a USB4 port can't match the full bandwidth of a fully featured HDMI 2.1 plug, and that's without even considering the other data that needs to travel over that plug as well. I could certainly see some HDMI 2.1 features like VRR be supported, but actual HDMI 2.1 seems out of reach.
I expect a switch plus to have HDMI 2.1 with a high refresh rate screen for VRR. Some games will be 1440p(4K DLSS) and some will be 540p(1080p or 4K DLSS).
It would be cheaper to put 64 tensor cores on the main SOC than using another one in the dock.
Sorry I don't have those games. Judging from their art styles, the AI upscaling should work well. Hopefully both games will get a 4K patch, be it the DLSS or AI upscaler.
In theory they can put a binned Mariko in the dock to perform and anti-aliasing and AI upscaling. The Jetson Nano 2GB (binned Erista) retails at $59; Nintendo would get a binned Mariko for much cheaper. The question is whether the latency introduced by the dock would be acceptable to more demanding players. My guess is that the upscaling should be done by the Switch itself to reduce the latency.
I'm not sure latency would be a problem for whichever chip was specifically designed for it, an upscaler should only have to deal with a handful of lines at a time before passing them on to the TV. The mCable products will work like that for sure.
And thanks for the upscaling tests!
Unless they split video out into a separate plug, I'm not sure it would be practical to support HDMI 2.1 at this point. Not sure how Display Port bandwidth requirements compare to HDMI's, but even a USB4 port can't match the full bandwidth of a fully featured HDMI 2.1 plug, and that's without even considering the other data that needs to travel over that plug as well. I could certainly see some HDMI 2.1 features like VRR be supported, but actual HDMI 2.1 seems out of reach.
It doesn't need to support the full bandwidth for HDMI 2.1. LG C9/X only support up to 40Gb/s compared to the full 48Gb/s of HDMI 2.1. it just needs enough bandwidth for 4K60fps which is already provided by HDMI 2.0.
That's the thing, though. 40Gbps is the max you can get out of a single USB4 port. Even at that reduced level, there'd be no bandwidth left over for USB ports on the dock (or Ethernet on the off chance Nintendo finally decides to include one of those).
HDMI 2.0 but with some 2.1 features just seems a lot more realistic.
That's the thing, though. 40Gbps is the max you can get out of a single USB4 port. Even at that reduced level, there'd be no bandwidth left over for USB ports on the dock (or Ethernet on the off chance Nintendo finally decides to include one of those).
HDMI 2.0 but with some 2.1 features just seems a lot more realistic.
It just needs 12Gb/s for 4K/60fps. HDMI 2.1 will guarantee that all the features are here. They don't need to support the full bandwidth as shown with LG TVs.
Do you guys think the Switch Whateverthefuck will use DLSS for dynamic resolution for improved frame rates as well? How likely would we have 4K 60fps when used in such a way?
I wonder if the next Nintendo Switch model would use a touchscreen with a custom resolution. I was thinking that if Nintendo wants to expand on VR without releasing a standalone VR set for the next Nintendo Switch model (i.e. Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04 VR Kit), maybe Nintendo might go for a 2400 x 1080 touchscreen, so that each eye would see 1200 x 1080, which I believe is a similar principle to the PlayStation VR, where it has a screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080, but each eye sees 960 x 1080 when in VR. (I think there are some smartphones that has a touchscreen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080, like the OnePlus 7T, OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8T, Nokia 8.3 5G, etc.)
I wonder if the next Nintendo Switch model would use a touchscreen with a custom resolution. I was thinking that if Nintendo wants to expand on VR without releasing a standalone VR set for the next Nintendo Switch model (i.e. Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04 VR Kit), maybe Nintendo might go for a 2400 x 1080 touchscreen, so that each eye would see 1200 x 1080, which I believe is a similar principle to the PlayStation VR, where it has a screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080, but each eye sees 960 x 1080 when in VR. (I think there are some smartphones that has a touchscreen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080, like the OnePlus 7T, OnePlus 8, OnePlus 8T, Nokia 8.3 5G, etc.)
That would definitely give it a widescreen effect for certain with a resolution of 2400 x1080, but a much newer bezel-less display probably wouldn't add to much to the consoles overall size. Not a bad idea if they are thinking of introducing a drop in Head Mounted Unit that can receive this Switch for a very Nintendo VR solution...
The latest leak from the Economic Daily News (Taiwan) indicates that the next Switch model will be equipped with a mini-LED display supplied by Innolux: https://money.udn.com/money/story/5612/4963550
Nintendo's handheld game console Switch has taken advantage of the economic opportunity driven by the epidemic. It is selling well worldwide. Nintendo has taken advantage of its success and has recently begun preparations for the next-generation Switch production plan to be launched next year. It plans to introduce the most popular Mini LED display technology and come to Taiwan to find groups Chuang (3481) supplies, breaking the previous situation where the Switch was supplied by two Japanese manufacturers, Sharp and Japan Display Corporation (JDI).
The legal person pointed out that the annual sales of Switch series models (general version Switch + small low-cost version Switch Lite) exceeded 21 million units, making it one of the most popular game consoles in the world. Innolux received a large order for the next generation Switch and became the first in Taiwan Those who have entered the Switch display supply chain have not only contributed greatly to Innolux's performance, but also meant that the innovative generation of display technology has been recognized by the industry.
Regarding Nintendo's approach to make Innolux the first Taiwanese panel manufacturer to supply key display components for the Switch, Innolux General Manager Yang Zhuxiang did not respond positively, but he did not deny contact with Nintendo. He only revealed that "It is normal for manufacturers to visit. Thing". He emphasized that the first quarter of this year was the bottom of Innolux's operations. The second quarter heated up. The third quarter was better than the second quarter, and the fourth quarter was also good.
Industry insiders pointed out that Apple is unwilling to be constrained by Samsung's exclusive control of the source of OLED panels and has accelerated the adoption of Mini LED technology, which has set off a trend for major brands to follow up. Nintendo's new Switch next year will be equipped with the most advanced Mini LED display technology for the first time to improve the image quality and smoothness of the game console, while reducing battery power consumption, increasing the endurance of the console, and stimulating more buying.
Major game console manufacturers such as Microsoft and Sony generally launched new phones after the second half of the year. Nintendo Switch took advantage of its handheld control and convenient portability. The business opportunities brought by the epidemic were not only crazy hot sales, but also a major shortage. goods.
According to the data released by Nintendo's latest quarterly earnings conference, as of August this year, the Switch, which has been on sale for more than three years, has sold more than 62 million units worldwide, surpassing the classic console "Red and White", becoming Nintendo's sixth best seller in history. Host.
Nintendo took advantage of the victory, and the target Switch surpassed the 3DS with a total global sales of 75.87 million units and moved towards the company's top five best-selling game consoles, thus comprehensively strengthening the selling points of the new machine.
In the past, Switch panels were mainly supplied by two Japanese companies, Sharp and Japan Display Corporation (JDI), with IGZO technology panels. Innolux has entered the Switch game console supply chain with Mini LEDs. This will be the first time a Taiwanese manufacturer has supplied Nintendo's key panel components.
The latest leak from the Economic Daily News (Taiwan) indicates that the next Switch model will be equipped with a mini-LED display supplied by Innolux: https://money.udn.com/money/story/5612/4963550
Nintendo's handheld game console Switch has taken advantage of the economic opportunity driven by the epidemic. It is selling well worldwide. Nintendo has taken advantage of its success and has recently begun preparations for the next-generation Switch production plan to be launched next year. It plans to introduce the most popular Mini LED display technology and come to Taiwan to find groups Chuang (3481) supplies, breaking the previous situation where the Switch was supplied by two Japanese manufacturers, Sharp and Japan Display Corporation (JDI).
The legal person pointed out that the annual sales of Switch series models (general version Switch + small low-cost version Switch Lite) exceeded 21 million units, making it one of the most popular game consoles in the world. Innolux received a large order for the next generation Switch and became the first in Taiwan Those who have entered the Switch display supply chain have not only contributed greatly to Innolux's performance, but also meant that the innovative generation of display technology has been recognized by the industry.
Regarding Nintendo's approach to make Innolux the first Taiwanese panel manufacturer to supply key display components for the Switch, Innolux General Manager Yang Zhuxiang did not respond positively, but he did not deny contact with Nintendo. He only revealed that "It is normal for manufacturers to visit. Thing". He emphasized that the first quarter of this year was the bottom of Innolux's operations. The second quarter heated up. The third quarter was better than the second quarter, and the fourth quarter was also good.
Industry insiders pointed out that Apple is unwilling to be constrained by Samsung's exclusive control of the source of OLED panels and has accelerated the adoption of Mini LED technology, which has set off a trend for major brands to follow up. Nintendo's new Switch next year will be equipped with the most advanced Mini LED display technology for the first time to improve the image quality and smoothness of the game console, while reducing battery power consumption, increasing the endurance of the console, and stimulating more buying.
Major game console manufacturers such as Microsoft and Sony generally launched new phones after the second half of the year. Nintendo Switch took advantage of its handheld control and convenient portability. The business opportunities brought by the epidemic were not only crazy hot sales, but also a major shortage. goods.
According to the data released by Nintendo's latest quarterly earnings conference, as of August this year, the Switch, which has been on sale for more than three years, has sold more than 62 million units worldwide, surpassing the classic console "Red and White", becoming Nintendo's sixth best seller in history. Host.
Nintendo took advantage of the victory, and the target Switch surpassed the 3DS with a total global sales of 75.87 million units and moved towards the company's top five best-selling game consoles, thus comprehensively strengthening the selling points of the new machine.
In the past, Switch panels were mainly supplied by two Japanese companies, Sharp and Japan Display Corporation (JDI), with IGZO technology panels. Innolux has entered the Switch game console supply chain with Mini LEDs. This will be the first time a Taiwanese manufacturer has supplied Nintendo's key panel components.
Nintendo's handheld game console Switch has taken advantage of the economic opportunity driven by the epidemic. It is selling well worldwide. Nintendo has taken advantage of its success and has recently begun preparations for the next-generation Switch production plan to be launched next year. It plans to introduce the most popular Mini LED display technology and come to Taiwan to find groups Chuang (3481) supplies, breaking the previous situation where the Switch was supplied by two Japanese manufacturers, Sharp and Japan Display Corporation (JDI).
The legal person pointed out that the annual sales of Switch series models (general version Switch + small low-cost version Switch Lite) exceeded 21 million units, making it one of the most popular game consoles in the world. Innolux received a large order for the next generation Switch and became the first in Taiwan Those who have entered the Switch display supply chain have not only contributed greatly to Innolux's performance, but also meant that the innovative generation of display technology has been recognized by the industry.
Regarding Nintendo's approach to make Innolux the first Taiwanese panel manufacturer to supply key display components for the Switch, Innolux General Manager Yang Zhuxiang did not respond positively, but he did not deny contact with Nintendo. He only revealed that "It is normal for manufacturers to visit. Thing". He emphasized that the first quarter of this year was the bottom of Innolux's operations. The second quarter heated up. The third quarter was better than the second quarter, and the fourth quarter was also good.
Industry insiders pointed out that Apple is unwilling to be constrained by Samsung's exclusive control of the source of OLED panels and has accelerated the adoption of Mini LED technology, which has set off a trend for major brands to follow up. Nintendo's new Switch next year will be equipped with the most advanced Mini LED display technology for the first time to improve the image quality and smoothness of the game console, while reducing battery power consumption, increasing the endurance of the console, and stimulating more buying.
Major game console manufacturers such as Microsoft and Sony generally launched new phones after the second half of the year. Nintendo Switch took advantage of its handheld control and convenient portability. The business opportunities brought by the epidemic were not only crazy hot sales, but also a major shortage. goods.
According to the data released by Nintendo's latest quarterly earnings conference, as of August this year, the Switch, which has been on sale for more than three years, has sold more than 62 million units worldwide, surpassing the classic console "Red and White", becoming Nintendo's sixth best seller in history. Host.
Nintendo took advantage of the victory, and the target Switch surpassed the 3DS with a total global sales of 75.87 million units and moved towards the company's top five best-selling game consoles, thus comprehensively strengthening the selling points of the new machine.
In the past, Switch panels were mainly supplied by two Japanese companies, Sharp and Japan Display Corporation (JDI), with IGZO technology panels. Innolux has entered the Switch game console supply chain with Mini LEDs. This will be the first time a Taiwanese manufacturer has supplied Nintendo's key panel components.
I hope I'm wrong since mini LED doesn't experience burn-in like OLED does, but I feel like the rumour of the next Nintendo Switch model having a mini LED display seems way too good to be true, considering that no smartphones nor tablets use mini LED displays (the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max still use an OLED display). And I don't believe the Nintendo Switch (specifically the model with the Tegra X1+) use a LCD IGZO display.
If the 2021 Switch indeed comes out with a mini-LED display + DLSS, there will be lots of jaws hitting the floor. By the way, Innolux actually is capable of producing rollable mini-LED displays. What a crazy Labo that would be? (I'm only half joking.)
I hope I'm wrong since mini LED doesn't experience burn-in like OLED does, but I feel like the rumour of the next Nintendo Switch model having a mini LED display seems way too good to be true, considering that no smartphones nor tablets use mini LED displays (the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max still use an OLED display). And I don't believe the Nintendo Switch (specifically the model with the Tegra X1+) use a LCD IGZO display.
Nintendo's handheld game console Switch has taken advantage of the economic opportunity driven by the epidemic. It is selling well worldwide. Nintendo has taken advantage of its success and has recently begun preparations for the next-generation Switch production plan to be launched next year. It plans to introduce the most popular Mini LED display technology and come to Taiwan to find groups Chuang (3481) supplies, breaking the previous situation where the Switch was supplied by two Japanese manufacturers, Sharp and Japan Display Corporation (JDI).
The legal person pointed out that the annual sales of Switch series models (general version Switch + small low-cost version Switch Lite) exceeded 21 million units, making it one of the most popular game consoles in the world. Innolux received a large order for the next generation Switch and became the first in Taiwan Those who have entered the Switch display supply chain have not only contributed greatly to Innolux's performance, but also meant that the innovative generation of display technology has been recognized by the industry.
Regarding Nintendo's approach to make Innolux the first Taiwanese panel manufacturer to supply key display components for the Switch, Innolux General Manager Yang Zhuxiang did not respond positively, but he did not deny contact with Nintendo. He only revealed that "It is normal for manufacturers to visit. Thing". He emphasized that the first quarter of this year was the bottom of Innolux's operations. The second quarter heated up. The third quarter was better than the second quarter, and the fourth quarter was also good.
Industry insiders pointed out that Apple is unwilling to be constrained by Samsung's exclusive control of the source of OLED panels and has accelerated the adoption of Mini LED technology, which has set off a trend for major brands to follow up. Nintendo's new Switch next year will be equipped with the most advanced Mini LED display technology for the first time to improve the image quality and smoothness of the game console, while reducing battery power consumption, increasing the endurance of the console, and stimulating more buying.
Major game console manufacturers such as Microsoft and Sony generally launched new phones after the second half of the year. Nintendo Switch took advantage of its handheld control and convenient portability. The business opportunities brought by the epidemic were not only crazy hot sales, but also a major shortage. goods.
According to the data released by Nintendo's latest quarterly earnings conference, as of August this year, the Switch, which has been on sale for more than three years, has sold more than 62 million units worldwide, surpassing the classic console "Red and White", becoming Nintendo's sixth best seller in history. Host.
Nintendo took advantage of the victory, and the target Switch surpassed the 3DS with a total global sales of 75.87 million units and moved towards the company's top five best-selling game consoles, thus comprehensively strengthening the selling points of the new machine.
In the past, Switch panels were mainly supplied by two Japanese companies, Sharp and Japan Display Corporation (JDI), with IGZO technology panels. Innolux has entered the Switch game console supply chain with Mini LEDs. This will be the first time a Taiwanese manufacturer has supplied Nintendo's key panel components.