Visual Comparisons
Anime: Art vs. Fidelity
Anime4K (Art)
Fidelity (Purist)
Anime Detection Logic
Anime Mode (Green)
Live Action (Red)
Live Action HD (Upscalers)
FSRCNNX (Manual)
NNEDI3 (Auto)
Live Action SD (Restoration)
Texture Mode
Clean Mode
Anime Mode: Stylized vs. Faithful
This build offers two distinct ways to watch anime. Switch instantly using CTRL + ' (OFF) , CTRL + l (AUTO) and CTRL + ; (ON).
1. Anime4K Mode (ON)
The "Modern" Look
- Philosophy: "Make it look like 4K."
- Effect: Aggressively sharpens lines, thins heavy borders, and removes noise.
- Result: Razor-sharp, highly stylized image. Great for older anime or making 720p look like modern 4K.
2. Reference Mode (OFF)
The "Faithful" Look
- Philosophy: "Show exactly what the artist drew."
- Effect: Uses professional scalers (NNEDI3 & FSRCNNX) to smooth lines naturally without altering the art style.
- Result: Smooth, cinema-quality image preserving line weight, film grain, and background textures.
Resolution Handling Comparison
| Resolution | Anime4K Mode (ON) | Reference Mode (OFF) | Best Choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| SD (<576p) (DVDs, Old Rips) |
Restoration Focused Aggressively removes compression artifacts. Attempts to "re-draw" jagged lines. |
Detail Focused (NNEDI3-256) Uses deep neural networks to reconstruct details while preserving retro texture. |
ON for Blocky OFF for Quality |
| HD (720p) (TV Rips, Web) |
Upscale Focused Sharpening maximized to simulate 4K. Lines become thin and crisp. |
Smoothness Focused (NNEDI3-64) Prioritizes smooth, connected lines (anti-aliasing) over raw sharpness. No ringing. |
ON for Crisp OFF for Accurate |
| FHD (1080p) (Blu-Ray) |
Enhancement Focused Adds "digital sheen" and enhances edge contrast. |
Fidelity Focused (FSRCNNX) Fixes color bleeding (KrigBilateral) and adds cinematic grain. |
ON for Razor OFF for Purist |
| 4K (2160p) (Modern Movies) |
Pass-through Light processing to avoid over-sharpening. |
Native 1:1 Bit-perfect pixel mapping. No upscaling needed. |
OFF Always |
💡 The "Purist" Workflow
Want Studio-Mastered Quality with Professional Scaling?
1. Press CTRL + ' to disable enhancements (Mode OFF).
2. Press Q to toggle scaling: NNEDI3 (Soft/Natural) or FSRCNNX (Sharp/Clean).
Want Absolute Raw Output?
Press CTRL + g to engage the Master Kill Switch.
This instantly disables ALL shaders (Upscalers, Deband, Sharpening) for a 1:1 bit-perfect render.
(Perfect for A/B testing. Your choice is saved automatically.)
Native Scalers Guide (Manual Controls for when Shaders Master Switch is OFF)
| Scaler | Sharpness | Ringing | Best Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| ewa_lanczossharp | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Low | Best General Upscaler. The "Gold Standard". Sharp but clean. |
| spline64 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Medium | Best Downscaler. (SVP Choice). Retains maximum 4K texture on 1080p. |
| lanczos | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | High | Classic Sharp. Very crisp, but creates halos. For "crunchy" image lovers. |
| spline36 | ⭐⭐⭐ | Low | Best Chroma Scaler. Perfect balance for color. High quality, zero artifacts. |
| mitchell | ⭐ | None | Smooth. Soft scaler that hides compression. Good for downscaling. |
| bilinear | 🌑 | None | Emergency Only. Blurry but fast. Use only if GPU overheats. |
HDR Tone Mapping & Passthrough Tests
| Test Format | Source Type | MPV Behavior | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDR10 | HEVC 10-bit / PQ / BT.2020 | Passthrough to Display (Auto-trigger) | Pass |
| Dolby Vision P5 | HEVC 10-bit / DoVi / Streaming | Correct Tone Mapping (Fixes Purple Tint) | Optimized |
| Dolby Vision P8 | HEVC 10-bit / DoVi / Hybrid | Dynamic Tone Mapping to HDR10 | Pass |
| HLG | VP9 / HLG / Broadcast | Correct Gamma / Brightness Map | Pass |
| MaxCLL/FALL | Static Metadata | Metadata Passed to GPU Driver | Pass |
