Apologies if this topic already exists.
I was just imagining how nice and useful it would be if Mister cores had a built-in BFI (black frame insertion) option.
It could probably be ported over from the Retrotink 4K where the guys from Blur Busters helped in development. They just announced a new type of BFI, where the black screen not only appears but also kinda rolls over the screen.
This would bring the Mister even closer to the genuine CRT experience.
https://www.retrorgb.com/retrotink-4k-p ... ation.html
Mike Chi just released a new beta firmware for the RetroTINK 4K Pro, that integrates a CRT Beam Emulation technique invented by Mark from Blur Busters. While no device on the market today is fast enough to truly emulate the way a CRT’s beam draws one line at a time, this “rolling BFI” technique with phosphor decay does a pretty amazing job emulating it at 1080p240Hz- This results in about a 75% reduction in motion blur for 60Hz sources. It also works when outputting 1080p120Hz, however the results are a bit closer to what you’d get with standard black frame insertion’s 50% motion blur.
the biggest selling points of the Tink4K are that new beam emulation/BFI tech that BlurBusters helped develop, the 4k scaling with its fancy deinterlacing, better scanlines, and rotation for Vertical games. however, the price tag of $750 is the issue that prevents most people from getting one (or the fact a good chunk of retro gamers output to a CRT or small gaming monitor).
does it temp me? of course! do i need it? of course not!
im in the group that uses the MiSTer with a small (24") gaming monitor that can rotate freely and is 1080p. the scanlines and the response time of the monitor are more than enough for me to play input sensitive retro games with a convincing look and feel. im never not impressed at what the MiSTer does and it is my preferred setup for retro gaming.
imo, the Tink4k is targeting the +60" HDTV couch gaming crowd. the people who want something they can tuck away in their TV stands shelf, grab a Bluetooth controller and a drink, and not be tied down to a small box with a wired controller.
for those less discerning folks who dont need perfect accuracy in their emulation, most mini PCs can handle all the retro systems and output in 4K, with some glorious CRT shaders, all for well under $750. the Tink4K is a scaler for original consoles and/or the FPGA crowd.
but yes, that beam emulation and blur free gaming on a modern monitor has me very excited. i had an idea a few years back for a similar "BFI/doubling of the refresh rate" for the MiSTer. basically an output mode to force a gaming monitor to use 120hz instead of 60hz (which would greatly reduce blur and the input latency as an effect) but this “rolling BFI” technology just takes it to a whole-nother level.
im wondering what the next evolution of FPGA gaming will be like, and what upgrades are possible with newer hardware 
You are confusing bfi and that new crt beam emulation technique. One add a black frame and the other is simulating the beam of a crt, two very different things. The RT4k has bfi but not this new crt beam emulation and even if it has since recently or whatever, it would be pretty limited. All the point of the thing is to use ultra high refresh rate display and the RT4k can do 4k yes but only at 60hz. And you really need 4k to have all those fancy crt emulation filters in all their glory.
If i recall mister can do max 1080p 60hz. We are very far of the recommended 4k240 or even 4k480. Right now only a PC with a good graphic card can really use this new beam emulation shader. And it will stay that way for a (long ?) time.
Personally i will throw away my crt the day we'll have a 4k480 oled and a scaler that can drive it with this beam emulation technique. It's not for tomorrow but it's good to know that somehow "everything is in place".
4K120 already needs HDMI 2.1. MIke said that this would place a high end scaler like the Tink (Pro version) in a 1000-1200 US dollar price range. While we already getting 4K240 OLEDs monitors (1440p@480Hz) the TV counterparts are also many years away.
Retro-Nerd wrote: ↑Fri Mar 14, 2025 10:45 pm4K120 already needs HDMI 2.1. MIke said that this would place a high end scaler like the Tink (Pro version) in a 1000-1200 US dollar price range. While we already getting 4K240 OLEDs monitors (1440p@480Hz) the TV counterparts are also many years away.
It's surely always possible to do things when it's overprice, but even then 4k120 stay too limited. My pc and my oled TV can do 4k120 right now but if i want to play retro games it still software emulation, i don't get the advantage of my mister. I also don't think it's really worth below 4k240.
It will become interesting when we'll get a scaler that don't cost a fortune and that can do 4k240 at least. As you pointed out the new oled monitor are doing 4k240... but over displayport.
The other possibility is a mister replacement that can do the thing directly, but again i doubt it's possible. I don't try their beam emulation shader yet but i remember they said it require a lot of processing power, something mister lack and probably also a potential replacement.
