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Coming This Week to Digital Foundry (Week 23, 2024) (Patreon)

Published:
2024-06-03 11:36:28
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Hello there, we're back! When I say back, I mean that the IGN expedition last week - which basically took up all of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - is done and everyone is where they should be. I think I mentioned in prior comms that this turned out to be a 'getting to know you' session as opposed to any kind of meaningful shift in what we do and how we do it. So, business as usual, but we certainly have a much better understanding of the sheer size of IGN and more of an understanding on potential possibilities in the future.

Anyway, let's talk #content.

Rich (ie me) took a look at DF Clips stats the other day and noted that the question surrounding the lack of any kind of current-gen patch for Red Dead Redemption 2 proved to be an immensely popular video. So, it's time to break out Frankenstein's Console and put together a feasibility study in what a current-gen could actually deliver. I think you'll find the results intriguing.

John is suitably enthused about Selaco - a new retro-modern shooter built on GZDoom engine. He's putting together a video for it starting today, then hopes to move onto embargoed #content.

Alex is circling back to Hellblade 2 to discuss the implications of this game on Unreal Engine 5's wider deployment in the triple-A space. We'll also get optimised settings and Xbox Series X-equivalent settings in this piece too.

Oliver is looking at emulation on iOS devices and will be checking out Assassin's Creed Mirage on iOS as well. Expect that latter project to take some time as we are entering Fake E3 territory and we'll be deep in Direct land.

Tom is circling back to Ark Survival Ascended as there's a lot going on there as one of the most unoptimised games ever moves across to Unreal Engine 5, complete with Lumen, Nanite and all the rest!

I'd also like to talk about three projects we're looking to take on which haven't been assigned yet. That starts with something very much in DF Land - PS4 vs PS5. We're astonished at Sony's monthly users being 50% composed of PS4 users. Is there no actual reason to upgrade? We're going to be looking at the games they're actually playing for some answers.

Next up, per a discussion point in DF Direct, we're going to look at the concept of 'frame generation as a crutch' and more than that, looking at frame-rate caps in general on PC gaming and the benefits of level performance vs unlocked.

Finally, we've been thinking about this for some time and we're going to grabbing the bull by the horns. This has nothing to do with gaming but we're looking to compare streaming video to physical media. Netflix/Amazon vs Blu-ray. Netflix/Amazon vs 4K Blu-ray. SDR. HDR. Audio. If there's a case to be made for the quality of the experience from physical media, we're looking to make it. This is going to take some time as acquiring some of this data is going to be challenging but we're fully onboard for the challenge.

We're still figuring out DF Direct in terms of the standard show, SGF, Xbox and Ubisoft. We don't want to overload you with discussion shows so maybe the schedule will shift about - we'll need to see.

So, lots going on then. Anything else you'd like us to look at? Do let us know in the comments box below!

Files

Comments

Michael Pearn

Any chance you could take a gander at Homeworld 3, especially the ray tracing? It’s also aimed at the mid range PC space which is rare.

Blackreach

I think doing special DF Directs on the big showcases could be good. Shorter directs on each of the key ones perhaps.

Chaos In Japan

I assume you’ll simply find 4K blu-ray to be a little bit better than 4K streaming. In some cases streaming can’t be avoided, for example Star Wars (I think) never released 4K blu-rays, so Disney+ is the only way to watch the saga in 4K Dolby Vision.

JGizzle

The streaming vs physical media comparison will be interesting. Always something I am super curious about.

StealFromWork

I abandoned physical media a while ago in favor of a digital library, but I've been collecting Blu-Rays lately. I'm very interested in seeing the streaming vs physical comparison! (Also as a side note, is the blu ray app on Xbox completely broken for anyone else?)

Yotsuya

The idea of comparing streaming services to physical is interesting. It's been done before of course but not in some time. Definitely include the higher end services such as Apple TV+ though, that runs which a much higher bitrate than Netflix and Amazon. I believe you can also get raw bitrate numbers from an Apple TV with the dev overlay.

NoobClear Gandhi

The difference in audio bit rates for streaming media are even more drastic vs physical media than video. Not entirely sure if going into that will be feasible for DF, but a small section on the audio difference will be nice to have, if if that part is more subjective.

NoobClear Gandhi

Also consoles used to bring a lot of value as movie disc players. What are the shortcomings keeping current gen consoles from appealing to the blu ray enthusiast market would be interesting.

alexrdavies

I am sure Alex's discussion of Senua and UE5 will touch on consoles and the apparent 30fps standard for games using both Lumen and Nanite. It would be interesting to hear about the potential for those to become 40fps games now UE5.4 is bedding in... or even 60fps+ games using FRS3 frame gen. Full-featured UE5 games at 60fps on current consoles seemed like a pipe dream six months ago, but now appears within reach, at least for future titles.

Levander Davis

I second the motion to look at Homeworld 3.

Levander Davis

I love the idea of comparing streaming vs. physical media. However, the one thing that’s always missing from these discussions is how do regular (non-DF) folks view the difference? Can you tag in your non-technical friends for their opinion and whether quality matters to them or not?

beer chugger 209

I’m super curious for this physical versus digital streaming and Blu-ray

Saraaahhhh

Star Wars is a unique case. There are 4k releases, but all of them only have standard HDR, unlike the Dolby Vision Disney+ versions. Last Jedi even had Dolby Vision when it was first released in 4k, but that was removed for the re-release. General quality still beats the compressed Disney+ stream, so there are tradeoffs either way.

Saraaahhhh

Great to see that you're planning a video on physical media. It's unfortunately a pretty sad state of affairs, with some movies (for example Love Lies Bleeding) not receiving a 4k release, while others like the recent Aliens remaster are terrible AI conversions. I think looking at how available bandwidth affects stream quality would be especially interesting, and perhaps a look at how well Series X and PS5 can handle 4k and the various HDR and 3d sound formats could be interesting too

Snorlax cat

I think the slate is as complete as one could hope

Snorlax cat

it is a bit broken, they clearly abandoned physical media in more than one way

MittenFacedLass

I think For Honor is a lesser-known compelling PS4 vs PS5 example. 1080p 30 on PS4, 4K-ish 60/1080p-ish 120 on PS5. Also the only PS4 title I know to have been updated with 120hz support. It's an underrated title, and still has a surprisingly strong community.

MittenFacedLass

My Series X absolutely consistently fails to play Bluray discs properly, since launch. All kinds of issues. No idea why. Always use my PS5.

MittenFacedLass

There are 4k blurays. They're just somewhat rare/pricey in some cases/regions.

SweetMini

A topic that could be touched upon as well is how to best stream from your PC to a Steam Deck or other devices , both from within the home and outside of home. There are hardware and software solutions, many used their Shield for their TV, but beside that i am mostly oblivious to them, it would be interesting both for latency and image quality considerations.

Anthony Ortega

Can't wait for the Streaming vs physical media. Show people what their missing so physical movies don't go. Stuck relying on a Walmart, Target and Amazon for my physical movies now and they suck. Miss walking into Best Buy to pick up my pre-orders.

Timothy Malloy

Looking at the big multiplayer games on PS4 and PS5 would be interesting. I wonder if Fortnite, apex, and whatever are still in good shape on the 2013 systems

Aliasing Anonymous

Love the idea of comparing streaming to physical media.

TechRyze

Getting set up with a PS5, accessories, online and games is like £600+ AT LEAST. Then you want a decent 4K OLED if you don't have one, or else you lose a lot of the benefit of owning one. There's another £500-£1000+. At that price, it has to compete with world travel. I have chosen travel, post pandemic. I don't think I'm the only one. Also - Steam Deck and gaming PCs - the Nvidia cards are powerful, and you can go as low as 2070 and still compete with the PS5. a PS4 must be somewhere around £150 used these days, if not cheaper, and it plays 90% of the library across both consoles at 1080p. It's like the Wii/Series S option without waggle or the loss of used games. There's no unmissable current gen game for me, if I'm honest. Nothing that's a BUY NOW purchase.

Matt_Rant

The “Frankenstein’s Console” thing was cute, but I would really rather see time spent on something else. Because the memory isn’t unified, a bunch of power and I/O lanes are loaded totally diffferently, and the CPU and GPU caches are in a totally unoptimized state versus a first-party console-optimized game. This hardware isn’t even useful for downclocking and modeling as a portable Xbox as a result, either. The idea of comparing 4K HDR home media versus streaming is interesting. One thing that would be an interesting data point on top: offline “AI” upscaling that runs on RTX GPUs. There a few of those tools out there, some more well-known than others, and it would be super interesting to see how upscaling a bluray rip versus a 4K streaming compares.