The mClassic and the Nintendo Switch

The mClassic external graphics processor by Marseille Inc.
The mClassic external graphics processor by Marseille Inc.

Hey Friends! Sometimes I do things that make little to no sense and this mornings post is going to be one of them. I write about them because they can serve as a lesson for others, and occasionally they work out fairly well. You may or may not know what the mCable or the mClassic are, because you may not run in the same informational circles that I do. However what it promises is a magical dongle that upscales a video signal being passed through the device and attempts to improve the image quality in the process. This device normally retails for $100, but I managed to find it on sale for $80 a few months back and which piqued my interest enough to make a purchase. Again… I do dumb things sometimes so you don’t have to.

mClassic scaling chart
mClassic scaling chart

A lot of the press surrounding the device claimed that it could take a 720p input signal and scale it up to 4k, and in theory that is a thing that is within the realm of possibilities but you have a lot of caveats. So if that 720p signal is only 30 fps then sure enough you can get a 30 fps 2160p aka 4k signal out of it… pending you are using cables that support HDMI 1.4 and that all of the devices in the chain also support HDMI 1.4. If you have a input signal running at 60 fps… the highest thing you can get out of it is 1440p, which is very rarely supported by televisions and as a result you get 1080p instead. So the scaling seems to work but only in the most optimal of conditions and only if you hold your mouth just right.

Digital Foundry review of the mClassic

So something you have to understand before we get into this… I had watched a number of reviews on this product… the vast majority reported minimal improvements. Yet I still do this thing, in part because the Nintendo Switch looks awful on a 4k television, and anything to clean up the image would be a great improvement. I have a nonsense setup where everything pipes into a very nice 8 port HDMI switch, then goes into my Elgato Pro video card which in itself is only capable of capturing a 1080p image, but the pass through port is capable of passing along a 2160p signal just fine. Originally I had the mClassic in line so that it was processing every signal passing through the HDMI switch, but the results were not amazing.

Modern Vintage Gamer review of mClassic

It seemed to actually make a lot of my experience with the PS4 considerably worse. One example that I sadly don’t have video evidence of is on the FF7 Remaster, the chain link fence at the train station was reduced to just a grid of shiny points with most of the wire itself being smoothed out of existence. On the PS3, Xbox 360 and Xbox One it seemed to make absolutely no difference at all. I ran numerous tests, not really seeing any perceivable benefit. Where I did see benefit however is on the Nintendo Switch, which seemed to have a decently improved image. The annoying part about the cable is that it requires a separate usb power connection, and since it connects to the console and not the television… you can’t simply do the reach around to the USB trick easily. I decided to remove it from my entire set up and instead connect it straight to the Switch dock, where I thankfully still had free USB ports.

The core challenge I have had with this device is that the benefits are subtle. So much so that I am never quite certain that I am actually seeing any tangible benefit and are instead just WANTING to see a benefit thanks to spending $80 on it. As a result I devised a test, which is nowhere near as expansive as some of the reviewers I have already linked above. I have my Switch running through my Elgato capture card, which in theory is receiving the full benefit of all of the image processing. At the same time if I take a screenshot on the Switch itself, it has no idea that the mClassic exists and takes an image of what the hardware is actually producing. So yesterday I did the very fiddly method of taking a screenshot on the console while at the same time hitting my capture button on the PC, and then merging the two images to try and discern if I was actually seeing a difference. Today we are going to go over the results.

Diablo III: Eternal Collection on Nintendo Switch
Diablo III: Eternal Collection on Nintendo Switch

The first game I tried this on was Diablo III, which looks absolutely horrible in docked mode on a 2160p display. The methodology I used was to drag both images into photoshop, layer them on top of each other, and then slice down through the layer at key points trying to get some side by side comparisons. First off like I said the difference is subtle, but in this example it is absolutely there. The image coming out of the mClassic appears more vibrant and sharp and seems to refine the muddy textures. One of the big places I notice this is in the Blacksmith’s stand where the mClassic absolutely appears to be improving the texture quality. Another place that I found surprising was just how much it seems to be improving the text. Is it $80 worth of improvement? I am not sure… but it does seem to be making a difference.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch

Once again the image here for Breath of the Wild appears more vibrant. This is going to be a theme for most of the comparisons in that when you look at the original it almost seems like there is a haze on it. The biggest place where I notice a difference is in the grass texture, which seems to be significantly more defined on the signal coming from the mClassic. Once again it also seems to be sharpening up the HUD elements which is nice.

Monster Hunter Generations X on Nintendo Switch
Monster Hunter Generations X on Nintendo Switch

I opted to test out Monster Hunter Generations X in part because it is a game that is already extremely vibrant. The end result almost seems over-saturated to the point of starting to lose a bit of detail in the shadows. The textures are absolutely improved as is the overall quality of the models. I did a slice on my character to show the difference and you can similarly compare the two palicos.

Astral Chain on Nintendo Switch
Astral Chain on Nintendo Switch

I wanted to try out some overly dark games and opted first for Astral Chain. Similar to Monster Hunter it seems to increase what is already going on with the game. So to me it seems like it is actually darkening much of the game and pushing away a lot of the subtle mid tones. The thing that I find most interesting is how it seems to almost remove the glowing effect on my character’s eyes. Just like the other examples it does a good job of sharpening textures so they feel like they have more depth, but I am not sure about the overall experience.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on Nintendo Switch

Finally I wanted to test this out on a fairly dark 2D game, and as a result I went with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. This is the example that I see the least difference in. There is a bit of sharpening to the textures but it is extremely subtle. Additionally there seems to be an improvement in vibrancy, but it mostly just has the effect of darkening the image slightly.

The mClassic external graphics processor by Marseille Inc.
The mClassic external graphics processor by Marseille Inc.

So in the end… I am still deeply torn about the actual benefit of this device. I believe that it is in fact doing something, but I am not sure if the something that it is doing is worth the price tag. The part of it that is being touted the hardest is the promise of taking a 720p or 1080p signal and turning it magically into 2160p for your shiny new 4k television. Yes it does this thing, but it feels like there is a mountain of legal small print that comes with it and the understanding that it only does this in the most specific of circumstances. The only system that I saw a visible improvement with was the Nintendo Switch, and even there you can see by the examples I have provided that it is subtle.

So in the end… would I recommend this product to anyone for the price point? Probably not. Am I disappointed that I purchased it? Not really, because it does make some improvement to the worst offender on my television and I am fine I guess knowing that. Like I said I had watched a dozen or so reviews on this product before purchasing, so I knew what I was getting into. The claim the device makes is tantalizing, but unfortunately in my experience not nearly as magical as it sounds.