Digital Foundry Direct: FSR Analysis, Sonic, and More
The AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) Deep Dive
The episode centers on the controversy and technical nuances surrounding AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR). The team breaks down what the technology actually is and, crucially, what it is not.
• Core Analysis: The team argues that FSR is best categorized as a spatial upscaling technique rather than a direct competitor to intelligent, temporal-based image reconstruction solutions like DLSS or TAA Upsampling (TAAU).
• Key Takeaways: While impressive for its ease of integration and ability to preserve high-contrast edges without needing temporal motion vectors, it struggles with fine texture detail compared to temporal solutions.
• The Verdict: > "FSR should be best compared against bilinear, bicubic, and other point-sample filters where it is actually innovative."
Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th Anniversary
The panel reflects on the 30th anniversary of Sonic, reminiscing about their early experiences with the franchise, ranging from the European launch PAL-50 speed issues to the immense impact of Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. They also discuss:
• The complicated history of the Sonic 3 soundtrack and Michael Jackson's involvement.
• Modern celebrations including the Sonic Symphony and the use of Whitehead's Retro Engine for recent collections.
Additional Industry Topics
• Jonathan Frakes & PUBG: Discussion on actor Jonathan Frakes lending his voice to PUBG lore, bridging the gap between sci-fi narratives and battle royale.
• Myst in VR: The team explores how Myst is being adapted for VR and their desire for modern technology to faithfully replicate original CGI assets in real-time.
• Intellivision Amico: The panel expresses significant skepticism regarding the upcoming Intellivision Amico console, citing concerns about its marketing transparency, lack of new, verifiable gameplay footage, and ambiguous release status.
• The Alex Kidd Remake: The team highlights technical disappointments, specifically the poor frame-pacing resulting from a questionable PAL-to-NTSC conversion process and mismatched hitbox collisions.
• DF Content Updates: Discussions on DLSS 2.2 performance improvements, Modern Warfare 120Hz support on PS5, and John's work on revisiting CRT (specifically the FW900) technology to compare against modern OLED displays.