Thanks to a built-in video processor, the mCable Gaming Edition HDMI cable [Amazon] applies image enhancements—including a custom anti-aliasing-like solution—to most source devices with HDMI output. Marketed mainly towards gaming console HDTV output, the cable also supports 1080p at 120Hz, making it suitable for the PlayStation VR headset, according to the company. Sounds ridiculous, right? We thought so too, but reputable sources have been surprised to find it really seems to work as advertised.
The notion of a crazy-expensive, image-enhancing digital cable should have alarm bells ringing in most heads, but in the case of Marseille’s mCable Gaming Edition, it’s not just snake oil. Their website explains this is no ordinary HDMI cable, with a built-in DSP that requires USB power to operate. Its various video processing capabilities are detailed in the ‘techzone’ on Marseille’s website, including their custom CXAA (Contextual Anti-Aliasing) solution and sub-1ms latency.
Respected hardware sites PC Perspective and Linus Tech Tips recently reviewed the product, and both were pleasantly surprised at the mCable’s effectiveness. Unfortunately, neither tested the cable with PSVR, but a few owners have claimed to see improvements. Post-process AA is generally an inadequate solution for VR aliasing problems, and may even produce detrimental effects, but perhaps the pros might outweigh the cons in the unique case of the PSVR, where users can’t manually bump up graphics settings like on PC. The SweetFX injector on PC has been used successfully to enhance the image quality of VR headsets with edge sharpening, and the sharpening algorithm of the mCable signal processing may deliver similar improvements for PSVR.
However, at around $140, it’s an investment that could otherwise be spent on moving up to a PS4 Pro for example, which is likely to deliver a far more significant improvement to PSVR performance and image quality.
