Digital Foundry Direct Weekly

Digital Foundry & Geek Media
undefined
Oct 4, 2021 • 1h 31min

DF Direct Weekly #31: Nintendo Switch 4K Denials, Xbox Dolby Vision & 4K Dash, Nvidia DLAA!

The latest DF Direct Weekly tackles the online bunfight between Nintendo and Bloomberg about the existence of a '4K Switch', goes in-depth on HDR and dashboard changes on Xbox consoles and examines Nvidia DLAA... what is it? Rich Leadbetter, John Linneman and Alex Battaglia perpetrate this one.00:00:00 Introductions00:00:39 Nintendo Switch 4K denials00:06:49 Xbox Dolby Vision support + 4K dashboard00:18:17 TGS 2021 VR experience00:27:40 Nvidia DLAA Reaction00:33:51 DF Content Discussion: Unity 50fps issue fix?00:40:36 DF Content Discussion: The Medium PS500:46:56 DF Content Discussion: The Touryst 8K 60fps00:55:53 DF Supporter Question 01: Why not release physical games on USB?01:00:36 DF Supporter Question 02: Why has there not been a CRT resurgence?01:04:09 DF Supporter Question 03: What do you see as potential use cases in future games to utilize many random read IOPS?01:10:09 DF Supporter Question 04: Can the AI tech used in DLSS and DLAA be transferred to other graphical improvements?01:12:51 DF Supporter Question 05: Have you ever considered filming the DF Weekly on Fridays?01:15:33 DF Supporter Question 06: What is the biggest technical issues you face creating content?01:24:00 DF Supporter Question 07: Do we pray too much at the altar of ray tracing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Sep 27, 2021 • 1h 46min

DF Direct Weekly #30: Nintendo Direct Reaction, PS4 CBOMB Fixed!

It's all change in the weekly line-up for this episode! John Linneman and Audi Sorlie are joined by Coury Carlson from My Life In Gaming to discuss the latest gaming news, kicking off with a monstrous discussion on this week's Nintendo Direct.00:00:00 Introductions00:01:46 Nintendo Direct Reaction00:35:56 PlayStation 4 CBOMB Fixed!00:42:36 Is Klonoa coming back?00:47:37 Is Marvel vs Capcom 2 coming back?00:53:32 Beavis And Butthead Adventure on PS1 gets English translation!00:59:44 Mick McGinty has passed away01:05:34 DF Content Discussion01:17:03 Patreon Supporter Q1: I only have two Patreon memberships, MLIG and DF. You guys have the best content. Do you ever feel a tension between what content you want to make and what you feel your subscribers want?01:26:47 Patreon Supporter Q2: Could timed exclusivity be utilised as a way to mitigate heavy workloads and crunch for developers?01:28:53 Patreon Supporter Q3: Where were you when Metal Gear Solid 2 was released? Or alternatively, can you recall your first ever session with it? 01:36:13 Patreon Supporter Q4: If a theoretical PS5 Slim were to come out in a few years, do you think there's a chance it will be all-digital only with no disc option?01:40:23 Patreon Supporter Q5: How do you set-up a Dolby Atmos surround system? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Sep 20, 2021 • 1h 30min

DF Direct Weekly #29: PS5 Firmware Perf Boost? Gran Turismo 7 Online/RT, Intel GPU Performance!

Join Rich, John and Alex for discussion of the latest tech and gaming news! This week, the team discuss the PS5 CFI-1100 hook-up with Gamers Nexus, and the system software performance benchmarks hinting at a small boost to PS5 game frame-rates in very select circumstances, perhaps related to RT titles? GT7's online campaign and RT features are discussed and much more - along with tributes paid to an icon of the home computer industry.00:00:00 Introductions00:00:22 PlayStation CFI-1100/Gamers Nexus Collab/Firmware Perf Upgrade?00:12:51 GT7 Online only situation00:22:06 Intel slide leak00:27:57 Steam Deck dev kits are now out00:30:37 New Nintendo update with Bluetooth Audio!00:34:45 iPhone 13 is out00:42:00 Sir Clive Sinclair has passed00:47:55 AV Receiver HDMI update00:55:40 DF Supporter Q1: would a custom 8c/16t cpu and 4 teraflop GPU be fitable in a mobile power envelope?00:57:19 DF Supporter Q2: What are the DF team's favourite or most disappointing remakes so far?01:04:57 DF Supporter Q3: Is it always fair to expect ultrawide support as a standard feature on PC games?01:09:58 DF Supporter Q4: Why do you think most games aren't currently utilizing the hardware blocks for IO on PS5?01:11:32 DF Supporter Q5: What do you think is the most important next-gen feature developers should focus on?01:14:25 DF Supporter Q6: Would you ever release any content that goes into depth on what's involved in producing content?01:18:21 DF Supporter Q7: Do you think that full path-tracing is the "endgame", with traditional rasterization becoming obsolete, at some point of time down the road?01:22:57 DF Supporter Q8: Why do poor PC ports continue to plague Japanese developed games?01:26:59 DF Supporter Q9: In your opinion, when does the game become retro? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Sep 13, 2021 • 1h 40min

DF Direct Weekly #28: New PS5 Model Hands-On, PS5 Upgrade Pricing, Alan Wake, Quake Remasters

John, Rich and Alex reconvene for this week's DF Direct Weekly, talking about the new PS5 CFI-1100 model, whether Sony's $10 PS4 to PS5 upgrade policy is justified, plus discussing Alan Wake and Quake remasters!00:00:00 Introductions00:00:42 New PS5 model00:11:14 Horizon Forbidden West pricing confusion00:21:17 Alan Wake Remastered00:32:18 Quake Remastered00:42:42 Little Big Adventure returns00:44:39 DF Content Discussion: Best of all the animals?00:46:16 DF Content Discussion: DF Retro reveal00:52:47 DF Content Discussion: Patreon update and retooling.00:55:38 DF Supporter Q1: Would you rather a theoretical PS5 Pro doubled the computer units to 72 or added some kind of machine learning core for better AI upscaling?01:03:58 DF Supporter Q2: What are the exact differences between mesh shaders and primitive shaders?01:06:25 DF Supporter Q3: Is getting a reasonably optimised performance from newer PC games starting to require increased hobbiest/technical knowledge again creating a higher barrier to entry for new PC gamers?01:18:07 DF Supporter Q4: With console reviews of late you often mention running a game not at the maximum resolution supported by a console. This confused me somewhat in that having my Series X connected to a 4K display and then setting output to 1080p just gives me a poor quality image01:24:04 DF Supporter Q5: DLSS and performance drawback/gains01:26:47 DF Supporter Q6: Are there any plans to include Crysis Warhead in the Crysis Trilogy collection? If not, why?01:28:28 DF Supporter Q7: Richard does not seem as attracted to older games, despite the fact that he lived and worked through basically the entire era of 2D gaming. Why?01:39:12 Credits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Sep 11, 2021 • 54min

DF Direct Special - Sony PlayStation Showcase Reaction: Spider-Man 2, GT7, God of War Ragnarok, Uncharted 4 + Much More

Think of it as an E3 conference pushed out a couple of months down the road: we got to see God of Ragnarok and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 for the first time, we saw an extended edit of Gran Turismo 7 and Uncharted 4 and The Lost Legacy are getting remastered - and yes, there's a big, big bunch of cross-gen wares coming our way.00:00 Introduction + Grand Theft Auto 503:39 Gran Turismo 709:33 Uncharted 4 + Lost Legacy PS5 and PC Remasters17:45 Marvel's Spider-Man 2 + Marvel's Wolverine23:13 God of War Ragnarok28:06 Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remaster33:19 Project Eve29:54 Forspoken42:24 Tchia - A Game Inspired by New Caledonia49:13 Trailer after Trailer after Trailer after Trailer + Conclusions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Sep 6, 2021 • 1h 15min

DF Direct Weekly #27: Dead Space Remake, Psychonauts 2, Game Boy Games Heading To Switch?

Welcome to the 27th DF Direct Weekly! This time it's John Linneman, Audi Sorlie and - of course - Alex Battaglia talking about the biggest gaming and tech topics of the week including the early access footage to Dead Space Remake, taking a look at the WATA grading situation and discussing the number of departure of Japanese talent to join Chinese backed gaming enterprises. All that and so much more!00:00:00 Introduction00:01:31 Dead Space Remake early showcase00:11:19 WATA Games Controversy00:22:08 Sony announced PlayStation Showcase for Sept. 900:26:04 Psychonauts 2 impressions00:34:26 Breeding Stud Appreciation Fest00:35:13 Assassin's Creed Odyssey 60fps patch00:37:47 SEGA and Bandai Namco talent leaving for Chinese game start-ups00:44:16 Game Boy games coming to Nintendo Switch?00:47:23 DF Content Discussion00:52:48 DF Supporter Q1: Over time, I’ve come to appreciate the look of 360/PS3 games on non-native panels (eg 768p, 1080p, and 4K). Is this just nostalgia goggles?00:54:44 DF Supporter Q2: How do you gentlemen think the Big Three (Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony) feel about upscalers such as they OSSC, and RetroTink 5X?00:56:48 DF Supporter Q3: Curious how Alex keeps up with the new and emergent technical aspects of game development?00:59:05 DF Supporter Q4: Have there been any games that you've had to play for the channel that have pleasantly surprised you?01:04:43 DF Supporter Q5: Why do you think AF levels are still kept so low on console?01:07:31 DF Supporter Q6: As a person who hopes to someday get into video game journalism, what advice would you give?01:13:21 DF Supporter Q7: Are there plans to do an episode of Digital Foundry to bring attention to the fan-made project Shenmue: The Dragon and Phoenix Collection? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Aug 30, 2021 • 1h 38min

DF Direct Weekly #26: Gamescom 2021, DokeV, Forza Horizon 5, Intel Arc, RTX 3090... Super?

It's Gamescom week, there are tons of new game trailers to discuss, plus Horizon Zero Dawn has a 60fps patch! And what should we make of the RTX 3090 Super rumour doing the roads? Join Rich, Alex and Tom for the week's tech chat.00:00:00 Introductions00:00:48 Gamescom 2021: DokeV00:07:28 Gamescom 2021: Forza Horizon 500:14:21 Gamescom 2021: Call of Duty: Vanguard00:19:52 Gamescom 2021: Dying Light 200:25:03 Gamescom 2021: Halo Infinite00:28:47 Gamescom 2021: Horizon Forbidden West/Horizon Zero Dawn 60fps patch00:32:30 Gamescom 2021: RTX announcements00:34:52 RTX 3090 Super rumour00:39:14 DF Content Discussion: Intel Arc GPU Interview00:51:04 DF Content Discussion: Little Nightmares 200:55:20 DF Content Discussion: Assassin's Creed Odyssey 60fps patch00:59:47 DF Content Discussion: Tom Petersen deepfake?01:05:14 DF Supporter Q1: What do you think is the reason why we haven’t seen more games being FPS boosted since the 70+ drop and do you think we will ever see FPS boost for Xbox 360 games?01:09:28 DF Supporter Q2: Whatever happened to the Microsoft resolution boost feature?01:10:39 DF Supporter Q3: If both consoles are using RDNA2 and HDMI 2.1 then why doesn't the PS5 have VRR? / Do you think we will eventually see AI upscaling on console?01:20:33 DF Supporter Q4: Will there ever be a time where turning on Ray Tracing may end up increasing performance instead of decreasing it?01:25:24 DF Supporter Q5: Now that the Steam Deck looks to be the first mass market PC that runs games exclusively on Linux by default, have you thought about covering Proton at least in a special or as a "standard" in all future reviews?01:31:00 DF Supporter Q6: Is there a chance the team could start looking into input lag on multiplat releases?01:32:27 DF Supporter Q7: 1440p60 Native vs 2160p60 checkerboard pros and cons and which one you prefer?01:36:52 Endgame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Aug 23, 2021 • 1h 47min

DF Direct Weekly #25: Intel XeSS, Black Myth Wukong UE5, Pokémon Legends Arceus

John Linneman, Alex Battaglia and Audi Sorlie take point on what may well be the longest and most packed DF Direct to date with all of the latest tech news, behind-the-scene project info and of course, questions from backers of the DF Supporter Program are answered!00:00:00 Introduction00:01:20 Intel XeSS00:07:24 New Black Myth Wukong trailer00:14:03 Pokemon Legends: Arceus reveal00:21:57 Tales of Arise demo XSX vs PS5 impressions00:30:53 DuckStation on Series S: 4K overclocked PlayStation 1 on Xbox00:39:36 Ubisoft crossover season, Resident Evil x Rainbow Six x Watch Dogs x Assassin Creed00:45:40 Shining Force: Heroes of Light and Darkness teaser trailer reveal00:54:51 DF Content: Crysis coverage and feedback01:15:04 DF Content: DF Retro updates01:19:28 DF Supporter Q1: Who's the best gamer amongst the DF team?01:23:28 DF Supporter Q2: The old testament01:28:55 DF Supporter Q3: I was just wondering if Alex will be doing a video on exactly what sort of PC you need to play Microsoft Flight Simulator on console equivalent settings?01:32:01 DF Supporter Q4: Any chance of a video building a spec for spec PC and pitting against the PS5/XSX in a performance video in various games?01:36:17 DF Supporter Q5: Does setting the resolution on a PS3 to 480p and connecting to a CRT improve performance on PS3 games?01:39:32 DF Supporter Q6: When do you think we could see a PS5 Slim or smaller Xbox Series X? 01:42:35 DF Supporter Q7: PlayStation equivalent to FPS Boost?01:46:29 Endgame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Aug 16, 2021 • 1h 45min

DF Direct Weekly #24: Can an Xbox Series SSD Work In PlayStation 5?

Join Rich Leadbetter, John Linneman and Alex Battaglia for the latest DF tech chat - the team tried putting an Xbox SSD in a PS5 to disastrously disappointing results, before moving on to cover Abandoned, its disastrous trailer reveal and the conspiracy theories surrounding it, before moving onto the problematic Radeon RX 6600 XT. There's more GPU talk as Intel's move into the graphics market gets our attention and much, much more.00:00:00 Introductions00:01:15 Does the Xbox Series SSD work in PS5?00:05:14 The Abandoned situation - marketing fail, conspiracy theories, trailer content00:15:03 Radeon RX 6600 XT Misfire - And What Happened to Cheap 1080p Gaming GPUs?00:34:08 Xenoblade Chronicles 3 accidentally revealed?00:37:42 Anton Kaplanyan joins Intel00:45:56 A500 Mini announced00:51:18 Control on Series X fixed?00:54:40 Black Frame Insertion update01:04:41 Future guest hosts for DF Direct Weekly?01:06:36 DF Supporter Q1: Would you guys do a deep dive on eGPUs over Thunderbolt?01:10:50 DF Supporter Q2: what should be the benefit of adaptive sync enabled vs disabled for a situation where the game is rendering at ~100 FPS on a 144 hz monitor?01:14:16 DF Supporter Q3: Are there any current or emerging technologies in the PC space that you see as providing a superior experience that simply isn't possible on today's consoles?01:18:34 DF Supporter Q4: Whether a game using upscaling/reconstruction techniques should be considered or called 4K even though its not being rendered natively at 4K?01:25:19 DF Supporter Q5: What are you guys’ thoughts on so called AI upscaling for things like full motion video content?01:30:37 DF Supporter Q6: Would Digital Foundry be interested in doing a deep dive into render latency reduction?01:35:27 DF Supporter Q7: Does Rich miss being in the office with other team members in any way?01:43:20 Ending Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
undefined
Aug 9, 2021 • 1h 41min

DF Direct Weekly #23: Playdate Hands-On, Is PC VR Dying, 3DFX Returning?

Somehow we managed to convince a guest to join us on DF Direct Weekly! Sam Machkovech from Ars Technica shows us around the Playdate handheld and joins in discussing the news of the week, bringing with him a 'special' bonus Q+A for Rich...00:00:00 Introductions00:01:55 Playdate hands-on crankin'00:20:53 Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster impressions00:34:59 The State of VR00:51:26 3DFX... what?00:57:01 Zool ReDimensioned announced01:00:44 Sam's impressions on Flight Simulator01:07:09 DF Retro: Super Star Wars feedback01:10:31 SAM GETS RICH: Sam's Rootin Tootin Big America Cowboy Lightning Round of Questions01:17:29 Supporter Q1: If a game uses normal rasterization and isn't using something like DLSS, are Nvidia's tensor cores basically sitting idle?01:20:09 Supporter Q2: With all the other remakes of retro consoles on the market, do you see an option for DF to look into more alternative hardware going forward?01:22:29 Supporter Q3: I've seen a tweet about how Zelda Wii U Tech Demo looks "better" than actual zelda games, can you explain the differences on a video between BoTW and this demo?01:28:31 Supporter Q4: What one game in your opinion changed the gaming landscape the most?01:31:01 Supporter Q5: Is it possible/probable that we could see tech like DLSS used to improve the experience of streamed video?01:32:58 Supporter Q6: do you expect Nintendo to make any OS changes to prevent OLED burn-in or image retention?01:39:38 End Game Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app