Can we improve visuals on consoles – modern or retro alike – with an external graphics processor? Marseille’s mClassic is a new and improved version of the mCable Gaming Edition we covered a couple of years ago. Advertised as a kind of external graphics card, many claims are made for this product, especially across social media where we’ve seen it described variously as a 4K upscaler, a 1440p upscaler, a means to improve retro gaming graphics and even as a Switch Pro-like upgrade. These are claims that demand testing.
At the nuts and bolts level, the mClassic is an HDMI dongle that attaches to the back of any console to administer post effects, tweaks and scaling. It relies on a micro USB cable to give it power, drawing just 1W of power at peak to drive an on-board ASIC processor. From there it interprets each flat, 2D frame as it arrives from the console, adding contextual anti-aliasing, colour boosts, intelligent sharpening, and then upscaling the result. This is all achieved with no perceptible input lag – something that holds true in my experience. But at a costs of $100, are the visual upgrades truly worth the outlay for modern games – notably for Switch?
You get three pieces in the box; the mClassic dongle itself, a USB cable to power it, and an HDMI extender. You’ll need to track down a mains adapter for the USB, but any PC, TV or console will provide ample power for it to run. The HDMI extender is included as a way to support Switch while docked, since the big M shape on the mClassic casing makes it impossible to slot into the back otherwise. Plugging it into the Switch, Xbox One, or even an OSSC is a doddle with all these pieces in place. The mClassic unit itself has a stylish finish to it too, with a red protruding grip and a gold painted finish at the rear end – plus of course a new feature on its side: a processing mode toggle we didn’t have on the mCable.
What’s new, then? Well we’re promised algorithm refinements, and the ability to upscale 720p60 and 1080p60 content to a maximum 1440p resolution – where mCable just peaked at 1080p. The physical toggle on the side is an important upgrade in itself, addressing a major drawback of mCable – you couldn’t turn it off without disconnecting the cable. The new switch gives you three modes to address this, starting with a passthrough that leaves the signal entirely untouched. Next, the middle notch enables the mClassic processing, where the LED lights up green. And finally, there’s a dedicated retro mode on the last notch turning the LED blue. This is custom-tailored for older 480p content, forcing the output to a 4:3 aspect ratio – while again, scaling all the way up to 1440p if you have a PC monitor attached. Otherwise, you’ll get a 1080p output to most TVs.
The mClassic is an HDMI 1.4 device, and there are a bunch of limitations to consider as a result of that. Firstly, it’s worth stressing that with processing enabled you lose HDR functionality on PS4 or Xbox One. It’s not factored into the algorithm, but on the plus side, since the audio signal is untouched regardless of mode, you keep features like Dolby Atmos – it passes right through. Another catch is the way 4K content is handled: the mClassic upscales 720p and 1080p input signals at low refreshes to 4K – such as 24, 25 and 30Hz. These are frame-rates usually reserved for movie playback, and not games, which depend on 60Hz. The official website lays it all out clearly but essentially, anyone looking to upscale their Switch, base PS4 or Xbox One’s 1080p output up to 4K will have to look elsewhere. In my testing, the LG B8 TV and all capture cards simply received a 1080p and 60Hz signal at the end from these consoles – but PC monitors will trigger the mClassic to push out 1440p if it’s supported.