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Setup Storage Reference Archive

Video / Display

Output modes, screen positioning, 480p, HDTVFIX, smoothing, scanlines, and widescreen caveats.

Do not apply display hacks globally#

$HDTVFIX can make modern displays accept output that would otherwise be 240p/288p, but it can also be the reason a CRT/component setup unexpectedly shows interlaced video. $480p is explicitly low-compatibility in the seed and mirrored guide.

  1. Start with no display commands and confirm whether the game reaches the PS logo and in-game output.
  2. Use $NOPAL or $FORCEPAL only for a region/video problem, then recenter with $YPOS_## if needed.
  3. Use $HDTVFIX only when the display cannot handle the default 240p/288p style output.
  4. Use $480p as a last experiment because it is low-compatibility and conflicts with geometry commands.

Geometry#

$XPOS, $YPOS, $DWSTRETCH, and $DWCROP tune image placement. Do not combine them with $480p until verified for the game/display.

Widescreen#

$WIDESCREEN, $ULTRA_WIDESCREEN, and $EYEFINITY affect 3D projection. They do not repair HUDs, menus, fonts, or 2D backgrounds.

Smoothing#

$SMOOTH enables texture smoothing by default. Runtime hotkeys are preserved from the seed but still need old-wiki confirmation.

Scanlines#

$SCANLINES is listed in the command data but still needs better display examples. Treat it as a per-display preference, not a compatibility fix.

CD/video hangs#

$CACHE1 and $SUBCDSTATUS are more about CD/status behavior than display calibration. Use them for specific hangs, not for geometry or HDTV problems.

Symptom shortcut#

If a game unexpectedly appears in 480i/576i, check for accidental $HDTVFIX in CHEATS.TXT before blaming the display or the console.