An opinionated mpv config for mid-tier computers @ 1440p

mpv.conf

# MPV - mpv.conf
# mdizo - 2023-04-12
# Tested on shinchiro's mpv 0.35.0-356-g9a8b3170 | win10
# Config designed for Nvidia 1660 Super @ 1440p using high-quality 1080p media

# References ======================================================================================

# https://mpv.io/manual/stable/                                         - MPV User Manual
# https://github.com/stax76/awesome-mpv                                 - All things MPV
# https://github.com/stax76/awesome-mpv#shaders                         - Shaders
# https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki/User-Scripts                   - Extend MPV functions
# https://github.com/haasn/interpolation-samples                        - MPV interpolation

# User Configs / Credit ===========================================================================

# https://iamscum.wordpress.com/guides/videoplayback-guide/mpv-conf/
# https://github.com/classicjazz/mpv-config
# https://github.com/Tsubajashi/mpv-settings
# https://kohana.fi/article/mpv-for-anime
# https://kokomins.wordpress.com/2019/10/14/mpv-config-guide/
# https://artoriuz.github.io/blog/mpv_upscaling.html

# Fonts ===========================================================================================

# https://github.com/tom10271/cooper-hewitt-fixed-for-windows           - Cooper Hewitt
# https://rsms.me/inter/                                                - Inter

# Scripts I Use ===================================================================================

# https://github.com/joaquintorres/autosubsync-mpv                      - Automatic subtitle sync
# https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/TOOLS/lua/autoload.lua	- Creates playlist of files
# https://github.com/po5/thumbfast                                      - Seekbar thumbnails
# https://github.com/tomasklaen/uosc                                    - Proximity-based mpv UI

# General =========================================================================================

keep-open=yes                           # Don't close the player after finishing the video
snap-window=yes                         # Snap to corners on Windows
cursor-autohide=100                     # Cursor hide in ms
save-position-on-quit                   # Remember position when closing the player
autofit=85%x85%                         # Start mpv with a % smaller resolution of your screen
border=no                               # Disable if using third-party OSC scripts such as uosc
msg-module=yes                          # [Terminal] Prepend module name to each console message.
video-sync=display-resample             # Makes video run synchronously to your display Hz

# OSC/OSD =========================================================================================

osc=no                                  # 'no' required for uosc
osd-bar=no                              # uosc provides its own seeking/volume indicators
osd-font='Inter Tight Medium'           # Set a font for OSC
osd-font-size=30                        # Set a font size
osd-color='#CCFFFFFF'                   # ARGB format
osd-border-color='#DD322640'            # ARGB format
osd-bar-align-y=-1                      # progress bar y alignment (-1 top, 0 centered, 1 bottom)
osd-border-size=2                       # size for osd text and progress bar
osd-bar-h=1                             # height of osd bar as a fraction of your screen height
osd-bar-w=60                            # width of " " "

# Subtitles =======================================================================================

slang=eng,en,und                        # Language priority for subtitles
sub-auto=fuzzy                          # Load external subtitles containing the name as the video
subs-with-matching-audio=no             # Won't ignore subtitles tagged as "Forced"
#sub-gauss=0.6                          # Make VOB/PGS subtitles less pixelated
#sub-gray                               # Turn VOB/PGS subtitles from yellow to gray
sub-file-paths-append=ass               # Search for external subs in these relative subdirectories
sub-file-paths-append=srt
sub-file-paths-append=sub
sub-file-paths-append=subs
sub-file-paths-append=subtitles
demuxer-mkv-subtitle-preroll=yes       	# Try to correctly show embedded subs when seeking
sub-fix-timing=no                       # Don't fix gaps (which might make it worse in some cases).
                                        # Enable if there are scenebleeds.

# // Subtitle Styles
sub-font="Cooper Hewitt Medium"	        # Falls back to sans-serif if font is not found
sub-font-size=46                        # Text size
sub-blur=0.3                            # Gaussian blur factor, 0.0 to 20.0, affects border as well
sub-border-color=0.0/0.0/0.0/0.8        # R/G/B/Alpha border color
sub-border-size=3.2                     # Border size
sub-color=0.9/0.9/0.9/1.0               # R/G/B/Alpha text color
sub-margin-x=100                        # How long a line of text before breaking into new line

# Screenshots =====================================================================================

screenshot-template="%x\Screens\Screenshot-%F-T%wH.%wM.%wS.%wT-F%{estimated-frame-number}"
screenshot-format=png                   # Set screenshot format
screenshot-png-compression=4            # Range is 0 to 10. 0 being no compression.
screenshot-tag-colorspace=yes           # Tag screenshots with the appropriate colorspace
screenshot-high-bit-depth=yes           # Same output bitdepth as the video

# Audio ===========================================================================================

# // Dynamic range compression (DRC)
# Notes: In theory, turns quieter stuff louder and louder stuff quieter, example scenarios are
# close nieghbors or even out quiet dialogue. Can possibly lead to overall worse results
af="acompressor=ratio=4,loudnorm"

audio-stream-silence                    # Avoid audio popping on random seek
audio-file-auto=fuzzy                   # Load external audio with similar name as the video
audio-pitch-correction=yes              # Insert scaletempo when playing with higher speed
alang=jpn,jp,eng,en,enUS,en-US          # Language priority for audio

# Video ===========================================================================================

# // Video Output Driver
# Use "gpu" for a more stable output driver instead
# Keep in mind that some options won't work with "gpu"
# See: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki/GPU-Next-vs-GPU
vo=gpu-next

# // GPU API
gpu-api=vulkan                          # Use "opengl" if you have compatibility issues. 

# Hardware decoding for whatever your CPU/GPU supports (e.g. 8bit h264 / 10bit h265)
# Only should be used when your CPU/GPU are very old, else avoid using it
# Use "auto-copy-safe" for the safest result in trade of better performance
# Windows = "dxva2-copy" | Linux = "vaapi" / "vaapi-copy" | Nvidia = "nvdec" / "nvdec-copy"
hwdec=no

# Video ===========================================================================================

profile=gpu-hq                          # Lazy quality profile which sets some recommended settings

# All of the settings can be found further down in the guide
# Setting the profile is not needed, but it doesn't hurt.
# You can overwrite the settings without any issue
# Here is a list of the settings "gpu-hq" sets:
# * scale=spline36
# * cscale=spline36
# * dscale=mitchell
# * dither-depth=auto
# * correct-downscaling=yes
# * linear-downscaling=yes
# * sigmoid-upscaling=yes
# * deband=yes

# // Dither 
dither-depth=auto                       # Falls back to 8 bit if output bit depth can't be detected

# // Deband
# Note: Set it to "no" if you rather handle it with profiles or a key (recommended)
# Debanding videos where it isn't needed can result in detail loss
# Recommended settings for anime:
# * 2:35:20:5 	- General
# * 3:45:25:15	- Older DVD, badly mastered BD or WEB streams
# * 4:60:30:30	- Low quality streams or extreme loss of quality
deband=no                               # Activate debanding
deband-iterations=4                     # Steps (More = Better quality, higher GPU cost)
deband-threshold=48                     # Strength (More = Less banding, more detail loss)
deband-range=16                         # Range (More = Less banding, higher GPU cost)
deband-grain=24                         # Dynamic Grain (More = More dynamic grain)
                                        # Set 0 if using static grain shader [Line 183]

# // Anti-Ringing
scale-antiring=0.7                      # Luma upscale (Higher = Less ringing, more detail loss)
dscale-antiring=0.7                     # Luma downscale (Higher = Less ringing, more detail loss)
cscale-antiring=0.7                     # Chroma upscale (Higher = Less ringing, more detail loss)

# // Interpolation
# Note: See https://github.com/haasn/interpolation-samples for how interpolation should look in mpv
interpolation=no                        # Activate interpolation

# Note: From sharpest to smoothest [oversample, linear, catmull_rom, mitchell, gaussian, bicubic]
tscale=oversample                       # Interpolation method

# ! EXPERIMENTAL !
#tscale=sphinx
#tscale-blur=0.6991556596428412

# THIS OPTION HAS NO EFFECT WITH "vo=gpu"
interpolation-preserve=yes              # Trade smoothness for performance,disables dynamic updates

# Shaders =========================================================================================

# See https://github.com/stax76/awesome-mpv#shaders to discover what shaders/scalers are available

# See https://github.com/bloc97/Anime4K/blob/master/md/GLSL_Instructions_Windows.md to have an idea
# on how to set up keybinds to make it easier when comparing different shaders

# Note: Choosing a shader comes down to personal taste and what you are willing to compromise.

# // Static Grain
# Note: If using static grain make sure to set deband-grain to 0 [Line 152]
#glsl-shader="~~/shaders/noise_static_luma.hook"
#glsl-shader="~~/shaders/noise_static_chroma.hook"

# Scaling =========================================================================================

# See https://artoriuz.github.io/blog/mpv_upscaling.html for a detailed comparison among scalers

# Note: If you have a 1440p monitor, some shaders such as FSRCNNX will only upscale at a certain
# threshold for 1080p media e.g for FSRCNNX, replace all instances of 1.400 with 1.300 in the glsl

#linear-downscaling=yes                 # Light downscaling method
linear-upscaling=yes                    # Light upscaling method
sigmoid-upscaling=yes                   # Creates less ringing and better results overall
correct-downscaling=yes                 # Extend filter size when downscaling with convolution
                                        # filters. Increases quality, less performance.

# // Luma Up
# Note: ML based shaders e.g FSRCNNX, RAVU, nnedi3 are best for accuracy but requires more compute
# power where as generic algorithms e.g FSR/Nvidia aims to provide satisfying results with far less
# resources. FSR/Nvidia sharpness and other params can be adjusted by editing the glsl file itself
#glsl-shader="~~/shaders/FSRCNNX_x2_16-0-4-1.glsl"      # Most accurate, diminishing returns
#glsl-shader="~~/shaders/FSRCNNX_x2_8-0-4-1.glsl"       # Generally accurate, high gpu consumption
glsl-shader="~~/shaders/FSR.glsl"                       # Great perceived quality w/ sharpener

# // Luma Down
# Note: If downscaling factor is >= 2x (e.g 4k to 1080p) use SSIMDownscaler w/ dscale=mitchell
#glsl-shader="~~/shaders/SSimDownscaler.glsl"
linear-downscaling=no
dscale=lanczos                          # mitchell = anti-ringing, lanczos = perceived sharpness

# // Chroma Up + Down
# Note: Chroma subsampling means that chroma information is encoded at lower resolution than luma
# In MPV, chroma is upscaled to luma resolution (video size) and then the converted RGB is upscaled
# to target resolution (screen size).

# Perceived quality is negligible so only use a heavy scaler if you don't mind the performance cost
# for ultimate quality. I use lanczos here because sigmoid-upscaling theoretically dampens ringing
# artifacts when upscaling video and I mainly consume 1080p content
#glsl-shader="~~/shaders/KrigBilateral.glsl"
cscale=lanczos                          # mitchell = anti-ringing, lanczos = perceived sharpness		

Hi, why you don't use Anime4K ?

Hi, why you don't use Anime4K ?

I do like Anime4K but I also watch live action media so I'd rather just stick with the one shader to cover everything instead of switching between profiles. In this case I picked FSR because it also has a sharpening filter which helps make the lines more defined without overemphasizing it. Looks good enough to me anyways.

Ultimately, picking a shader is a personal thing so choose one based on what works for you.