To capture the “unmistakable essence of CRT” that the N64 was designed for, Analogue says it’s using a “bespoke, purpose-built 4K upscaler” that it says goes beyond existing shaders designed for 2D games. Virtual scan lines and shadow masks on the Analogue 3D help capture “the soft glow of phosphor” and “vibrant color [intersection]” inherent to CRTs, Analogue writes, creating “virtually indistinguishable recreations of CRT displays [that] capture the warmth, depth, and texture in every frame.”

That’s probably the selling point. A good 4k upscaler with crt emulation can be pretty expensive in itself.