in multi pixel filtering use Gauss , value = 2.5 by 2.5 I admit I don't know much about rendering settings, but Lanczos 4x4 gives me the nice sharp edges. I guess it depends what you're going for. (You can get the sharp edges by disabling multi-pixel filtering in software rendering). 2) There's an AO tut here: https://simplymaya.com/autodesk-maya-...=180&sub_cat=0 It's using render layers, not MR, but I'm getting nice effect from it, no grain. btw. the whites are alpha channel.. they disappear once you composite it on the original image, so does it matter if they bleed?