CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[mike calcott]

I have used a scaler in my system for many years, I have tried many types, Faroudja, Centerstage, Crystalimage, DVDO, etc, and finally settled with a Taw Rock Pro. I now find that with my output devices being a BD player and a PVR both outputting 1080i/p, all I am now using the scaler for is to drive a RGBHV signal to my projector.
I must admit when I was using a DVD player outputting a component signal the scaler did a magnificent job, but now both my PVR and Blu-Ray player have HDMI output, so I have a large piece of equipment now just operating just as a line driver.

[AnalogRocks]

How much you want for it?

[AnalogRocks]

How much you want for it?

[Nashou66]

Get a scaler that has HDMI or DVI inputs and outputs and if your PJ accepts a Moome internal HDMI card you will have an excelent system. And No Scalers are very much needed for CRT, even though you could just live with the line driver concept you loose all the different fine tuning options the newest VP's offer. Lumagens now have great Gamma and CMS controls.

Athanasios

[mike calcott]

I will still need a line driver like a 1021 box. Make me an offer but consider that it will need to be posted from Australia so consider the postage cost.

[AnalogRocks]

[AnalogRocks]

[Gino]

[WanMan]

Mike asked about scalers, not full-blown video processors. Big difference considering video processors can do other things like transcode, offer gamma control, etc.

[Person99]

People generally use the terms scalers and video processors interchangeably and there have not been many "scalers-only" made in the last 5 or 6 years, so lets assume the discussion is about "video processors" (VPs) in general.

SD only VPs are dead. HD ones are finding a tougher market. Basically, in an HD world, VPs serve two purposes: fine tuning and aspect ratio control. The higher end ones also work as video distribution systems. As CIH systems continue to gain in popularity, there will be a need for aspect ratio control, but that is being built into new projectors along with good VP chips and will satisfy most. That pretty much leaves, as Athanasios pointed out, picture tuning and video distribution. VPs will continue to find a home in high end systems for this reason, but I think the "low end" VP will die. What is being built into displays and such will serve >99% of consumers.

In talking to the owner of Lumagen (Jim), they see it going that way also. They are going to the higher end custom installer route and will likely not invest much more money in the lower end products.

Due to the nature of CRTs, there is still a play for VPs in frame rate conversion (which is now needed less in the digital world) and aspect ratio control, but even here they are certainly not "needed" anymore.

[kal]

Dave hit the nail on the head.

I think with the original poster is asking is if STANDALONE video processors/scalers are obsolete.

My take: They're not obsolete, but they're certainly not a requirement anymore given that every single digital projector (which most people have) or source device (DVD player, Blu-ray player, HDTV box) has a built-in scaler.

The moral of the story: If you don't know WHY you need a video processor/scaler, it's wasted on you. You need to know WHY you might want to tweak or do something different like use a special gamma curve, adjust primaries, play with refresh rates, etc. And equally importantly, you need to know know how to set it up.

Kal

[kal]

Dave hit the nail on the head.

I think with the original poster is asking is if STANDALONE video processors/scalers are obsolete.

My take: They're not obsolete, but they're certainly not a requirement anymore given that every single digital projector (which most people have) or source device (DVD player, Blu-ray player, HDTV box) has a built-in scaler.

The moral of the story: If you don't know WHY you need a video processor/scaler, it's wasted on you. You need to know WHY you might want to tweak or do something different like use a special gamma curve, adjust primaries, play with refresh rates, etc. And equally importantly, you need to know know how to set it up.

Kal

[Mark_A_W]

You can't have a thread like this withough me niggling at you!!

While I was very impressed with a mate's VP-50, I've always managed to get by with a lowly PC.

IVTC + refresh rates, custom res's, gamma, digital recording, upscaling (ick, no more DVD for me!), and a MEDIA LIBRARY of all my HD-DVDs/BDs at the click of a button, no warnings, no friggin around with menus.


Yes it is more work to set up, but a CRT is hardly plug and play either.

[Gino]

Mark, is there a solution for CMS, grey scale and gamma on htpc's? I've got myself a BD enabled laptop and wouldn't mind being able to adjust these parameters a little bit.

[budk]

Speaking of Video processors, does anyone use a Key Digital HD-1080P Video Processor (HD-LEEZA) and if so, what are the key benefits of this unit?

Thanks. Bud

[Person99]

[Nashou66]

Dave you said it perfectly, I really do lobe my Lumagen HDQ....and i cant see how anyone could use a CRT with out one, I hooked up straight to the moome internal and going through the Lumie helps out soooo much more with being able to fine tune the image in size posistion ect, by using the lunagens controls you put less strain on the PJ IMO.

Athanasios

[Axatax]

The scaler obviously can replace a whole rat's nest of single purpose black boxes (think switches, transcoders, etc.) while offering all the adjustments mentioned above. I cringe when I see the Rube Goldberg Receiver->HDMI switch->Fury->Transcoder->Analog Cable->Adapter->PJ thing on here so often. ACK! VP->Moome Card for me!

[Person99]

[SisterOfMercy]

[Person99]

[Stonefool]

It's not just being able to scale, not even with the newest crop of digitals that have the Rean VX chipset. It's about being able to control everything in the video signal: from manipulating timings to processing to scaling to framerate conversion, manipulating grey scale and colours, brightness and contrast ... built in test signals(?). It's the whole package deal you pay for, not just some parts.

That's why, I think, an external processor is still usable. Not to forget that every manufacturer that has implemented the DCDi chipset in the source, or display, hardware aparently never yeilds the same results due to the fact that the quality of the rest of the hardware actually plays it own roll.

[Person99]