CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

geojunkie · Joined: 25 Apr 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Edmond OK

Another NRS power supply failure has finally convinced me to upgrade my dual display HT setup. I run the XG at night and use the plasma during the day. I decided to upgrade to the Moome XG-HD 1.3 HDMI input card on the projector to eliminate an NEC ISS switcher (with Moome card) and make the HT easier to use for the rest of my family. Here is my planned setup:

AV sources include legacy analog such as LD and Hi-8 plus HDMI/DVI sources such as HD cable, BDP, and PC
All AV sources will feed into a Krell S-1200 AV preamp with a single HDMI output
All HDMI sources are passed thru the Krell and all analog sources are transcoded to HDMI (but not scaled)
Will need a 50-60 ft HDMI cable to reach projector and Moome input card (recommendations welcome)
Guess I will be abandoning my high quality 50 ft RGB cable (anybody need one?)

So I need some recommendations on a new processor. I really only need one input into the processor, which would receive 480i, 1080i, 720p, 1080p (60hz and 24hz) and perhaps a PC rate. I need dual outputs that would optimize all settings for the active display and for the current source resolution. I want the switching between displays to be as seamless as possible to make this very easy to use, preferrably the processor would just "see" which display was turned on (they are never on at the same time) and switch to that output and its setup automatically. I want the SD processing to be a least as good as what my NRS was providing, which I thought was plenty good.

I know the purists might see running the video sources through the Krell as a compromise, but the alternatives would be much more difficult for the user to navigate and could likewise compromise the audio path. The Krell is high end, and supposedly the transcoding and video swithcing are very good.

I don't have any total system controller and really don't want to get into all that, as you can see by this planned setup. I hope that you could just turn on the display you want to view and all swithing for audio and video happens in the Krell. If the processor follows the display selection automatically, it would be perfect.

XG has low hours and I love the PQ, so hope it can last another 5 years. All input would be highly appreciated.

Dan in Oklahoma

**kal** · Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 2:42 pm Post subject:

Hi Dan,

Many will probably say the same, but I'd go with the best video processor out there: A Lumagen Radiance. Link: http://www.curtpalme.com/Radiance.shtm

If you can get around not needed dual output the Radiance Mini would work. We carry it for $400 off MSRP, free shipping in the US/Canada.
If you need dual output, the Radiance XS fits the bill.. We cary it for $1020 off MSRP, free shipping in the US/Canada.

For the HDMI cable I'd go with http://www.bluejeanscable.com/. Well built no-nonsense cables at reasonable (non-boutique) prices.

Kal

CIR Engineering

geojunkie · Joined: 25 Apr 2011 Posts: 3 Location: Edmond OK

I am really not all that critical about PQ for the plasma that we use for daytime. What about one of these two options to allow use of a Radiance Mini instead of an XE:

1) S-1200 to HDMI splitter. One splitter output to Mini which feeds XG and other splitter output direct to plasma, which would have to depend on its internal scaler

2) S-1200 to Mini to splitter and then use Mini memories to allow different resolutions and calibrations for the plasma and the XG

In either case, are there going to be "handshake" issues running through a splitter. Not sure how the original HDMI source component would look down a chain that goes two places because of the splitter. I presently only use HDMI for BDP to Moome ISS card, otherwise I have been running all analog with the NRS. So I don't have much experience with all the HDCP issues, but am somewhat paranoid about opening a can of worms.

Also, would I really be compromising the video PQ by very much using the Krell S-1200 (which is 1.3 compliant) to switch my HDMI sources and to transcode my infrequently used analog sources to HDMI? It doesn't deinterlace or scale, it just passes HDMI sources and digitizes the analog sources for delivery over the sole HDMI output.

I would really appreciate any thoughts. I don't upgrade often and want to makes some good and reasonably lasting choices.

**kal** · Posted: Sat May 14, 2011 1:59 pm Post subject:

An HDMI splitter should work too - that was another option I was going to recommend. Just make sure to get an active (not passive) splitter.

I've never used the Krell S-1200 if it's truly only used for passthrough it shouldn't affect anytthing. Bits are bits.

Kal