CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 3:04 pm Post subject: Faroudja NRS vs AA 1365 vs ??

This is sort of a multi-faceted question for those of you that have played with a bunch of scalers:

I've managed to grab a NOS Faroudja NRS with apparent HD transcoding (to my surprise) for next to nothing. It's currently set for some plasma resolution, I haven't fired it up yet, but I'll assume it's around 720p.

Currently with my 9500, I've got an NEC 4000Q quadrupler. Throws a stellar image, but it has a whiny fan in it that I haven't gotten around to changing.

I've also installed a bunch of AA 1365s now that do an awesome job (to my eyes) of converting/upscaling 1080i component to up to 1024p.

Also, I've got my Retro BG808s that I'm running with a DVDO Ultra right now. I've just sold the Ultra, so I have to replace it with something else.

Oh, and I also have a CrystalImage 2.0 that I haven't played with.

So, what should I do? I don't have time to critically audition all of these controllers/scalers. I'm guessing the Faroudja should go down to get the scaling upgrade done so I can change resolutions, then it should go into the HT room.

How does the Faroudja hold up to current Lumagen or DVDO products?

Comments?

lamestlamer · Joined: 08 Mar 2007 Posts: 11 Location: Seattle

What exactly is the functionality of the AA 1365? My 1031Q is being driven by a Viewsonic N6 hooked up to my Wii and xbox. The component scaling actually looks decent on a 1031Q, but the built in tuner is utter crap. The only reason I have the N6 is because it came with the 1031Q. The frustrating part about the N6 is the utter lack of customization (powerstrip has spoiled me).

Can you compare the raw transcoding ability of the AA1365 to the Moome? I will eventually need a transcoder for my marquee and have been eying the Moome for a while, but haven't bought it due to my lack of component sources.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 12:40 pm Post subject:

That's the thing, I've used the AA 1365 by itself and haven't had time to A/B anything. The AA by itself looks awesome, so I'll guess I'll be the guinea pig here and will play with them this week...

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX

I think current Lumagens are better.

For straight transcoding, the AA or Kim's will do better because to transcode, the scalers actually do a A/D (which looses resolution) conversion then a D/A conversion while transcoders keep it all in the analog domain.

benareeno · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 1614 Location: ottawa, canada

Curt,

I'd be very interested to hear about the transcoding in the Faroudja...I've heard that it is very good! And, I'd bet the processor throws a stellar image for dvd/LD to boot.

Ben

Jaric00n · Joined: 27 Jan 2007 Posts: 137 Location: Nyack,NY

I have the Faroudja and really like it
it's the univerals modded one

Clarence · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:17 pm Post subject:

I think we rehash this every few months, but I'm pretty sure that the Faroudja NRS will not and can not scale or deinterlace HD sources... it will scale SD, it will transcode component at native resolution, or it will pass-through HD.

http://www.meridian-audio.com/faroudja/archived_products.html
PDF: http://www.meridian-audio.com/faroudja/products/archives/NRSeries.pdf

So if you only need a component transcoder, IMHO there are better transcoders available for less ($150-$200).

If you only need a SD DVD upscaler, there may be better options.

Since the Faroudja NRS was cheap enough, then you should still be able to pair it with a suitable projector with SD sources. But I wouldn't put much hope on it becoming the primary processor for a 9500LC setup.

GEBrown · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 729 Location: Denver

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:43 pm Post subject:

Well last night I installed the Faroudja in place of the DVDO Ultra. The g/f saw no difference..LOL! She was pissed that I used 2 minutes of her American Idol time to converge the Retro..

I can't say that I saw a HUGE difference between the overall PQ of the Faroudja and DVDO. Keeping in mind that the source was a VCR, composite video out ! (switching to Bell HD this afternoon).

But that goes to show that even though I've watched the DVDO now for a year, many hours worth, that the only true way (to me) to A/B source equipment is to be able to switch instantaneously between signals. This is always a HUGE area of debate in the avs high end forum. My take is that if you need to start disconnecting stuff, taking several minutes (or more) to switch sources, cables, etc, then your brain won't be able to retain a lot of the minute differences between the pieces that you're A/Bing.

I need to do a full setup of the Faroudja and the Barco retro 808s. The blue tube has some kind of fog on it that's annoying. But the Faroudja is staying so far. I'll check on the ability of the Faroudja to transcode HD tonight when I get the HD box.

lydmann · Joined: 12 Aug 2006 Posts: 56 Location: Norway

Hi, Curt , I got a offer to buy a Faroudja NRS scaler for $469. The same you had. Can it do 1080p?

mike calcott · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 307 Location: Australia

The Faroudja NRS series was originally designed for plasma and lcd displays and are limited for crt use , you could be pleasantly surprised with the christalimage VS2, it uses the silicon image chip and gives a good image and is only limited by the variation of scaling posible. there are not many scalers I havn't tried and for its price these days the result is good

mike calcott · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 307 Location: Australia

The Faroudja NRS series was originally designed for plasma and lcd displays and are limited for crt use , you could be pleasantly surprised with the crystalimage VS2, it uses the silicon image chip and gives a good image and is only limited by the variation of scaling posible. there are not many scalers I havn't tried and for its price these days the result is good

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:21 am Post subject:

I saw a Faroudja NRS for sale that has a fixed resolution. Can it be easily moded to have adjustable resolutions? Did these origionally come with a remote?

I wana use this with a Sony G520 CRT monitor and old video game systems. Also a regular old pioneer DVD recorder. Could be a fun experiment.

Person99 · Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 4899 Location: Flower Mound, TX

mike calcott · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 307 Location: Australia

The Faroudja NRS series are a fixed resolution scaler and as Person99 mentioned to have the resolution changed it has to be returned to Faroudja for modification, the existing resolution is usually printed on a sticker on the back plate of the unit. evan98gt has a dvdo for sale which would probably suit people like you and I who wish to experiment with different resolutions and refresh rates

chrisc1122 · Joined: 10 Dec 2007 Posts: 12

I just recieved my updated unit back from Faroudja a few weeks ago. I replaced my NEC IPS-4000Q with the updated Faroudja NRS, and I saw a big difference in picture quality.

If you have a NRS unit, call Faroudja at 530-295-0880, they will send give you details of what needs to be done ( RMA number, etc ). I worked with Rob at Lifestyles Home Entertainment, they handle the faroudja updates and was very happy with the service.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:32 pm Post subject:

mike calcott · Joined: 18 May 2006 Posts: 307 Location: Australia

NRS is fixed rate only

chrisc1122 · Joined: 10 Dec 2007 Posts: 12

No, sending it back to Faroudja allows them to change the NRS from a fixed resolution to that of a multiple user selectable resolutions. I now have the following resolutions to select from:

1.) 800x600
2.) 768p (1024x768)
3.) 768wp (?)
4.) 1024p (1280x1024)
5.) 1024wp (?)
6.) 540p ( Projector seems to sync to 1080i source with this ?? )
7.) 720p
8.) 960p

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:31 am Post subject: