I have the Sony VPL-VW100(Ruby) and have the PS3 connected so I can watch upconverted DVDs, blu-ray movies, and play games on it at 1080p. However, I only have basic cable from comcast, so I can't really watch any tv such as tennis on it. I have a number of shows on a laptop connected to a pioneer VSX-84txsi receiver, but the upscaling doesn't from the receiver doesn't do much.

I'm looking at cable and satellite for high def programming, but they don't have much. If I got a good video processor would it be able to take the analog cable signal, upscale and clean it up to 1080p, and make it look almost as good as a 1080p source? What if I upgrade to digital cable, would that help?

The best resolution you might get is around 720p which is pretty good anyway but be ready to invest in a scaler or scan converter,
Now I do have another scaler laying around that I was using with my DN pvr so if you need 1 cheap drop me a PM.
I was using tha scaler with very good results so much that i purchased another scaler with more inputs for the rest of my gear and it all looks great...

would it be able to take the analog cable signal, upscale and clean it up to 1080p, and make it look almost as good as a 1080p source?

Not a chance. Not even in the same ballpark.


What if I upgrade to digital cable, would that help?

Yes, but at this point, it's still not going to hold a candle to an optical source. The bitrate is far too low and the MPEG-2 standard used currently is far too outdated.

So even if I spend more than $2,000 on a 1080p video processor, I won't be able to get a good image on a large screen for non high def sources?

I have a 100 inch screen and a JVC RS1 with a Lumagen HDP feeding it 1080P. The Lumagen is not the best scaler for Video content but it is good for film.

Some broadcast look pretty good whilst other look poor, it very much depends on the bitrate, 6MB+ is usually artifact free, 4MB is acceptable and <4MB is a mess with fast moving material. My sources are Elium Elipsus SDI Sat and Terrestrial receivers so are very revealing and the best that can be done for SD sources.

As an example I watched the American Grand Prix yesterday on a local 3.5ish MBPS terrestrial station (ITV) and a German 6-7Mbps satellite station (RTL), was the same feed but the German station had so much better video quality that it was a close call on if I would put up with German commentary.

So even if I spend more than $2,000 on a 1080p video processor, I won't be able to get a good image on a large screen for non high def sources?
Not really. In my experience, a VP can make a 480i analog or digital cable/satellite program watchable on a big screen. That is, you have Good Enough image quality to pay attention to the show without being distracted by how bad it looks. I find that without a processor, I am often taken out of shows I watch by how bad the image looks. I would expect that this is fairly similar to most folks' experiences, but I could be wrong.

The good news is that VPs are getting better and better. The noise reduction algorithms and improved deinterlacing/scaling engines in the top-end gear should continue to improve the quality we get from sub-optimal signals. However, they will never make "The Daily Show" look like it came off of a Blu Ray or HD-DVD player.

Bill

Not really. In my experience, a VP can make a 480i analog or digital cable/satellite program watchable on a big screen. That is, you have Good Enough image quality to pay attention to the show without being distracted by how bad it looks. I find that without a processor, I am often taken out of shows I watch by how bad the image looks. I would expect that this is fairly similar to most folks' experiences, but I could be wrong.

The good news is that VPs are getting better and better. The noise reduction algorithms and improved deinterlacing/scaling engines in the top-end gear should continue to improve the quality we get from sub-optimal signals. However, they will never make "The Daily Show" look like it came off of a Blu Ray or HD-DVD player.

Bill

Is it your opinion that the more expensive processors, such as the VP50 would be worth the extra money for my case? I recently had a friend over to watch a football game, and even with the receiver set to 1080i the picture quality was so bad it was extremely distracting. I'd like to be able to go into the home theater and turn on a non high def channel and just watch it.

Any particular suggestions?

I am new to the video processor.
I am planning to buy the JVC-RS1 and would like to find matching AV equipments. I have been suggested the Anthem AVM50 processor. I will mainly watching bluray&hddvd movies so standard DVD should not be an issue. Is this AMV50 with built in Gennum chip good enough, or should I spend a bit more time research on the separate video processor ?
Thanks a million. I am new to this area and appreciate any inputs you may have.

Is it your opinion that the more expensive processors, such as the VP50 would be worth the extra money for my case? I recently had a friend over to watch a football game, and even with the receiver set to 1080i the picture quality was so bad it was extremely distracting. I'd like to be able to go into the home theater and turn on a non high def channel and just watch it.

Any particular suggestions?
The VP50 is definitely a good unit. I enjoyed mine until I recently sold it to make way for a Radiance, which will be in my home eventually. :) How much this is worth to you is really up to you. The unfortunate answer is the more you spend the more you generally have to spend as bigger screens tend to go hand in hand with better displays, especially front projectors, and these are least forgiving of problems in the source material.

Others to consider can be found on this board, and are generally going to be limited by your budget. The sweet spot for VPs does tend to be in the $2k - $5k range, though.

Bill

I am new to the video processor.
I am planning to buy the JVC-RS1 and would like to find matching AV equipments. I have been suggested the Anthem AVM50 processor. I will mainly watching bluray&hddvd movies so standard DVD should not be an issue. Is this AMV50 with built in Gennum chip good enough, or should I spend a bit more time research on the separate video processor ?
Thanks a million. I am new to this area and appreciate any inputs you may have.

I have an RS1 and it works well with my Lumagen HDP, HD sourcves in particular are well handled by the Lumagen, I think I would go for a Radiance if I was buying new nowadays and maybe a really nice audio only Prepro like the Cary to go with it. I've never been a big fan of Audio and Video together in a prepro (Of course this is just an IMHO).