Gefen Set to Launch SD to HD Home Theater Scaler for $399 - Page 2

bfdtv,

the question is if this particular product will use the same.

BTW, Gefen's offerings in the HD-SDI arena are intriguing!

Just a thought - does a reasonably priced device exist to convert an analog source to HD-SDI? Hopefully, without a scaler included? Also, will an HD-SDI input accept plain old SDI?

alan,

If it's analog, what is the use (except for broadcasters and editing studios) of converting to HD SDI?

Yes, HD-SDI includes all the specs in the "old" SDI configuration.

There's no particular advantage in converting analog to HD-SDI that I know of, except that this ability allows me to use Gefen's HD-SDI to DVI Scaler with Gennum VXP processing. This piece has only two HD-SDI inputs and no RGB, component, DVI or HDMI inputs. None of my sources include an HD-SDI output (or SDI as of yet). I did locate one such device, the AJA HD10A A/D Converter, which appears to do what I want, but it's list price is $890 - not what I'm looking for. I would prefer something priced roughly half of that.

Maybe this isn't worth pursuing - I have no idea. It's just a thought. I'd rather that Gefen make a special version of their Home Theater Scaler that included Gennum VXP processing. Or, failing that, add an analog input of some kind to their HD-SDI to DVI scaler.

1.3K is still a great price for a Gennum scaler, though the input/output options on that device are limiting to say the least. Strange that they don't offer a more conventional set of connections with the high-end scaling/deinterlacing chip.

Tom,

100% agreed. The question is only if the featureset is good enough. I can't imagine purchasing a scaler without custom timing, discrete controls, test patterns or a high level of control over aspect ratio.

Has anyone noticed that there are now 3 versions of this processor?

Home Theater Scaler
Home theater Scaler PLUS
HD Mate Scaler

http://www.hdtvsupply.com/codviupswsc.html
http://www.gefen.com/kvm/htconverters.jsp

No mention of a Gennum processor though.

The HTS Plus adds Composite and S-Video outputs to those that exist on the other unit. That's the difference.

Several things are not clear from the gefen spec sheet.

1. Do the HDMI inputs also pass PCM / Bit stream audio or not?
2. Does it only deinterlace NTSC video or does it also deinterlace 1080i?
3. When does Gefen say they will be available?

It is supposed to be released by the end of January. I am fairly sure that it will pass audio through the HDMI inputs, but I just inferred that from the feature set. Same for the ability to deinterlace 1080i. For clarity, I posed the questions in the Gefen forums here.

Two questions are important to me:

- Will it do proper inverse telecine?
- Which scaling chipset is built in (we heard that it's not the VPX from gennum *damn*)

I wrote gefen. Never got a response to my questions.

I am considering buying this piece of equipment, and Gefen technical support told me over the phone that it will pass digital audio via HDMI. Not sure about the deinterlacing capabilities, but it should be available by the end of this month.

So who'd ordering & who's waiting for reviews ???

With this unit, will you still need an upconverting DVD or will a cheap progressive scan work well with it ??

Waiting for reviews. "If it sounds too good to be true ....."

Someone should update the title to reflect the $449 price and maybe mention the + for $499.

I'll probably buy from a place that has a generous return policy. The deinterlacer in my TV is bad enough that I need something and don't have the budget to spend $1500 on one from another manufacturer.

BTW, support at Gefen has answered my question.

1.) It does deinterlace to 1080p.
2.) It does pass PCM audio.

The scaler/deinterlacer used is an Mstar chip.

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing - where does the Mstar chip rank in the scaler world?

will it do a vertical stretch

Never heard of that mStar scaling chip before. And that HTS will not do inverse telecine. So for me that chip is ranked very low ;-)
I think it will be ok to upscale some SD inputs, like broadcasts and game consoles. Not really a Home Theater Scaler in my eyes. It's not worth it...

Here it is on their website. Note the pre-order price is now $499, so presumably it will be higher after release.

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=4298

There are three versions, the Home Theater Scaler ($449), Home Theater Scaler Plus ($499) and the Home Mate Scaler ($349). The Plus adds composite and S-Video, the Mate subtracts the HDMI inputs and output and replaces them with one DVI input and one DVI output. Not much interested in the Mate myself.

as a custom installer, we are using the component switching in our receivers and processors for the video switching of different sources. mostly dvd player, hd cablebox and/or hd sat receiver, music server, sometimes vcr and others. the current receivers and processors do a good job of this but it this product might be an improvement between the receiver and video display, mostly plasma tv's.

this is what i see this product is gunning for. hopefully this product will be an improvement in this area.

HD Mate Scaler ($349)


Home Theater Scaler ($449)


Home Theater Scaler PLUS ($499)

Wish it had 4 HDMI ports, also would like to see how much tweaking and what the gui looks like on this thing?

Any mention at all about HDMI 1.3 support?

I don't see anything listed about grey-scale/gamma calibration. Any idea if this unit will offer these features?

Is it just me, or is the non-PLUS version the best one. It seems to have an extra component input at a cheaper price (which to me has more value than old legacy composite and s-video inputs).

I wonder how this scaling would compare to the internal scaling done by my Sony A2000? I guess we will have to wait for this to come out to see.

I wish there was a reasonably priced Gennum VXP solution on the horizon.

Yea, tell me about it, the non-plus version ($449) seems like the better of the two. So much hype on this product at this time and no-one knows what it does or how it does it. I really hope its worth all the hype.

I'd consider Gefen's HD-SDI to DVI Scaler ($1049) that does use the Gennum VXP reasonably priced. The downside, of course, is that it only offers HD-SDI inputs and a DVI output. If anyone knows of a reasonably priced (<$500) SD to HD-SDI converter, let me know.

Yeah, me too. The other Gefen Gennum solutions are nothing for me. Need inverse telecine and HDMi.

So I will get the HD 3000 scaler from optoma. With Gennum VXP chip. All I need.

I have not been keeping up on all the scalers. What is the price for an HD 3000? I think there is a thread on this scaler lying around that I ought to read, I guess.

Just got off the phone with Gefen and the sales guy tried to get the lowdown on the aspect ratio control for me. He talked to an engineer guy who said it would stretch the picture to fit the screen, but not sure if they meant vertical stretch only. He got into some user selected options for overscan, but I just want vertical stretch and horizontal squeeze. So bottom line is I'm not sure if it does it. He did say the price on the website is their retail price and won't change once released. I encourage someone with some vertical stretch know how, to call (800)545-6900 and ask to talk to an engineer.

Thanks

PS. Manual will be out the day before launch, which they hope will be before February.

I just looked at the price of that scaler and it's MSRP is $2999. Guess it can be had online for around $2200. Talk about comparing apples to oranges..