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Which scalar?

post #1 of 4
1/10/07 at 9:56am
Thread Starter 
I need to replace my dying CrystalImage scalar and I'm looking for a little advice on what to get.

I currently have an Electrohome 8000 CRT. My current inputs are:

- DVD player (component to the scalar)
- Motorola 6412 set top box (component to a transcoder, VGA from the transcoder to the scalar)

In the future, I'd like to have:

- HD DVD player
- Motorola 6412
- XBOX 360

Of course, budget is an issue. My local home theater company has suggested getting a Lumagen -- one of the Vision HDx line.

(Note to Lumagen, any chance you could put on your web site, in English please, what the difference is between the various Vision HDx models? I've looked at your site several times, and still haven't groked the differences, other than cost.)

The Lumagen looks like it is within my budget, but I'm a bit hesitant buying a scalar that can't do 1080p and HDMI. I realize that my CRT can't accept either, but from a future-proofing point of view, it seems to me that I'd be buying a scalar that is already obsolete.

Is there a scalar that will do 1080p and HDMI (and have RGBHV BNC outputs as well) and is also < $2000? Or am I still smoking some illicit?

Which other scalars should I be looking at?
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post #2 of 4
1/10/07 at 11:14am
Your budget is a little tight for what you suggest. I would not recommend the current Lumagens. Their deinterlacing technology is now a little dated and you can do a lot better with some competing models.

The DVDO VP50 outputs RGBHV and it does a nice job with SD and HD deinterlacing. However, it has few calibration controls and no noise reduction. ($3K).

The Calibre VantageHD also supports RGBHV output, does a nice job with SD and HD deinterlacing, offers some calibration features, and it has SOTA noise reduction. ($2.8K).
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post #3 of 4
1/10/07 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by M1911 View Post

I, what the difference is between the various Vision HDx models? ?

The HDP, HDQ, and HDP Pro descriptions itemize the features they have over the less upscale models when you do the "click for more details".

If your TV takes 1080i but not 1080p, you might as well hold off on a scaler and let prices for each technology come down.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm
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post #4 of 4
1/10/07 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:


The HDP, HDQ, and HDP Pro descriptions itemize the features they have over the less upscale models when you do the "click for more details".

Thanks, but I found that quite a while ago.

Nevertheless, I hope you agree that that presentation is rather difficult to compare and contrast the features between the various models. A more useful (and typical) presentation is in spreadsheet form, with models as columns and features as rows, indicating which models have which features. Now I could construct such a spreadsheet myself, but as the feature list for each model is like this:
Quote:


- HD analog/digital inputs with transcoding and scaling
- SD analog/digital inputs with transcoding and scaling
- SD and HD (newly added) per-pixel motion adaptive deinterlacing
- User adjustable image enhancement
- Transcode Component and RGB analog HD sources
- Component and DVI inputs auto-switch between SD and HD source modes.
- DVI input accepts 480/576i, 1080i, 480p to 720p input formats
- Source aspect ratio selectable as 4:3, letter-box, 16:9 and 1.85
- Programmable output aspect ratio from 1.33 to 2.35
- Panamorph mode 1 and 2 compatibility
- Zoom in any source up to 33%
- RS232 interface for field upgradeability and control
- NTSC, PAL and SECAM auto-detection
- Programmable output resolution from 480p to 720p, plus 1080i
- 10 bit DAC for analog outputs - Four configuration memories per input
- All setup parameters are unique for each memory.
- Can correct for red or green push in a display
- Input-cropping, black, contrast, color and hue setup
- Adjustable non-linear stretch display mode
- Y/C-delay calibration.
- 2/5/11 point parametric grayscale calibration
- Gamma calibration
- CUE and ICP filtering
- Extensive suite of built-in test patterns
- Programmable input and output color-space
- 2:2, 3:2, 3:3 pull-down for film sources
- Universal power supply
- Optional rack mount ears

Input configurability:
- Inputs 1,2 can be DVI, HDMI 444 or 422 component
- Input 3 can be Component (HD/SD), Scart or RGBS (uses in6 for sync), RGsB
- Input 4 can be Component (HD/SD), RGBS (uses in5 for sync), RGsB,
RGBHV (uses 5 & 6 for H & V sync) - Input 5,6 always Composite
- Input 7,8 always SVideo
- Inputs 9,10 optional SDI

Options:
- Dual SDI inputs $400 (shown above)
- BNC outputs $100 (shown above)

That's a fair bit of work for each prospective customer to do, and a waste of time for it to be done over and over, when the manufacturer could do that once, post it to the web site, and thus each customer could quickly understand the differences between the models.
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