[veinboy]

Has anyone ever actually compared a Faroudja DVP 3000 or 5000 with an HTPC for DVD playback on their DILA?


My set up is a DILA G15 with an AVS forum-built HTPC.


My guess/hope is that the picture quality with the HTPC is as good as the higher priced Faroudja models, but I can't find any direct comparisons on recent searches that I've done.


For the ultimate in picture quality for the DILA for DVD playback, is the extra expense of the top-of-the-line processor justified?


(I hoped to get a better cross section of opinions here rather than on the Video Processor or HTPC forums.)

 

[Mark Hunter]

Hi Veinboy,


Most of the stuff you are looking for is buried in the archives:

State of the Art Now! HTPC better than Faroudja 5000

Turn-key HTPC blasts away Faroudja 3000!

HTPC vs. Faroudja 3000 or 5000


Happy Reading!

 

[veinboy]

Thanks Mark!


These threads were extremely informative and supported my feelings about the HTPC's ability to hold its own with the high priced Faroudja processors.


However, except for one thread (dknight's) the majority of these comparisons were done on Sony G90s, NEC projectors and others but not DILAs. And although I may be "splitting hairs", most of the threads were almost a year old and even older and both Faroudja and HTPC technology have improved during that time. Some comparisons were done with Ge Force rather than Radeon cards and the Faroudja 2200 rather than 3000 or 5000.


Has anyone had a chance to compare a state of the art HTPC vs. high end Faroudjas for DVD playback on DILAs recently?

 

[tlum]

I haven't tried either [HTPC or NRS] but my impressions are as follows:

• The NRS still will not do the full d-ila 1365 pixels horizontally.
• The price point of the 3000 and 5000 is hard if not impossible to justify, especially when the NRS is reported as good if not better.

For now it seems to me that the open architecture of an HTPC makes it far more versatile.


Its hard to do quantitate comparisons since a Faroudja scaler is a fixed, known, quantity; whereas the construction of the HTPC in terms of hardware and software can have a huge impact on the overall quality produced. But I see no reason that a carefully constructed HTPC can not equal or exceed a scaler.


I know that many have qualms with Faroudja surrounding what they will or will not support, and the open architecture [of HTPC] is far more "able" when it comes to plugging in new software solutions.


-Ted-

 

[veinboy]

Ted,


Faroudja makes an NRS specifically for DILAs (called the NR plus)for about $1000 more. (MSRP $4995.) They justify the added expense because of the higher pixel count and refresh rate of the DILAs.


It uses more horsepower internally to drive the 1365x1024 resolution of the DILA and was extensively reviewed in the AVS Review section of the forum.


It was rated as a "work in progress" because it rolls off between 4-5 Mhz, has no HDTV scaling and still suffers from ringing.

Its strong point is its deinterlacing and it was reengineered to attempt to surpasses the 3000 and 5000.


With some help from the competition, prices of the 3000 and 5000 will hopefully fall as the technology of the NRS (plus) improves. The plug and play advantage of these processors has some appeal to those of us who are computer dummies.