Quote:
Originally Posted by Dale Adams
What would that feature set be?
- Dale Adams |
Dale, I don't mean this quickie one off to be an exhaustive list, but I'll start and let others chime in.
Design goal: Enough inputs and outputs to drive the entire audio and video chain. The box is not an amplifier and it's not a display. But it needs to switch all the audio and video, it needs to synch any audio with the video and it's from a video processor company so it should process video.
Video processing features: Scales any reasonable known resolution to at minimum a fixed set of output resolutions including 1280 x 720, 1366 x 768, 1920 x 1080. I suppose standard 480p output and standard 1080i output are musts just in case.
Deinterlaces using whatever algorithms you'd like but has to be able to handle 3:2 pulldown of 1080i to make 1080p. Motion adapative or compensated stuff for 1080i is also nice. These scaling and processing features merely have to be done well
or not at all. If it did the rest, you could drop those and leave them to the display and just pass through the video per the requirements below....
Transcodes all video to HDMI. Composite, S-video, component get sent out the HDMI(s).
This is really the single most essential feature. The goal here is to organize the sources and have a single switch point.
Inputs:
* 4 digital inputs. At least 3 are pure HDMI. The fourth can be DVI or HDMI.
* 2-3 component inputs. If people have that many, this box has to be the "one box that switches them all". These should probably be VGA compatible and therefore offer 5 inputs.
* 2-4 composite / s-video inputs
* Every single input has sound. So every single input needs its own Toslink or digital coax to correspond with it. The HDMI must pass audio, but since some sources are DVI, this means they also need a corresponding audio. To make things simpler on conncetors, it's fine if you have "mapped" audio and offer 8-12 total connectors, maybe 9 optical, 3 coax. I don't care a whit about coax, but I know some people do.
Outputs:
*
2-3 digital outputs and really, matrix capability would be incredibly nice. Distributing HD video is pretty impossible today so the 2nd or 3rd outpu could feed either your 2nd display (think plasma and projector) or something else like a 1 x 4 distribution device for HDMI to send at least one other HD picture to at least one other TV in the house. Build the distribution amps as companion pieces that have some extensible remote control architecture and I'll pay for those too.
*
Equivalent audio outputs for the same reason
That's my "straw man". I'm willing to refine it with the help of others.
Oh, right, price, huh? I'd like it for $1499, which I know is not going to happen. How about we discuss price in the context of what's realistic. And keep in mind, you can take out all the video processing save the transcoding of the analog. Yes, you can remove it. Gonzo. Sell it to me separately if you wish. Sell two versions of the box, one with, one without. I don't care. My TV can deinterlace and scale. OK, it doesn't do it as well as DVDOs stuff. Not close. But it
can do it. Sell me the transcoder /
all-input switcher for $999 and offer me a companion scaler for $1999 (or whatever the prices need to be to make your typical margins which I'm
not complaining about).
Mark