HDQ, VP50 or Radiance?

[VirusKiller]

I'm making wholesale (and expensive) changes to my theatre and I'd appreciate some advice/opinion. Please bear with me as I try and put my thoughts down in this post!

The key driver of my changes is the imminent replacement of my interim Panny AE900 with a JVC HD1 and the unexpected gift of an HD DVD player.

Current kit list:

Meridian 598 w/SDI
Sky+ w/SDI
Crystalio VPS-2300

Future kit list:

Oppo HD970 DVD (already got this)
Tosh HD-XA1 HD DVD (arrives Tuesday)
SkyHD (eventually)
Video processor of some description

Requirements

1) I will need two DVI/HDMI inputs initially, more later.

2) I want judder free 60i SD and HD playback.

3) I don't watch Sky that much, but would like to for sport in the future. Decent 1080i video interlacing is important. Decent 576i video deinterlacing may be important.

4) The JVC HD1 will ship with D65 grayscale calibration (or close to it), so external display calibration not essential.

Thoughts

If the HD1 PJ deinterlaces 60i --> 24p and displays it at 96Hz then, in the short term, I probably only need an HDMI switcher. I am in the process of trying to confirm this feature. If so, my deinterlacing and scaling solution would then be VXP-based. The downsides are that the scaling is unlikely to be as clean as the Lumagens' and I would be stuffed with regard to getting digital interlaced SD out of a SkyHD box. However this would be the lowest cost option by far.

Assuming that the HD1 won't do 60i --> 24p, then I'm going to need an external VP. Of the three I'm considering (and I'm assuming that the Radiance will be the dogs ********), there are pros and cons of each.

HDQ +
Lumagen scaling
11 point gamma adjustment plus extensive per-source tweakability.
1x SDI input (so could continue to use Sky+ box in the interim).
EDID editing for SkyHD
Cost vs. VP50 and Radiance
Gordon's support

HDQ -
DVI inputs (may or may not be an issue)
Relatively poor PAL video deinterlacing.
TBC - Can the HDQ output genlocked 1080p24? I'm not sure the HD1 accepts 1080p48.

VP50 +
4x HDMI input
1x SDI input option
Excellent video deinterlacing
PReP for SkyHD
Cost vs. Radiance

VP50 -
Minimal calibration features (though these may come)
Scaling not as clean as the Lumagens
Cost vs. HDQ

Radiance +
Featurewise, probably everything.
Gordon's support

Radiance -
Cost
SDI --> HDMI converter will be more £££



In summary, I guess I'd appreciate comments on:

1) How well the VXP and ABT scaling holds up against Lumagen's.

2) How critical is per-source calibration? (assuming the PJ is already well calibrated).

3) Should I be worrying about DVI vs. HDMI inputs? My Meridian G68 can sort out lipsync issues.

4) Other than SD video deinterlacing, is there any other reason not to go for the HDQ?

5) Anything else that I should consider.

Thanks!
Joel

[JohnWH]

No Crystallio II on the list, similar cost to the radiance...

+ve:
4xHDMI
2xSDI (HDSDI on 3800)
Plenty of analogue inputs

-ve:
No Prep or EDID edit facility (not an issue if you're using SDI'd Sky)

John

[VirusKiller]

Thanks John, but I've discounted the CII for a number of reasons. For that kind of money, I'd want some kind of upgradeability. Also, the Radiance will have a more recent VXP chip, Lumagen scaling, six HDMI inputs and will be less dear. Gordon's support is also worth a lot.

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

VirusKiller; Great questions. Hope to answer in a day or so..in meantime...to question2: The Radiance will have input and output side calibration. It is great that manufacturers are now trying to build products that ship with settings that actually match the standards set down for our tv system. However, we need the whole chain to be a closed loop system. Unfortunately the sources we plug in to our displays are also often built with outputs that are manipulated to make them look "impressive" when compared against their competitors. Only with an ability to create an inverse curve feature to get things back on track will you be able to see an accurate image.

So I'd say it's VERY important.

Gordon

[VirusKiller]

Thanks Gordon. Since my first post, I've been thinking that HDMI audio switching is going to be important, which would certainly rule out the HDQ as a long term option.