Scaler buying advice please.

[182]

Hi.
First of all, i know next to nothing about scalers, but i've been reading on here that the VP30+ABT102 is a good choice. I can get the VP30+ABT102 for about £1,250 which seems a good price.
I have normal sky so can only output scart, what would be the best way to connect to the iscan? Would i need an rgb converter like the JStech or somthing, or will the iscan do that for me?
Also i have a toshiba HD-DVD player, would i see any benefit from running this through the iscan?
And with my dv79 dvd player, should i connect it with HDMI or component?
Is it right that if i use the HDMI then the signal will be progressive, so i'd be better with a non progressive signal so the iscan can do the work. Is that right?
Sorry for my noobie questions.

[creative-av]

Hi 182,

£1250 for the VP30+ABT card is a good price. However, it will not do any HD scaling. You will need to feed it either 480i or 576i. If you send it a progressive signal the VP30 will pass this signal thru.

HD-DVD player - you will need to run this through a HD scaler to get any real benefits from it.

The output from the dv79 via HDMI will be can be sent as progressive or interlaced. Sending an interlaced signal to the scaler will be the best option.

The LumagenHDP and HDQ(same as HDP but with more digital ports) are probably the best sub £1.5k HD scalers. Above that price you have the VantageHD(SRP £1999) and then the Crystalio 2(SRP £2999 or £3699).

Steve

[182]

Thanks for your quick reply.
I've been looking at the HDQ also, but i read that it wasn't as good as the iscan at SD?
What would happen if i send 1080i from the hd-dvd? I can also set the hd-dvd to output 480i.
To be honest my main priority is to get better pq from sky and sd dvd as the hd-dvd looks fantastic anyway.
Would gorgon still isf my setup with an iscan or would i need to get a lumagen for him to do it?

[creative-av]

The VP30+ABT cards seems to be the best SD scaler at the moment. However, the Lumagen is only a fraction behind it and it does have HD processing.

Sending the VP30 a 1080i signal will mean it just passes straight thru so no processing is performed on on it.

Connecting your hd-dvd to scaler will still have benefits. The scaler will do a much better job of de-interlacing the signal than the tv. You also get the benefits of advanced colour adjustment, gamma control, grey scale etc etc.

I'm sure Gordon or Piers won't hold it against you that you want to have your system ISF'd without buying a Lumagen

Steve

[182]

Originally Posted by creative-av

Connecting your hd-dvd to scaler will still have benefits. The scaler will do a much better job of de-interlacing the signal than the tv. You also get the benefits of advanced colour adjustment, gamma control, grey scale etc etc.

Steve

From that i take it you mean if useing the iscan? If so, it would be nice to have more control over the pq than what my tv gives me.
Sorry but im really new to all this scaler business. how will the HDQ improve things with the hd-dvd player? I'm also going to be getting a PS3 for BluRay when they come out, so i guess HD will become more important to me.

Well i was planning on buying the iscan tomorrow, do you think should i go for the HDQ instead. I spose it just comes down to price for me really.

[creative-av]

Originally Posted by 182

From that i take it you mean if useing the iscan?

Only if you feed the Iscan a 480i or 576i signal.

The LumagenHDP or HDQ will be able to process both an SD & HD signal.

As to whether the Iscan or Lumagen is better for you I would edge towards the Lumagen as you are looking to add more HD sources to your setup. You can get a home demo of the Lumagen if you want to see if it suits your needs.

The SRP of the Lumagen HDP is £1299 whilst the HDQ is £1599. If you need to have multiple digital inputs then the HDQ maybe the better choice. The internal processing is the same in the HDP and HDQ. It is only the inputs that are different and the actual physical design of the box.

Steve

[182]

Originally Posted by creative-av

Only if you feed the Iscan a 480i or 576i signal.

The LumagenHDP or HDQ will be able to process both an SD & HD signal.

As to whether the Iscan or Lumagen is better for you I would edge towards the Lumagen as you are looking to add more HD sources to your setup. You can get a home demo of the Lumagen if you want to see if it suits your needs.

The SRP of the Lumagen HDP is £1299 whilst the HDQ is £1599. If you need to have multiple digital inputs then the HDQ maybe the better choice. The internal processing is the same in the HDP and HDQ. It is only the inputs that are different and the actual physical design of the box.

Steve

How would i go about getting a home demo? Would that be with gorgon?
I'd have to go for the HDQ purley cos of its size. I'm running out of space and it will fit nicely.
How much heat do both these units kick out? Do they get hot like an amp? I guess as they are rack mountable they are ok not having much airflow around them.

I really appreciate your advice, i will try and contact gordon and hold fire on the iscan for now.
Thannks mate

[creative-av]

Demo - contact a Lumagen dealer and they should be able to give you the details wrt arranging a demo.

Heat output - As long as your equipment rack has adequate vetilation then you should be fine. I wouldn't suggest piling it in the middle of all your other equipment!

Steve

[damo_in_sale]

The Lumagens should be able to reconstruct a 1080p signal from the HD-DVD player and so you should get double the resolution on this type of material than what you would with the ISCAN.

[182]

Originally Posted by damo_in_sale

The Lumagens should be able to reconstruct a 1080p signal from the HD-DVD player and so you should get double the resolution on this type of material than what you would with the ISCAN.

Sounds great, not entirely sure what you mean tho? lol
How would my display handle that? Would it downscale it to it's native resolution?

[creative-av]

You would want to feed the screen its native resolution from the scaler. No point in paying all that money for a dedicated video processor and then let the screen do the scaling again!

Steve

[182]

Originally Posted by creative-av

You would want to feed the screen its native resolution from the scaler. No point in paying all that money for a dedicated video processor and then let the screen do the scaling again!

Steve

Please remember i don't have a clue about any of this stuff, i'm really trying to get my head round it.

So what happens when the hdq uspcales(reconstructs?) 1080i to 1080p, what does my plasma do with that, as it isn't a 1080p display? Does it not then rescale it?
Sorry for the totally dumb questions

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Hello: First off....VP30 does process 1080i, it doesn't pass through HD (altough I believe there is an option for it). It just doesn't do the processing of the 1080i to the same level, or in the same manner, as it does with SD, 480i//576i

On ISF front I regularily do calibrations of systems with competing scaler brands to Lumagen in them. I am not so narrow minded as to assume that a Lumagen processor is the solution to all processing issues (although it is to alot!)

With your PV500 there would likely be some re-scaling going on in the plasma However, you'd be getting ALOT of benefits from an external processor that would not be negated by this last little scaling step in the plasma itself.

Gordon

[creative-av]

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

Hello: First off....VP30 does process 1080i, it doesn't pass through HD (altough I believe there is an option for it). It just doesn't do the processing of the 1080i to the same level, or in the same manner, as it does with SD, 480i//576i

Sorry 182 - my mistake on the VP30/HD front. I was under the impression that if it was fed anything other than 480i/576i it passed the signal thru.

Originally Posted by Gordon @ Convergent AV

On ISF front I regularily do calibrations of systems with competing scaler brands to Lumagen in them. I am not so narrow minded as to assume that a Lumagen processor is the solution to all processing issues (although it is to alot!)

See, I told you Gordon wouldn't hold it against you

Steve

[chambeaj]

Originally Posted by creative-av

Hi 182,

£1250 for the VP30+ABT card is a good price. However, it will not do any HD scaling. You will need to feed it either 480i or 576i. If you send it a progressive signal the VP30 will pass this signal thru.

HD-DVD player - you will need to run this through a HD scaler to get any real benefits from it.

The output from the dv79 via HDMI will be can be sent as progressive or interlaced. Sending an interlaced signal to the scaler will be the best option.

The LumagenHDP and HDQ(same as HDP but with more digital ports) are probably the best sub £1.5k HD scalers. Above that price you have the VantageHD(SRP £1999) and then the Crystalio 2(SRP £2999 or £3699).

Steve

Hi,

I am little bit confused. Why is it better to send an interlaced signal over HDMI from the DV79? I thought DVDs were encoded in the progressive format!! Surely by sending an interlaced signal from the Arcam you are introducing unneccessary interlacing? The reason I ask is that I have an Arcam DV79 and have also ordered a Crystalio II. My plan was to connect the Arcam using 576p/HDMI, the Pace Sky+ box using 576i/RGBs and to have to Crystalio output the results over a single HDMI connection to the display at its native resolution.

Kind Regards
Adrian