Lumagen DVI Vs Iscan HD+ Or Another Alternative?

[Bepster]

Having seen a Lumagen DVI and an Iscan HD+ sell for £400 on these forums over the last couple of weeks I have decided to explore the world of VP's in a hope of seeing large improvements on my current viewing.

I have had a read of the forum and see that the most popular models are made by Lumagen and DVD0 but really am at a loss what would work best with my equipment. So my question is, which will be the best for me given my current setup (which I will detail below) or is there another alternative which would be even better?

Also would one be better for ultimate picture quality, but another be a better compromise for video switching, ease of use etc.


My current setup:

Sony HS10 Projector
Pioneer 668 DVD Player thru HDMI-DVI cable direct
Sony D800 Freeview Box thru JS-Tech RGB-Component via Denon 2105 switching (Component)
Xbox thru Component via Denon 2105 switching (Component)
Nintendo Gamecube thru S-Video via Denon 2105 switching (S-Video)
Nintendo N64 thru S-Video via Denon 2105 switching (S-Video)
Sega Dreamcast thru S-Video via Denon 2105 switching (S-Video)


I will be adding HD to this setup within the next 12 months via Sky HD and/or a HD-DVD player so being able to deal with a HD source would be nice but not essential.

I look forward to your comments.

[Bepster]

Also how big a benefit would I find from getting the whole lot ISF calibarted after getting the VP?

I may be upgrading the projector very soon to something like a HS50 so would like to see the best possible picture quality I can and would see £200-£300 spent on correct calibration a great option.

[creative-av]

Bepster,

First of all what is your budget as this will affect your decision!

The Lumagen range of video processors are very, very good(SRP from £825 - have a look here for the differences http://www.convergent-av.co.uk/article3.html)!

Thats not to say Iscan are bad but only the newest model(VP30+ABT card) is probably worth considering.

If you are going HD in the future and upgrading the pj then I would suggest looking at the LumagenHDQ - see here for full details: http://www.convergent-av.co.uk/news15.html. This has just been reviewed in What Widescreen Review( http://www.lumagen.com/docs/hdq_review.pdf ) and has been described as the best HD video processor in its class.

Obviously if the budget can go higher then you have the Crystalio II(SRP from £2999) which is the current market leading vp.

ISF - This will make a big difference to your pq. If you are going for a vp & new pj then a ISF is a must really. A properly calibrated system is a joy to view!
Steve

[Bepster]

My budget will really depend on what will give me a significant improvement in picture quality and if I need to spend a little bit more for extra functionality then I will look at that.

Realistically at the moment I would say I am in the £1000-£1500 catergory for this item.

Obviously if I can a great VP for less then that allows other upgrades, ISF calibration etc, so I am really open to suggestions on the best overall package for my setup.

[creative-av]

Ok,

You could get a LumagenHDP for SRP £1295 and an ISF(approx £300) to fit your budget. This will give you the HD processing you want for the future and very good SD processing now.

The Iscan VP30+ABT card + ISF will be the same but it can't handle the 1080i film/video like the Lumagen but is better than the Lumagen with SD material.

Steve

[VirusKiller]

Not that this helps, but there is nothing really at present that does both SD and HD very well below the Crystalio II. For SD, the Crystalio (I) and VP30 with ABT board are excellent for video mode deinterlacing (the ABT has probably taken over as the best deinterlacer of SD material). The Lumagens are great all rounders but not as good for SD video sources (more jaggies than the other two).

I'm waiting to see how good some of the newer 1080p projectors with HQV chips are with HD material.

[welwynnick]

Originally Posted by VirusKiller

Not that this helps, but there is nothing really at present that does both SD and HD very well below the Crystalio II.

I beg to differ. The Calibre VantageHD has gone on sale in the UK for about £2k, and the Optoma VX3000, Algolith Dragonfly and NEC TheatreSync can't be far away. All these have fewer features than the Crystallio 2, but are significantly cheaper.

Nick

[Nic Rhodes]

and the Key Digitals, more Lumagen and DVDO prices but HD.

[damo_in_sale]

Originally Posted by Bepster

My budget will really depend on what will give me a significant improvement in picture quality and if I need to spend a little bit more for extra functionality then I will look at that.

Realistically at the moment I would say I am in the £1000-£1500 catergory for this item.

Obviously if I can a great VP for less then that allows other upgrades, ISF calibration etc, so I am really open to suggestions on the best overall package for my setup.

Lumagen HDQ is at the upper limit of your price range too.

[creative-av]

Well as you have already stated that you are going HD in the next 12 months that rules out the LumagenDVI.

If you want a great vp under 1.5k you need to be looking at either the LumagenHDP(SRP £1295) or the Iscan VP30+ABT card(Approx £1.3k). With the VP30 you have to hope that later in the year they will release an updated firmware to do the video and film mode de-interlacing that the Lumagen does.

ISF is approx £300 so you are near on your budget of £1.5k with the VP+ISF.

Steve

[Nic Rhodes]

Originally Posted by creative-av

With the VP30 you have to hope that later in the year they will release an updated firmware to do the video and film mode de-interlacing that the Lumagen does.

Steve

what do you mean here?, do you mean for HD, if so this will not happen. For SD it is there already with the AB102 board (which I consider essential with a VP30).

[Bepster]

Ok. Thanks for everyones input.

Looks like I've got alot of reading up to do over the next couple of weeks!!

Will all of these VP's be able to take the amount of inputs I have or will I have to use my Denon as a switch feeding the VP?

[creative-av]

Originally Posted by Nic Rhodes

Steve

what do you mean here?, do you mean for HD, if so this will not happen. For SD it is there already with the AB102 board (which I consider essential with a VP30).

Yes Nic I meant HD. Sorry should have been a bit clearer. I thought the impression from the VP30 users on the forum was that an updated firmware for HD could be released in the near future - is this not the case?

bepster - connection wise you should be ok. With the Lumagen HDP or HDQ you could keep the amp feeding 1 s-vid feed to the scaler for the 3 games boxes, the 2 component feeds could go direct to the vp and the dvd player direct into one of the DVI inputs.

Steve

[VirusKiller]

Originally Posted by welwynnick

I beg to differ. The Calibre VantageHD has gone on sale in the UK for about £2k, and the Optoma VX3000, Algolith Dragonfly and NEC TheatreSync can't be far away. All these have fewer features than the Crystallio 2, but are significantly cheaper.

I need to pay closer attention. Do you have any idea of how much these will retail for?

[creative-av]

Originally Posted by creative-av

Yes Nic I meant HD. Sorry should have been a bit clearer. I thought the impression from the VP30 users on the forum was that an updated firmware for HD could be released in the near future - is this not the case?
Steve

Right, after being informed rightly the VP30 will not be firmware updated for HD processing. This will come in the form of a new sclaer to compete with the Lumagen HDQ - could be called the VP50. Release - ???

Thought I'd better clear up my earlier comment to avoid any confusion.

Steve