Silly question

[mconn]

Hi,

Would a scaler and vp in a plasma undo the good work of an external vp or would it bypass it.
What kind of results would you get with a cheap plasma(1300) from an external vp.
Sorry for the question but have to start somewhere.

Regards,
mconn

[VirusKiller]

If you have an external VP, the goal is to pass a signal to the display device which does not require the display to do any further processing (or at least substantially minimizes it). Sometimes, this is easier said than done - so called 1:1 pixel mapping from source/scaler to display is not always possible at the refresh rates required to avoid judder on PAL and NTSC material. In a perfect world, you'd use 50Hz for PAL, 60Hz for NTSC video and a multiple of 24Hz for NTSC film material, all 1:1 pixel mapped.

The real experts (not me!) on this forum could advise what makes/models of plasma are the best devices to feed from a VP.

[creative-av]

Just what the man said. You also get all the other advanced settings(colour, gamma etc) with a vp. Some panels, in particular the Panasonic PHD series, do have this advanced settings aswell in their service menus but not to the same level as a vp.

What sources will you be using and have you already got a screen or are you looking to by one aswell?

Budget wise you need to start from £825 SRP (LumagenDVI). Lumagen also have 2 more models that have more advanced processing.

Other option is the Iscan VP30+ABT card(Approx £1.3k). Great with SD but if you are going HD then you should be looking at the Lumagen range really.

Steve

[mconn]

Hi,

So it has to be a panel not a tv.
Have sky not hd and upscaling dvd.

Regards,
mconn

[creative-av]

No, you can use an external vp with a tv. Most people go the panel route as it is easier to get the 1:1 pixel mapping at native resolution. Also, the plasma panels tend to have more user adjustments which means you can tweak the pq a lot more than a tv.

Steve

[mconn]

Hi,

Would you see more af an improvement with a vp on a budget plasma as with a top of the line plasma.

Regards,
mconn

[creative-av]

Thats a difficult question mconn. What do you mean by cheap? Have you already chosen a panel or do you have one already? I wouldn't want to be connecting up a Lumagen to £400 Tiny panel if that is how you define cheap!

You can get a home demo of the Lumagen range of scalers so that you can see for yourself if it makes a difference or not.

Steve

[gizlaroc]

Originally Posted by mconn

Hi,

Would you see more af an improvement with a vp on a budget plasma as with a top of the line plasma.

Regards,
mconn

Problem is with a budget plasma is you don't generally get the controls you need.

have you got an LCD pc monitor?
If you have, download the NOKIA TEST and run the resolution test.
Now adjust the size controls on your screen until everything looks pin sharp.

Now make the image 10% bigger on the vertical and horizontal whilst looking at the TEXT pattern.
See how blurry it gets? Well 10% is about the same amount of overscan you get on a plasma TV, it is now blurry because the screen is scaling the image to fit and its interna scaling is not very good.

So if you feed the plasma TV with 1024x720p from the scaler and it is zoomed, you need to reduce the size on it as you just did with your monitor to get it looking razor sharp, but most TVs do not have Size controls so you are buggered!
You can start adjusting the timings for the resolution in the hope that it snaps into place, but this is a long hard way of doing things and I bet you give up, most people do.
The other thing is most TVs don't except PC resolutions, and most plasmas are a pc resolution so you hit a brick wall before you even start.

If you want a scaler, or thing you may want a scaler at a later date, then buy a monitor now, you will only regret it in a few months if not.

[mconn]

Hi,

Thanks for all the info guys.
My local dealer has a philips 43pf5331 plasma.
I know it is an alis panel.
The picture looks ok and for some it is cheap at 1300 pounds but is a fair amount for a tv.
I could buy online but like to have dealer support.
I think the day of a tv lasting 10 years are over and if a scaler/vp could get me a better picture now and with a new display in the future.
What do you think?.

Regards,
mconn

[creative-av]

No, no, no!!! Just search around the forum for reviews of Phillips panels and ALIS panels - Avoid(IMO)

For a couple of hundred pounds more you can pick up the panny 42PHD8 from Av-Sales if you are quick. If you can't afford this the take the PWD8 - I know it is only SD but it does a fantastic job of displaying SD and HD material - it even better than a HD ready panel.

As Giz says, get a decent panel now and use the pc if you are happy to do so. Add a scaler when the need arises.

Steve