Cheapest way to upconvert various sources to HDMI?

[ab1385]

I know this may sound like a basic question, but my scenario is this:

I'm looking to buy an AV amp, but looking into it I think a preamp/power amp may be the way to go, and I like the look of the Audiolab 8000AP. The thing that I don't like is the idea of losing the AV upconversion abilities and function of having all this in one place - what I want is to have all my sources plugged in to one unit (Wii, xbox 360 [non-HDMI model], HD-DVD/DVD, PVR), which will then output a signal to AV amp/processor, TV, PJ, and possibly TVs in the kitchen/bedroom at the same time.

I've noticed the DVDO EDGE would do all this with a 4-way HDMI splitter, but this is £600 when all I want is video conversion - something a £300 AV amp can do as well as processing and power amps. I don't want to use an AV amp as they are just too big and bulky just to do the video processing, so my question is:

Is there anything that does all the video upconversion/multiple inputs of the DVDO but where you wouldn't have to pay for the scaling/noise reduction etc etc? Or is the DVDO pretty much my only option here, short of getting an AV processor with AV functionality?

[hornydragon]

a DVDO or Lumagen scaler will do a much much better job with your video sources than a £300 AV amp....you would then have a full Video processor to go with your Audio processor best of both worlds....Depending on your source kit a secondhand unit like the Lumagen HDP may be ideal.

[ab1385]

Thanks

So would a Lumagen unit offer the same ease of use as a DVDO unit, once set up? It needs to be effectively not there, for WAF, when used with a Harmony remote. I wanted to have HD-DVD (will change to blu-ray when they come down in price), HD-TV (Sky or Virgin - undecided as yet), xbox 360 (component) and Wii (component) - with a single HDMI cable out to a splitter - to PJ and the TV, possibly also up to bedroom/kitchen.

The other problem that I can see is that it only has two DVI inputs - that's HD-DVD, Sky-HD/Telewest, and no further room for expansion if anything else exciting comes out... That and using DVI means I couldn't have HD-audio going to the audio processor...

What's the second hand prices of the HDP like? I can't find any on eBay

[Liam @ Prog AV]

Once a video processor is setup you only need to do three things with it - power it on or off, select inputs, and change aspect ratio. Possibly four if you have a complex setup you can configure the Lumagen to handle various complexities using profiles and input memories which can be manually selected with the remote. This would be usually if you are running two displays, or want a 24p mode on/off button.

Using a Harmony remote it will be invisible, there will just be two extra steps in each macro (Lumagen on/off and input select).

[hornydragon]

Originally Posted by ab1385

What's the second hand prices of the HDP like? I can't find any on eBay

Better off trying classifieds on here than fleabay