Iscan Duo and Lumagen Mini

[Mike-M]

Would replacing my Duo with a Lumagen Mini be a worthwhile upgrade, or, for the money, not worth doing.
Is it possible to use a HDMI switch with a Mini so I could use my Sky, Oppo and PJ with it by saving different profiles on one of the Mini's imputs. Or can I use my Processor as a switch and connect it's HDMI output to the Mini's imput, or would the HDMI protection not allow this.

 

[KelvinS1965]

I use my older Arcam AV9 processor to switch non3D signals from my PC and PVR into HDMI 1 on my Mini3D. My Oppo 93 goes directly into HDMI 2. Due to the Mini3D being able to use different settings based on input resolution I don't need to do anything other than change the input.

The PC signal is 1080/60p, PVR is 1080/50i and the BluRay is on it's own input, but uses 576i/480i, 1080/60i and 1080/24p, so you can see that if I had all three items going into the same HDMI input on the Mini3D then it would still automatically use the correct settings (provided I'd set them up accordingly).

I also use a HDMI splitter after my Mini3D so that when I use 'memory A' this is setup to use the right CMS (and greyscale) corrections for my main TV. Mem B is set up for my projector and Mem C is set for my conservatory TV in a nearby room (1080i model so needs different output settings as well as different calibrations). This way I'm able to view the 3 sources on 3 displays perfectly calibrated (of course only one source at a time, but I could watch on both TVs if I wanted).

Whether you consider it's worth upgrading is another matter: I had a DVDO Edge before (which has the same scaling abilities AFAIK) and I prefer the image the Lumagen gives especially for upscaling (no ringing). The Duo can't process 3D signals, only passthrough (IIRC) but the Mini3D can perform CMS, scaling (for anamorphic lens) and all the other features with a 3D signal: It can convert different types of 3D as well, which might be useful with some displays.

 

[Mike-M]

The Mini is much more configurable than I thought, they should make more of it in their literature. First look with just the two imputs makes it seem quite limited. But then again if they did they may sell less of the more expensive models.

They say it can be mounted at the rear of your display. Does it rely on auto switching and memory settings to work, as it's out of the IR sight.

 

[KelvinS1965]

Yes if it's out of sight then I guess you'd have to set it up so that you only use one input and input resolutions to select appropriate output settings.

There are 2 physical HDMI inputs, but effectively there are 4 'virtual' inputs: So you can map where you want those virtual inputs to be 'connected'. They could all be mapped to HDMI 1 for example. Then you use the remote to select input 1,2,3 or 4 (if you had sources with the same resolution, but different calibration requirements you'd maybe need to do this). You still have memories A to D for each of those inputs too, though this is tempered by the limit of 8 CMS settings you can assign.

Another feature that I've not tried is that it can output 3D at 1080/30p per eye so any display (even if it's not a 3D one) that can accept 1080/60p can display a 3D image. Now Lumagen themselves admit that this has a lot of flicker, but it shows how willing they are to add features to their products long after launch. You need an emitter and glasses of course, hence why I've not tried it (plus 'proper' 3D gives me a headache, let alone this 'lite' version.

There are things that I'm still discovering with mine after almost a year, as it's so flexible the adjustments that can be made are mindboggling:

One example I recently confirmed for another potential owner was this: They wanted to be able to shift a 2.35:1 image on their 16:9 screen so that there was only one big black bar instead of two: I found that it was possible to do (in either direction as he wanted it to go 'up'), just by setting up a copied memory with the shift applied, so a one button job to instantly change.

Another is if you have a 2.35:1 screen and no lens you can also set up one of the spare memories to do a 'shrink' so that you can zoom your projector to fill the 2.35:1 screen and for menus you can view a (reduced resolution approx 1400 x 800) 16:9 image within the screen height. It's a neat way of being able to change aspect ratio at the press of a single button. Even if you have a projector with lens memory it's much quicker and the reduced res only effects 16:9 menus (and trailers) but not the main feature.

 

[PE06MCG]

@KelvinS1965

I have a Duo but am interested in the 'virtual connections' you mention.

Forgive my lack of technical knowledge but is this a purely Lumagen technique or can it be extended to the Duo?

 

[Mike-M]

@KelvinS1965

I have a Duo but am interested in the 'virtual connections' you mention.

Forgive my lack of technical knowledge but is this a purely Lumagen technique or can it be extended to the Duo?

If I'm understanding it properly, you can save four different settings for the HDMI in and then select which ever you want depending what you are watching. (eg when your AV receiver has four different things connected to it's HDMI imputs and it's HDMI out connected to the Mini's HDMI in).

I don't think the Duo has this, but I have read that it automatically recognises the display it's connected to and recalls the settings that have been set during calibration for it. Useful if you have your TV connected to output 1 and a PJ connected to output 2, but not the same.

 

[PE06MCG]

If I'm understanding it properly, you can save four different settings for the HDMI in and then select which ever you want depending what you are watching. (eg when your AV receiver has four different things connected to it's HDMI imputs and it's HDMI out connected to the Mini's HDMI in).

I don't think the Duo has this, but I have read that it automatically recognises the display it's connected to and recalls the settings that have been set during calibration for it. Useful if you have your TV connected to output 1 and a PJ connected to output 2, but not the same.

Yes, the Duo automatically recognises its source of HDMI and other types of input as well but I was seeing whether it had the capabilty to extend this to even more HDMI inputs via the method described...

 

[KelvinS1965]

I don't think the Duo has the virtual input option, but to be fair it already has more physical inputs than the Mini3D. The auto input select used to work quite well on my old Edge, so I'd expect the Duo to work as well. Lumagen have added this feature in recent firmware updates, but I've not had chance to try setting it up (the first firmware update for auto switching had a glitch which they fixed overnight, but I've not installed that newer version to test yet).