G
Greg Powell
Guest
I'm new to this forum, but would like to share my findings about the Zinwell manufactured AVT-3700 & Brite-View Scalers.
I purchased a Seleco SDG 700 L6 (CRT projector) a few months ago knowing I needed a Line doubler or Scaler. After Setting up the Projector I temporarily connected my PC to its RGB input in order to try out a number of scan rates/resolutions. It was soon obvious that a line doubler wouldn't close up the scan lines enough, so I needed a scaler. With little cash available I would either have to wait many months before I could purchase one of the highly regarded £1k Scalers (Lumagen or CS-HD) or I could take a chance and purchase the much cheaper AVT-3700 or Brite-View which seem to get much more mixed reviews. At the time the AVT-3700 was cheaper than the Briteview and both appeared the same so I took a chance and purchased the AVT-3700.
I was impressed by the De-interlacing and scaling but I did observe the loss of detail in peoples faces that other CRT users have mentioned. Since then I had a software PROM change which did improve the detail slightly (Possibly the Chroma Problem?). I was a bit surprised that the unit seemed capable of resolving some very fine detail on one hand and yet could wipe out significant facial features on the other. So I contacted Zinwell (Europe) to find out if they had another software update. I was surprised to find out that the AVT-3700 is primarily intended for the USA (NTSC) market and the BriteView for Europe (PAL). This appears insignificant on the face of it, but it appears that the latest Brite-view incorporates 50Hz and 75Hz modes optimised for PAL. This is supported by the fact that my AVT-3700 supplier said they couldn't supply the PROM which has these modes. Anyway I knew someone happy enough to have the AVT-3700 for their LCD projector So I replaced it with the Brite-View.
While the Unit is very similar (and probably has the same hardware inside), I did manage to compare the two and noticed some significant improvements with the Brite-View (I assume due to the software). Namely:-
1) The Details on peoples faces is significantly better (not perfect, but close). I suspect that one of the internal noise reduction circuits was set too high on the AVT-3700. There is very slightly more picture noise (mainly when viewing LaserDiscs) but I would much rather have this and the finer details.
2) The Brightness Control has a much greater Dynamic Range. I can now take the signal much higher into the white end.
3) I think the Sharpness control goes lower than it used to though this may be due to 1)
4) looking at the NTSC Video Essentials LaserDisc (NTSC), I noticed that the Brite-View showed significantly more of the Snell & Wilcox Test pattern around the edges (probably about 5% more image). I didn't try this on PAL as I haven't a PAL Test card.
5) The 50Hz and 75Hz refresh rates are much better for PAL DVD material. I am running the BriteView at 1024*768 75Hz and there is significantly less Jitter when the camera pans across a scene.
I don't know how the Brite-View compares to the Lumagen or C-HD, but for the money the Brite-View is a great scaler.
I purchased a Seleco SDG 700 L6 (CRT projector) a few months ago knowing I needed a Line doubler or Scaler. After Setting up the Projector I temporarily connected my PC to its RGB input in order to try out a number of scan rates/resolutions. It was soon obvious that a line doubler wouldn't close up the scan lines enough, so I needed a scaler. With little cash available I would either have to wait many months before I could purchase one of the highly regarded £1k Scalers (Lumagen or CS-HD) or I could take a chance and purchase the much cheaper AVT-3700 or Brite-View which seem to get much more mixed reviews. At the time the AVT-3700 was cheaper than the Briteview and both appeared the same so I took a chance and purchased the AVT-3700.
I was impressed by the De-interlacing and scaling but I did observe the loss of detail in peoples faces that other CRT users have mentioned. Since then I had a software PROM change which did improve the detail slightly (Possibly the Chroma Problem?). I was a bit surprised that the unit seemed capable of resolving some very fine detail on one hand and yet could wipe out significant facial features on the other. So I contacted Zinwell (Europe) to find out if they had another software update. I was surprised to find out that the AVT-3700 is primarily intended for the USA (NTSC) market and the BriteView for Europe (PAL). This appears insignificant on the face of it, but it appears that the latest Brite-view incorporates 50Hz and 75Hz modes optimised for PAL. This is supported by the fact that my AVT-3700 supplier said they couldn't supply the PROM which has these modes. Anyway I knew someone happy enough to have the AVT-3700 for their LCD projector So I replaced it with the Brite-View.
While the Unit is very similar (and probably has the same hardware inside), I did manage to compare the two and noticed some significant improvements with the Brite-View (I assume due to the software). Namely:-
1) The Details on peoples faces is significantly better (not perfect, but close). I suspect that one of the internal noise reduction circuits was set too high on the AVT-3700. There is very slightly more picture noise (mainly when viewing LaserDiscs) but I would much rather have this and the finer details.
2) The Brightness Control has a much greater Dynamic Range. I can now take the signal much higher into the white end.
3) I think the Sharpness control goes lower than it used to though this may be due to 1)
4) looking at the NTSC Video Essentials LaserDisc (NTSC), I noticed that the Brite-View showed significantly more of the Snell & Wilcox Test pattern around the edges (probably about 5% more image). I didn't try this on PAL as I haven't a PAL Test card.
5) The 50Hz and 75Hz refresh rates are much better for PAL DVD material. I am running the BriteView at 1024*768 75Hz and there is significantly less Jitter when the camera pans across a scene.
I don't know how the Brite-View compares to the Lumagen or C-HD, but for the money the Brite-View is a great scaler.