Humax FoxSat HDR - quality upscaler?

[giggsy1977]

Good evening people!

This is a question for anyone who is currently lucky enough to own the aforementioned PVR and also to the WHF team.

The FoxSat upscales SD pics to 1080i maximum. How does the scaler in the box compare to the scaler on the tele you set it up on? And which tele(s) did you use?

I have a panasonic pz81 46 inch and am looking at amps at the mo (and have been for ages!)

If the scaler in the FoxSat is good, I shall get the Yammy 863. If not, I would look at the Onk 876. I know sound quality take precedent with an amp, but I have seen the Onk for £600 putting it perilously close to the Yammy price wise and I understand its scaler rocks (Reon?). Or, will my tele scale the image sufficiently well that I won't need the Onk to upscale over HDMI from the FoxSat?

Thanks in advance to all that read and reply.

 

[Alsone]

I have the Pioneer 428XD Kuro, the HDR and the Onkyo 605 amp.

I upscale in the Pioneer because in my opinion its visibly better quality than the Humax.

 

[daveh75]

yep, i agree i also have a kuro and it's visibly better pq letting the tv upscale

 

[Gazuk]

Hi everyone,

I have the Foxsat hdr and the panasonic th-42 pv500 hd ready plasma.Can anyone advise me which has the better scaler? Is it better to send info from the foxsat in original format or 720p?

Cheers

 

[PJPro]

Alsone:
I have the Pioneer 428XD Kuro, the HDR and the Onkyo 605 amp.

I upscale in the Pioneer because in my opinion its visibly better quality than the Humax.

I have almost the same setup. 4280 Kuro, HDR and Onk 606. The Kuro is responsible for upscaling duties.

 

[giggsy1977]

You are all lucky people in that you have Pioneer tele's that are some of the best scalers around (not that I'm jealous you understand...!!!

). From what I have read, the scaler in the pana isn't as good (I have no frame of reference unfortunately). Can anyone tell me (forums posters/WHF team) if the scaler in the Humax is better or worse that the scaler in my tele? Thanks.

 

[Alsone]

Simple answer, try it!!!

Thats how I found out. Watch a scene from a recording on the Humax with the output at 1080i. Then set the output to 576i and re-watch. The 576i setting will force most HD tv's to automatically upscale so you should essentially get the same picture from each. The only difference (if any) will be in quality. If need be, you can always switch between the settings a few times or try some different footage until you find something that gives a difference in the picture quality.

Whichever is the best, is well the best (at least for your eyes).

Sometimes your own eyes are the best judge. Everyone says use a THX disc to set your tv up. I have a THX 2.0 Optimiser disc (dedicated disc) and I still prefer the default settings on my Pioneer to the optimised settings. They very similar but the picture looks a little dreary and loses a some of its punchy colours and black detail when optimised.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi MY tv is a Kuro 5090 and i set the Humax to 1080i am i correct in setting it up to 1080i its the nearest resolution to my tv any comments

 

[Alsone]

J J:Hi MY tv is a Kuro 5090 and i set the Humax to 1080i am i correct in setting it up to 1080i its the nearest resolution to my tv any comments

Try setting it to 576i. This will force the Pioneer to do the upscaling. I'm sure with the quality of the Pioneer, you'll see an improvment in the picture on your model. If not, simply switch the output back.

The picture is far better on my Pioneer 428XD Kuro when the Humax is set to 576i so the tv does the upscaling.

 

[giggsy1977]

You're right Alsone.Need to try it for myself really once I have bought the Humax. Just curious as to what to expect really! Thanks for your replies everyone!

 

[Alsone]

Its hard to say a general rule Giggsy as every tv model is different. The Pioneer is known to have very good upscaling.

Thats why its best to try it on your Panasonic as it may or may not be better than the Humax or the Onk.

I must admit I haven't tried the Onk but my Humax is wired direct to the tv via HDMI not through the Onk so I can watch tv without having to have the receiver switched on. I got around the cinema sound problem by also running an optical cable to the Onk from the Humax, so when I want the receiver switched on, I can just mute the tv and enjoy cinema sound through the receiver instead.

 

[PJPro]

Alsone:
J J:Hi MY tv is a Kuro 5090 and i set the Humax to 1080i am i correct in setting it up to 1080i its the nearest resolution to my tv any comments

Try setting it to 576i. This will force the Pioneer to do the upscaling. I'm sure with the quality of the Pioneer, you'll see an improvment in the picture on your model. If not, simply switch the output back.

The picture is far better on my Pioneer 428XD Kuro when the Humax is set to 576i so the tv does the upscaling.

Won't this cause the HDR to try and downscale HD content? I have used original (I think that's what it's called) on the HDR, i.e. whatever the signal, just pass it on.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, Very good point PJPro if I was to set my Humax to 576i and watch BBC high def would the humax try to down scale?

 

[Alsone]

Nicely spotted PJ. Deliberate mistake.

I read off the front of my box whilst whilst writing this but never thought anymore about that.

I've rechecked my settings using the v-format button. It is set to ORIGINAL.

Apologies to the OP, to force upscaling but avoid down, you need to reset to Original as PJ says.