Video Upscalers

[admin_exported]

Hi.

I'm thinking on buying a video upscaler to connect it to my home cinema - Optoma HD3000. Now I have a Phillips HTS3164 that was a second-hand cheap option at the time but I’m updating the system. The thing is… I’m also going to buy an AV receiver (all decent AV receiver have upscaling) to connect new speakers. Am I going to get more video quality with the Optoma HD3000 or a good AV Receiver has similar quality and a video upscaler alone it’s not worth it?

thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys. Some help please!

Are AV receivers as good as dedicated video upscalers?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi. Can you tell us what your display is, please?

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Hi.

It's a Focus X9 datashow. Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

What amps are you considering and what sources?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi.

Source will be a xbox360 with XBMC (to read HD mkv content), for now. I intend to buy a Sony STR DG820, considering that upscaling would be left to an Optoma HD3000 (they are at a very good price now).

Right now I have Phillips HTS316 for DVD, Divx and upscaling because I invested on speakers first. But I'm updating. )

Speakers are B&W 684, HTM61 and ASW608.

Leaving BluRay aside for now, I thought: if I'm going to buy a new AV receiver to connect the speakers, am I going to get more video quality with the Optoma HD3000 or a good AV Receiver has similar upscaling quality?

Edit: Another option might be the Harman kardon AVR 355 (instead of hd3000+STR DG820). Reviews say it upscales very good but lacks on sound quality!!

 

[Anonymous]

I just want to get this clear: you're running an InFocus X9, and you want to upgrade it with an Optoma HD3000 - correct?

When you mentioned the Optoma is available at a very good price, what sort of price were you talking about?ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

No no...

The InFocus X9 is a projector (HD ready). The Optoma HD3000 is a dedicated upscaler only (with gennum vxp processor).

I already have the X9 and i'm thinking on buying an optoma HD300 because i can buy it for ?300. But as Av receivers also have upscale, i dont know what could be better.

 

[Anonymous]

Er.I think we're suffering from a communication breakdown here.ÿI know the InFocus is a projector - that's why I said upgrade it 'with' an Optoma HD3000, not 'to'.

I appreciate the Optoma's price is tempting, but I wouldn't buy it for use in your system. Instead, I'd buy a better projector, using every penny you might want to spend on any external upscaling device, no matter whether it's installed inside a dedicated video processing box or an AV receiver. The results will be significantly better.

True, the InFocus is fine at the price, but the biggest single improvement you could make to your picture will come from a better set of optics, a brighter, more consistent light path and a higher-resolution display panel, whether LCD or DLP.ÿ

If you've got extra cash to spend, see what you can sell your X9 for, and then use it (plus additional funds) to invest in a Sanyo PLV-Z700. If you really want to do the job properly, spend more (admittedly, quite a lot more) on a Panasonic PT-AE3000. If that means you then have to buy a simple, affordable AV receiver rather than one with whizz-bang scaling built-in, well, no matter.

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Andy.

Tanks andsorry about the confusion!!

I'm thinking on updating the projector but I have just bought some expensive speakers and need to update de AV receiver first . to enjoy their full music sound quality (its main purpose).

But the new projector won't solve upscalling for sources that aren't 1080p. My main video source will be a Xbox360 reading divx and mkv. Blu Ray will come later . with the projector, when I can get the most of it . Do you think I will get any advantage on the Optoma HD3000 connected to the xbox or the AV receiver that i will buy will be enough?

 

[professorhat]

kanoysta:But the new projector won't solve upscalling for sources that aren't 1080p.

If the new projector has a better upscaling chip in it than the one you have, then surely it will...

 

[Tom Moreno]

kanoysta:
But the new projector won't solve upscalling for sources that aren't 1080p. My main video source will be a Xbox360 reading divx and mkv. Blu Ray will come later . with the projector, when I can get the most of it . Do you think I will get any advantage on the Optoma HD3000 connected to the xbox or the AV receiver that i will buy will be enough?

I'm getting the feeling that your issue may be more to do with the quality of the source material. If you are playing divx or mkv files that aren't at a high bit rate or don't have loads of native resolution then it won't matter if you have the best scaler in the world. Ultimately upscaling to 1080p is great technology but the processors can only dig up what resolution is there, some SD channels on Sky can look like youtube on HD displays despite the best efforts of a really good scaler due to the poor quality of the source material.

 

[Anonymous]

kanoysta:
But the new projector won't solve upscalling for sources that aren't 1080p. My main video source will be a Xbox360 reading divx and mkv. Blu Ray will come later . with the projector, when I can get the most of it . Do you think I will get any advantage on the Optoma HD3000 connected to the xbox or the AV receiver that i will buy will be enough?

It should be clarified - just in case - that almost all projectors have upscaling built-in, save for an exotic few that locate said scaling in an external box. So a device with a native 1280 x 720 resolution, like your InFocus, will scale lower-resolution signals to 720p: another projector with 1920 x 1080 resolution will do the same job, but to 1080p. That's without the help of an AV receiver, an external video processor box or an upscaling DVD player (or similar).

So if you're worred that you're not seeing 720p already - well, you are. After a fashion. And by the way, there's nothing to be gained from scaling lower-resolution signals up to 1080p for use with your existing projector - they'll have to be scaled again by the projector before being displayed (at 720p).

Simple functionality is only part of the story: quality also has a role to play. As the good Professor points out, a superior projector (such as the Panasonic model I mentioned) should have a superior scaler built in to it. And as has also been pointed out, it's hard to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, no matter how much cash you throw at the issue: lower-quality source material will always look fairly poor, even when fed through an exceptionally capable external video processor.

But this is the most important point of all: scaling is not the only defining element of a good picture. In projectors, much depends on optics, light engine and the native resolution (plus associated technology) of the projector itself. Put a £1000 Sanyo with 1080p upscaling next to a £25,000 SIM2 with a similar scaling specification (not necessarily performance, but simple number-crunching functionality) and you'll see what I mean. So in answer to your question: regardless of the price you're able to get it for, I wouldn't spend my money buying an Optoma HD3000 for use with your projector. Instead, I'd put every penny of its projected cost towards buying a new, better projector.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you guys.

I wasn't aware of that. I really need to search a little bit more on video because till now I was mainly turned to audio.

After I complete all my set of audio components, I will invest in new projector then (I don't even want to know lamps prices :S ) or TV. With the 2k of the Panasonic projector, i could get a very good one instead.

Once again thank you all for sharing your experience and wise words.