Line Doublers and Scalers

[GregoriusM]

I think I have an idea about the difference between line doublers (used in progressive DVD players and some TVs - HDTVs I think) and scalers.

But, how much do I need to spend to get a doubler or scaler to put between my Digital Cable Receiver, VCR, DVD player and my TV.

Also, do I need an HDTV to be able to use an external doubler/scaler?

I have a Panasonic 27" GAOO TV, with 750 lines of resolution, which brings me to another question. Is that horizontal or vertical resolution. What is usually quoted?

I'm tired of the "jitter" from regular cable, and have seen HDTV's of up to 60" that are greatly improved with internal line doublers.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to upgrade my TV until HDTV comes down in price and there is more content on the tube.

Thanks!

... Greg :-)

[Gordon Moore]

But, how much do I need to spend to get a doubler or scaler to put between my Digital Cable Receiver, VCR, DVD player and my TV.

Zero, your TV doesn't support the frequency nor the resolution to handle line doubled or HDTV material.

Also, do I need an HDTV to be able to use an external doubler/scaler?

Yes or at least HDTV ready or a pc monitor or a projector

I have a Panasonic 27" GAOO TV, with 750 lines of resolution, which brings me to another question. Is that horizontal or vertical resolution. What is usually quoted?

Horizontal...marketing...it sounds better

The most inexpensive and versatile scaler, progressive scan dvd player, HDTV tuner,TIVO,gaming machine,MP3/CD player that you could purchase and/or assemble yourself is a PC (HTPC). It's easier than you think.




"A RONSTER!"

[JonMarsh]

Scalers and doublers are of most use with graphics grade CRT projectors (XGA or better) and digital projectors that support direct pixel mapping, but also can be useful with high res direct view presentation monitors.

By far, the best value in a scaler/doubler would be an HTPC, as Gordon points out. For external NTSC video sources, DScaler and a compatible video capture card are the way to go.

For video output and DVD playback, a Radeon or Geforce card will provide excellent playback with the better software players (Ravisent Cinemaster, Power DVD 4, Theater Tek); the best I've seen so far is with a Radeon 7200 or 7500 type card (the 8500 has hardware/driver issues with gamma adjustment which are still unresolved by ATI). The Geforce series doesn't have quite the same level of shadow detail and color detail, (possibly due to 8bit verus 10bit DAC, and other details in intermediate processing), but still is quite good.

A PC scaler can't create detail that isn't their, but like oversampling of CD digital, it can interpolate and smooth to higher resolution playback device with excellent results, especially on quality DVD's like the Superbit titles.

Regards,

Jon




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