New Rotel DVD Player and Scaler

[bullitt731]

I spoke to my local AD today after noticing Rotel had added a new DVD player to their website. Apparently they feel this will be used as a 480i transport to mate with their new 1080i scaler. I was told the DVD player is priced at $499, and the scaler will be $1,199. My primary question to my AD was if the scaler would be capable of dialing in custom settings to match a particular display, in my case a 768p Pioneer plasma 5071. He said he would contact his rep to get an answer, and stated he would be getting both units in within the next 2 weeks. Does anyone have any information to pass along on either of these two units?

[Kevin D]

The RDV-1045 replaces both the 1040 and 1050 players. It's a 1040 with 2ch DVDA support (or a 1050 without 5.1 DVDA support..) So they're down to the 1045 and the 1092.

The new scaler (RVE-1060 I believe) is a scaled down version of the scaler they were going to release. I haven't seen the official specs, but I believe it's only going to do 1080i max, not 1080p. Based on what the other scaler was going to do, I highly doubt the 1060 will support custom resolutions.

Kevin D.

[Destruction]

Hi Kevin and bullitt731,

As far as I know the RVE-1060 does not offer custom settings. As Kevin said, the max output is 1080i, but its also worth noting that it will not pass-through 1080p signals.

It is said to have a superb picture however. :T

All the best.

[Ted]

Is there any word yet on the retail of the RDV-1092 with the built in scaler?

[Pez]

This may be a dumb question but what is the benefit of a 1080i scaler? With 720p and 1080p wouldnt something at only 1080i be obsolete?

[bullitt731]

The RDV-1045 replaces both the 1040 and 1050 players. It's a 1040 with 2ch DVDA support (or a 1050 without 5.1 DVDA support..) So they're down to the 1045 and the 1092.

The new scaler (RVE-1060 I believe) is a scaled down version of the scaler they were going to release. I haven't seen the official specs, but I believe it's only going to do 1080i max, not 1080p. Based on what the other scaler was going to do, I highly doubt the 1060 will support custom resolutions.

Kevin D.

So where do you see the market for this type of equipment with these limitations at this price point? I just bought a Toshiba HD A2, and a Rotel 1072 cd player which I believe should do everything the two new Rotel units will at over $600 less. I plan on auditioning the two new Rotel units before my 30 day return window is up, but I am very skeptical at this point.

[Kevin D]

Is there any word yet on the retail of the RDV-1092 with the built in scaler?

The 1092's been shipping for a while now. Retail is $1500.

[Kevin D]

This may be a dumb question but what is the benefit of a 1080i scaler? With 720p and 1080p wouldnt something at only 1080i be obsolete?

It's up to 1080i. So 480p and 720p are included.

So where do you see the market for this type of equipment with these limitations at this price point?

I see the market as those that want to add some form of scaling and HDMI support seamlessly to a 10 series processor. The change to 1080i is probably due to concerns over HDMI 1.3. They had pretty much got the RVE-1070 to release state when HDMI 1.3 was finalized. Rather then wait until it was a stable standard, widely used, and the 1070 was compatible, I think they are a releasing an HDMI 1.1 1080i piece to start getting at least some return on their R&D.

Kevin D.

[bullitt731]

It's up to 1080i. So 480p and 720p are included.



I see the market as those that want to add some form of scaling and HDMI support seamlessly to a 10 series processor. The change to 1080i is probably due to concerns over HDMI 1.3. They had pretty much got the RVE-1070 to release state when HDMI 1.3 was finalized. Rather then wait until it was a stable standard, widely used, and the 1070 was compatible, I think they are a releasing an HDMI 1.1 1080i piece to start getting at least some return on their R&D.

Kevin D.

I was told by the Rotel rep at the Rocky Mountain Audio Festival last October they were having issues with the video chip manufacturer. Seems they were not being supplied the softwear needed to utilize some of the chips to its fullest potential. I guess they at least want to offer something to offset their RD costs, so they opted to offer what they could now instead of scrapping the entire project. I doubt you will see this scaler offered for very long.