Re: External Scaler - Justified?

I think it's mostly about input signal resolution (source first!), not output resolution . I don't think any scaler will improve picture quality, given that current native DVD resolution is 480/576. Until we get HD DVD and TV, I do not think we will see picture quality improve, necessarily.

With many displays now using 720/1080, etc., we can see differences in the quality of scaler implementation, from external scalers e.g. Lumagen, to those found in the displays themselves. Having experienced the DVD5, I'm quietly confident that Naim will excel in the implementation of their internal (I don't think it's external) scaler.

Would a 480 DVD signal, input through a DVD5 with scaler, into a 720p display be better than a 480 DVD signal, input through a DVD5 with no scaler, into a 480p display? My money is currently on "No", but am willing to be shown different.

cchua1,

The output of the DVD5 is standard, not HD. 720p, 1080i and 1080p are all HD by definition. DVD is a standard definition medium. The DVD5 gives out interlaced or progressive standard pictures only. The scaler (which will be internal) will upscale the standard definition picture of the DVDs to HD - i.e. 720p (which is the minimum definiton for HD) or better. I believe it is meant to be able to take one external input too, to upscale one other source.

Mark, the reports I've heard have been that upscaling makes a dramatic improvement in picture quality, even though it's just guesswork. That said, the size of the display makes a difference of course, since smaller displays won't show the difference that clearly. A large display, such as a 50 inch plasma or a projector, will show the difference quite a bit.

Then again, we played a good DVD player (Arcam FMJ) into the new Sim2 C3X projector all on standard quality on Sunday. Batman Begins was awesome...

Hi Frank, yes I've heard similar, that scaling helps to improve quality with the larger screen sizes, and this makes sense. My current experience is limited to 42" and the occasional 50" plasma, and results have varied. At appropriate viewing distances, to my own eyes, the EDTV (480/576) did not have some artifacts that some of the larger resolution screens had, and seemed crisper in many circumstances. I'm sure this was in part due to setup, but there was not the "Wow! Look how much better that is!" effect. Certainly, as you move closer, pixelation is more apparent with the EDTV displays.

With a good setup and appropriate viewing distance, I think many would be hard-pressed to see a difference while watching a film, but this is just MHO. I don't know what the formula is for determining ideal screen viewing distance based on screen size and screen resolution, such that pixelation is not apparent and scaling artifacts are minimized, but I'm sure there's one out there somewhere!

Deinterlacers can make a world of difference - of course this is a case of source first, so if you get your source to look better through smarter processing, your end result will also be more pleasing.

regarding scalers, if you have photoshop, you can get an idea of what scaling is about by trying different ways of resizing an image - compare a resize with nearest neighbour to one with bicubic interpolation, and you'll have a pretty idea of what scaling can do. My (limited) understanding of things video leads me to believe motion is taken into account in the scaling / sharpening algorithmics of good scalers, and that the programming / processing power in good scalers warrants the added cost over that 3 cent chip that takes care of things in your Plasma - since if you've got an HD display, you're upscaling your DVD source anyway, if you don't have one, you could be as well depending on the resolution of the display, and if you watch TV, even in HD, you're going to be deinterlacing at some point.

I see that you can get AV processors now that have HDMI switching and internal upscaling too. Here is my question.....if you put a satellite TV signal in through it (ie Sky) would it upscale that to a "better" picture as it would a DVD?

Sorry if I am barking up the wrong tree by the way!!

Sony DVD players have progressive scan, HDIM interface and, up-scaling built-in. They work well for 200 dollars (canadian)