JC,
I’ve been using a DVDO VP-50 for over a year now and am waiting for the Pro model to show up in the mail (I bought it through DVDO’s upgrade program).
I originally bought the VP-50 for use in a constant image height set up and at that time, there were no projectors on the market that would do the required vertical stretch of HDMI input signals. Currently, there are several projectors that will perform the V-stretch, so the need for the scaler is less. I also use and SDI modified DVD player, so that is also where the scaler comes into play.
If I were starting from scratch, knowing what I know now, I do not think a scaler would be on my shopping list. Here’s why…
- HD DVD and BR looks so good, there is no need at all for an external VP. There is very little a VP can do for these formats that will make much of a difference.
- The newest batch of receivers and pre/pros have great internal VP’s (Reon and ABT), so again, little need for a stand alone VP.
- The newest SD/DVD players with HDMI / 480i output is so good, there’s no need for SDI output, so again, little need for a stand alone VP with SDI input.
- The new receivers have numerous HDMI and other inputs, so again, little need for a stand alone VP to use a switcher.
- No stand alone VP has noise reduction that can compete with Algolith’s Mosquito for compressed video. If you want NR, just buy the Mosquito.
There are reasons to buy a VP, such as….
Independent video input profiles for each source.
Independent video input calibration (limited to the VP).
Lip Sync is generally improved and can be set differently for each source.
Cutting edge deinterlacing and scaling (which MAY be better than your display or receiver, but MAY NOT be)
Considering the pro’s / con’s, if I was not already financially committed, to the DVDO with their generous upgrade program, I would not have ordered the Pro. I would have either sold the VP, or possibly ordered the Lumagen Radiance XD, or would wait to see how the new Cary Cinema 11v pans out.
The Radiance is limited to HDMI 1.1, but you don’t really need 1.3 if your sources decodes the new HD audio codec’s and sends your audio processor M-channel PCM. It then becomes a debate to what does a better job at this; the receiver or the player. But if 1.3 is important to you, the Radiance was designed to be easily upgraded to 1.3. The Radiance also has a gamut of calibration adjustments including grey scale, the DVDO does not.
The Cary Cinema 11v is very interesting. It is HDMI 1.3, has similar calibration functions as the Radiance, but they are using a Faroudja chip which I find odd. Faroudja is outdated and have not come out with anything worth a darn in years. Only time will tell how well this new chip of theirs works. I am also very interested in how well this unit plays with its matched Pre / Pro, the cinema 11a. Apparently, the 11v does all the audio decoding and sends it as M-channel PCM to the 11a via Cary’s proprietary link (similar to the Denon I-link).
Another VP that is not out yet, but only being designed is the Lumagen Radiance Pro. It will have HDMI 1.3, an LCD screen and SDI inputs (the XD has no SDI). They do not expect this to be out before late 08.
So I reckon you ought to jot down your reasons why you want to use an external VP and go from there. It may just be a “want”, and not a “need”, and there's nothing wrong with that!
