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Question about video scalers

I recently purchased a Sony Bravia 40" lcd television and am less than thrilled at the quality of some standard definition material. Our previous CRT display, a 32" hdtv Hitachi Ultravision, actually looked better to me than the Sony and looked great on all programming, hdtv or standard. The Sony looked better than anything else in the store on hdtv, but the inhome experience lacks a bit on standard def. I'm sure a big part of it is that the larger screen magnifies source quality discrepancies. So, my question is, how well do video upscalers work and how much does one have to spend to get acceptable quality? I see everything from $300 units to $5k or more Runcos. Any tips or where to purchase and what to look for? FWIW, cable service delivered through an Atlanta Scientific Explorer 8300hd box/dvr connected via component inputs. I've got a HDMI cable on the way.
photon46

Showing 2 responses by rysa4

rysa4
266 posts
 
Well. Whats happening is that Standard def material is being upscaled to fit a higher resolution fixed pixel display. Upscaling is technically difficult and a quality scaler DOES make a difference; however, you cannot create a picture better than the original source resolution.

Bottom line- The scaler in the Sony LCD is not the best. If you intend to watch a fair amount of SD material, try a video scaler; I belive your result will improve. It IS the scaler in the display that makes a difference.

Also, your box will likely have resolution options--in theory it should be set to the resolution of the display. Try all options though and combinations and see what happpens.
rysa4
266 posts
 
T_bone's last sentence hits the nail on the head concisely and accurately.
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