Video Scaler

[TheLaserdisc]

Hey,

I recently moved into a smaller place and I ran into a predicament. I had two TVs, a SDTV for my retro game consoles in Standard Def, and my HDTV for everything else. I've had to sell my SDTV due to its size, and playing SD stuff on an HDTV makes it look like crud due to HDTVs not being able to handle analog signals efficiently. Now I have read about little boxes that digitizes analog signals and upscales them (I know Upscaling does not take a SD signal and make it look as good as blu-ray), but how well does one work on something like a SNES?

Also, does anyone know of one that handles Composite, Component, and VGA up to HDMI? I don't want to create a cumbersome mess of adapters, wires and boxes to make Final Fantasy VI on SNES look good on my LCD tv.

[edDV]

Hey,

I recently moved into a smaller place and I ran into a predicament. I had two TVs, a SDTV for my retro game consoles in Standard Def, and my HDTV for everything else. I've had to sell my SDTV due to its size, and playing SD stuff on an HDTV makes it look like crud due to HDTVs not being able to handle analog signals efficiently. Now I have read about little boxes that digitizes analog signals and upscales them (I know Upscaling does not take a SD signal and make it look as good as blu-ray), but how well does one work on something like a SNES?

Also, does anyone know of one that handles Composite, Component, and VGA up to HDMI? I don't want to create a cumbersome mess of adapters, wires and boxes to make Final Fantasy VI on SNES look good on my LCD tv.

What is your HDTV?

The cheap HDTV sets compromise on analog input processing and scaling. Good external scalers are very expensive targeted at high end projectors. Your best choice may be to upgrade your HDTV to a newer and higher range model.

[TheLaserdisc]

Mine is a vizio 30 inch LCD Widescreen.

[edDV]

Mine is a vizio 30 inch LCD Widescreen.

I have two Vizios. They are great for the price for QAM/ATSC tuned or HDMI source but mine (1-2 yrs old) not so good for analog in*. VGA isn't too bad. Try that driven at native resolution. Or feed it HDMI.


* but they both accept analog PAL and other 50i/50p source.

[TheLaserdisc]

VGA isn't bad, I play my dreamcast through it, I just want the option of upscaling VGA, Composite, and Component.

I can do it with a SCART to HDMI box, and a scart switch box connected to the upscaler, with Composite and component adapters in the switch box, I just want it all together in one device.

[jagabo]

Your TV upscales any SD signals sent to it. The question is whether an external scaler will work better than the TV's scaler. That probably won't happen until you get to more expensive scalers. I haven't seen any that have inputs for Composite, Component, and VGA all in one device.

[TheLaserdisc]

I've seen them with component and VGA together, just not all three.