My client wants to use a modest projector like the InFocus 110 and set up a theater (DVD, etc) but also has laser disc, VHS and BETA. He has a huge library of SVHS and VHS tapes. He wants the screen nearly 100", so we need some sort of processor.

Can you give me recommendations in the low to medium price range, and the features that would make them most appropriate to this install?

Thanks!
=Tom

The LS110 has Faroudja DCDi, that really is all the scaler you need for that app. There's only soo much you can do for VHS.

A scaler does not have the same effect on a DLP as it would on a CRT.

This message was edited by Brady E on 05/15/03 09:31.

A Scaler can have a tremedous impact on a DLP, LCD, or DiLA Projector. These are fixed pixel devices that must have a scaler built in to them to produce the native resolution the projector supports. Usually, the built in scaler is not so good (Especially in lower end projectors such as the 110)

A Crystal Image VS4.0 is a far superior scaler than what is built into any projector under 5k, over 5k, I suggest the Faroudja NRS series.

You mean line doublers right? Scalers simply increase the resolution to allow a NTSC picture to be displayed on a VGA resolution screen. It still looks like NTSC video....

No, he means scalers.

No, I definatly meant scalers.... I'm not sure what scalers you've had experience with, but the Faroudja NRS series improves ntsc video dramatically. True, some scalers do not improve the picture much, but a good quality one will do wonders.

I'm not sure what you qualify as being medium priced, but... the best results I have seen is by using the JVC D-VHS decks. MSRP is somewhere around $1000, but actual street price is much lower.

480i or upconverted 1080i component video seems to be a big factor in evaluating overal video quality. The picture seems to a step above what I have seen from other decks and the sync is clean and strong.

If that deck is out of the price range, then I would recommend one of the other SVHS decks from JVC. Most, if not all of their models have a defeatable vertical sync regenerator. As sync from a VCR is read from the tape, it is nice to be able to strip and overlay clean NTSC sync for poor tapes.

What I meant to say is that a JVC D-VHS deck direct to a projector gives better results than the Y/C output of a top of the line SVHS deck through even the most expensive video processor.

In fact, many line processors don't like the sync from some VHS tapes. Using an external sync regenerator or using a deck with sync regeneration built in is a must for high end scalers such as the Faroudja.

Getting back to my client - he has hundreds of VHS and SVHS tapes that he will want to play. What will improve his picture? I assumed a doubler is what he needed, but does a scaler accomplish the same thing??

Thanks!
=Tom

A "Doubler" is useless on a Fixed pixel device. In order to get the best performance, you need to match the output resolution of your device (VCR in this example) to the Native resolution of the panel (800x600 in the LS110)

A Double will give you a 480P output, which would then still need to be scaled by the internal processor, thus eliminating most(If not all of the benefit)

You need a device that will take the VCR output and turn it into 800x600.

The Crystal Image VS4.0 is my personal fav in the 2K price range. There may be cheaper ones out there, but I've no experience with them.