Let's talk about scaling...

mastermaybe · 10-09-2007, 12:31 PM

The concept is ez enough to grasp, and i have a basic idea of how it works, but, I (and I'm sure others) have questions regarding it's workings when multiple components that "scale" are interconnected. Please assist.

I'll submit my set-up, as I'm sure it's (in respect to its basic capabilities anyways) similar to many others.

A PS3 for BD, an ONKYO 705 A/V, and a sony kds 60A3000 hdtv (1080p)....all connected via hdmi 1.3.

Alright. Firstly, I believe I'm correct that ALL the components listed above will perform scaling operations. Secondly, I realize that they may all not perform this operation with the same level of quality.

keeping that in mind, here are my questions:

1. Is it a bad idea to have multiple components scale material? For instance, lets say I insert a standard dvd into my ps3, which is correct?: the ps3, the onkyo AND the sony will all perform the operation over one another. OR will the ps3 scale it to 1080p (i believe it converts standard dvd to 1080p now?), and it will just "pass through" the onkyo and sony scaling hardware, recognizing that it has already been "upconverted"?

2. if i determine that the sony does the best scaling, do i have to route the ps3 past the onkyo (of course defeating the video switching option) to avoid signal degradation from the onkyo, or again, will it just pass-through? I'm assuming since we're talking digital here I'm okay?

3. If the above is true (the tv does the best scaling) do I (can I?) turn off the up-conversion in the ps3?

4. My tv is capable of 24 fps as is the ps3. Does this have ne thing to do with choosing which component to execute the scaling?

5. If the onkyo (I'm not sure yet) can only upscale standard dvd to 720 or 1080i, do I take it out of the loop completely and just go straight to the tv, which I'm assuming will convert EVERYTHING to 1080P (again losing the switching option!...damn!) and THEN, should the tv or ps3 perform the scaling options? I'm assuming you can turn off the scaling for all 3 of these components (including the tv as long as you presented it with a 1080P signal), so I guess I could experiment between the tv and ps3 to see which performs best?

I realize that some of these ?'s may require specific knowledge on the supplied components, but most of you guys seem to be familiar with the majority of them anyway, so i didn't bother supplying specs.

I guess in the end i want the best picture possible and it doesn't appear that they have made this process idiot proof (or at least layman proof!). It seems to me that you could easily hook components up "correctly" and never retain the best picture without some help/insight.

Last one: let's say for the sake of argument that I don't like what the onkyo does to the video. Since HD audio will only passs through hdmi, if i skip the onkyo and go right to the sony, I am sol on HD audio because there are no hdmi outputs on the tv, correct? I guess I'm hoping that the 705's video processing can be turned OFF in this case so I can retrieve the HD audio at the receiver and pass the video straight through!

thanks a boat-load guys, laugh at me if necessary-

james

mastermaybe · 10-09-2007, 12:36 PM

btw, I guess in retrospect that its irrelevant whether that onkyo converts standard dvd to 1080p as the ps3 will bring it up to 1080p and the onkyo will just let it pass through...correct?

Jeff Gatie · 10-09-2007, 01:38 PM

There is no scaling done in the above connections. It is 1080p from start to finish. Even if you started with a 1080i source, there would still be no scaling. Scaling is involved in going from one resolution to another. Going from 480p or 720p to 1080p is scaling. Going from 1080p to 720p is scaling. Going from 1080i to 1080p is deinterlacing. As far as upconverting SD DVD's I'd just let the PS3 handle it. There probably won't be much difference.

BTW, that Onkyo will pass 1080p with no problem. The 605 will also pass 1080p, but it is limited to 720p when upconverting component/s-vid/composite.

mastermaybe · 10-09-2007, 06:26 PM

what? no upscaling when you attempt to play a standard def dvd through a hi def set-up? I guess I must be really missing something somewhere. Obviously a 1080BD to a 1080p display is a non issue, but I am referring to material (broadcast tv, SDVD, etc) that is 480-720. Is upconversion a the more appropriate term to use? After looking at your post again, it seems that you got me wrong somewhere.

As for my other ?...do I have to worry about multiple components doing "rescaling" say the ps3 and the tv scaling a standard DVD? Or will the tv recognize it has already been taken care of by the ps3 (it will "see" the signal as 1080)?

Jeff Gatie · 10-09-2007, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastermaybe

what? no upscaling when you attempt to play a standard def dvd through a hi def set-up? I guess I must be really missing something somewhere. Obviously a 1080BD to a 1080p display is a non issue, but I am referring to material (broadcast tv, SDVD, etc) that is 480-720. Is upconversion a the more appropriate term to use? After looking at your post again, it seems that you got me wrong somewhere.

As for my other ?...do I have to worry about multiple components doing "rescaling" say the ps3 and the tv scaling a standard DVD? Or will the tv recognize it has already been taken care of by the ps3 (it will "see" the signal as 1080)?

No, there is upscaling when playing SD at 1080p, but I really don't think you will see any difference that will warrant going into the player setup and changing the resolution every time you want to play an SD disk. Once the SD is upscaled to 1080p, there should be no more scaling taking place in the other components. With the broadcast TV, you have to decide if you want to forego the ease of switching via the receiver with the possible better scaling in the TV. Experiment and see for yourself.

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mastermaybe · 10-10-2007, 07:45 AM

thanks for the response jeff- everything makes sense now.

james



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