A follow up on bypassing the Loewe HDTV internal progressive scan doubler (1 Viewer)

[Darrel McBane]

This is a follow up to a question or should I saw Quest to bypass the internal progressive scan doubler of the Loewe sets that I asked on the thread below back on March 11th.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=56081
I ordered a AudioAuthority Model 9A62 Component to VGA transcoder http://www.audioauthority.com/aaccon.../9a62detc.html on April 4th from http://www.yourdigitalhome.com/ and was notified that it would not ship till May 1st. Ah, patients....... And on May 4th was notified that it would be delayed due to availability and then notified that yourdigitalhome.com would no longer carry AudioAuthority products.
So, I went and e-mailed another dealer of AudioAuthority products http://www.digitalconnection.com/ to find out if they indeed have one of the transcoders in stock. And was told that they did have them in stock. Yea! I ordered one Saturday the 3rd and had them ship it two day air. And low and behold it showed up today. And it actually bypasses the internal doubler. I've only had it for a few hours and calibrated with Avia. But, the Loewe does recognize the 480p signal from my Sony 9000ES and the picture looks very good. But, I have to do a comparison of the internal output of the Loewe and Sony to see if the $200 expense is worth it. The 9A62 has a component in and component out so I can run the component out from the 9A62 and back to the Loewe and use its internal doubler and switch between the two for comparison. Right now I have the VGA and a S- video connection from the Sony to the Loewe using BetterCables Silver Serpent cables.
It has taken a lot longer than I ever wanted to. But, it looks like I'm there....at least for now!

 

[Ruben Salinas Stern]

Darrel,

I was told by the dealer who sold me my Loewe Calida that you don't need a progressive scan player since the t.v.'s line doubler does it as good or better. I was also told that Loewe recommends the s-video connection as opposed to the component video connection. Also, don't you need that same transcoder to hook up a hd stb?

Rubén

 

[Darrel McBane]

Ruben,

I've been reading the manual and it also recommends using the S-video cable to the Loewe. Most progressive scan players will not display a progressive scan picture to a "normal" HD set unless you use component cables. I'm not sure why Loewe recommends a S-video cable to the Loewe because to my old eyes it just doesn't look as good a either the component to Loewe or VGA to Loewe. The Component or VGA is much more vivid and the colors are brighter. As far as a HD tuner using the transcoder. There is only one VGA connection to the Loewe so using a transcoder and DVD via the VGA connection would take some kind of switcher to select the source sent. Of course using the component from a DVD and then VGA from the HD tuner would probably be most peoples choice unless your receiver or processor has component video switching. Then the transcoder could be used or not.

I have been playing with the VGA geometry options of the Loewe. You can adjust the set much like a computer monitor. Vertical, horizontal, width and height. It's kind of cool.

 

[Darren Gross]

So, Darrel

How did the component vs progressive/vga comparison seem?

I've been contemplating such a connector and am wondering if its worth the extra moolah...

 

[Darrel McBane]

Unless your progressive scan player is very very good. I'd say let the Loewe do the work to get 480p.

I now have two transcoder boxes that are sitting in my closet. I'll keep the KeyDigital since it passes an HD signal.

 

[Ruben Salinas Stern]

Any suggestions for an hdtv stb for the Loewe? I would like to buy one but I am scared off by all the problems I've read about them. I know it has to be one with a VGA connection.

 

[Darrel McBane]

I bought a Sensory Science HD receiver at Good Guys. Originally it sold for over $1500. The first time I looked at it it was down to $799. And the salesman called me up about a month later and said it was being cleared out for $499. It is in the same family as Loewe. That is to say somehow they are a branch of the same company. It has VGA out from the receiver to the Loewe. That's why I am not using the transcoder at this time. I'm just using rabbit ears for OTA local reception. And can pick up three stations with a little tuning. I order an indoor UHF antenna about ten days ago but it hasn't arrived yet. I'm hoping it can give me most if not all of the eleven stations that broadcast HD in the Seattle area. I watched the Academy Award in HD 5.1 DD EX last Sunday night and it was beautiful. Most HD receivers have VGA I think. From What I've read Sony and Zenith are pretty much the same box. Sony has had some issues but I think the newest offerings may be less bug ridden.