Is it possible to improve stretch modes on RPTV? (1 Viewer)

[Heath_E]

I have a Hitachi 53SWX01W, 53" 16:9 RPTV, and the stretch modes for 4:3 material suck. Can this be improved, perhaps with external processing? Is the current poor performance a limitation of the internal processing, or is it a limitation of the display, such as the crt tubes, screen etc...?

 

[Sean M]

You can use a scaler to process your sources and then feed a single HD resolution into the TV. This is not an inexpensive solution however, as most scalers with strecth modes run from $800 - $1000 and up. If you don't mind using a PC, then you can use the Holograph 3D II board and HD Aux input card in a HTPC for under a $1000. The Focus Enhancements Center Stage HD and the Lumagen Vision are two other sub-$1000 scaling solutions to investigate, but I don't recall whether either of them have stretch capabilities. I don't believe that either of them will take any input other than 480i in, perhaps 480p max. The Holograph will take anything up to 1080i.

 

[Heath_E]

Where can I find this Holograph 3D II? I assume this board does the scaling and stretching onboard?

 

[Tod Golden]

I am unable to post URLs but you get my drift. Try digitalconnection.com and look under video cards.

 

[Sean M]

It does do scaling and a non linear stretch onboard. Try www.immersiveinc.com, they are the company that makes the board. Their forum is full of excellent info on the board. You can get them from digitalconnection.com as listed above or through avscience.com.