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Line doubler question (1 Viewer)

Michael Ipp

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 2, 2001
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56
With what applications would a line doubler be benificial (ex. DVDO iScan)?
Is it a simple as "does your tv have xxx?" ...no? ..."'then you need one"
 

JohnHN

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 20, 2000
Messages
91
The question is a little open ended. If you have, or are contemplating, a set capable of displaying a progressive image (all or nearly all digital TVs have this feature, no analog TV does), then that set probably already has a doubler built in. (Front projectors are a partial exception; some have doublers built in, others do not.) On the other hand, if your set cannot display a progressive image then there is no point in having a doubler.
So the question could be, why buy a set capable of displaying a progressive image? The answer is that the progressive image looks better: it reduces the visibility of scan lines and provides an image that looks smoother and more solid. Especially on big screen sets viewed close up, progressive rules.
Or the question could be, why bypass the set's internal doubler? The answer is that until very recently most internal doublers were not very good. I find current model Mitsubishi's almost unwatchable on film, for example. But this is changing. Product announcements indicate that, for most manufacturers, doublers will be significantly upgraded in the 2002 model year; those sets are starting to appear now and preliminary comments, for example on the new Sony XBR 450s, are very favorable.
The default recommendation has been to bypass the set's internal doubler on DVD by using the progressive output of a good progressive DVD player. The situation is a little complicated because, in the under $1000 level, the only mainstream DVD player with a doubler as good as the iScan, namely the Denon 2800 (which builds in the iScan), has a problem usually called the chroma bug. Like the rest of us, keep an eye on Secrets of Home Theater
Link Removed
for the upcoming report on their DVD player shootout.
For other (non-HDTV) sources, the recommendation has been that, if you have the money, then using something like the iScan to bypass the internal doubler for vhs tape, laserdisc, cable, etc was a good idea. But with the improved internal doublers, the benefit from the iScan will be reduced. By how much remains to be seen.
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