DVDO iScan Ultra
Manufacturer's Description
The iScan Ultra dramatically improves the video quality of multiple source devices-- such as satellite or cable television, DVD and Laserdisc players, VCRs and game consoles-- and is compatible with DTVs and HDTVs capable of accepting 480p inputs, including most plasma and LCD displays, as well as front projectors with 480p inputs.
Utilizing Silicon Image`s award-winning DVDO PureProgressive(TM) technology, the iScan Ultra performs various advanced video-processing functions designed to maximize the home viewing experience. Like its predecessor the iScan Pro, the iScan Ultra performs state-of-the art deinterlacing and line doubling-- eliminating visible scan lines and motion artifacts for dramatically improved, near high-definition picture quality. In addition, the iScan Ultra also offers the following new video processing capabilities:
Video switching, including dual Component, S-video and Composite video inputs plus a Pass-Thru input
Precise picture control, with separate controls for each input
High-quality scaling to support widescreen 16:9 displays
Digitizing of video streams to provide a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) output
``The iScan Ultra is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to improve the quality of your home theater system while also managing multiple video sources and formats.
``The iScan Ultra dramatically improves the quality of a wide variety of standard interlaced source material and sends it in digital form to the display for the highest video quality. Even consumers with progressive-scan DVD players or TVs featuring an internal line doubler can benefit from adding an outboard progressive-scan converter such as the iScan Ultra to their home theater set-up.``
Featuring Silicon Image`s SiI(TM) 504(TM) digital video processor chip, the iScan Ultra upconverts standard-definition input video signals to high-quality progressive scan video outputs offering twice the vertical resolution. The result: smoother, enhanced-definition images without visible scan lines or motion and time-based artifacts. In contrast, scan lines, jagged edges and flicker resulting from the interlacing process are readily visible on most big-screens and front projectors rendering the same source content without the benefit of a deinterlacer.
Inputs and Outputs
Consumers are increasingly facing the challenge of managing a home entertainment system with multiple video sources and formats, and the iScan Ultra is uniquely positioned to address this growing need. The iScan Ultra processes standard interlaced NTSC/PAL/SECAM video inputs. Dual Component, S-Video and Composite inputs, as well as a Pass Thru input, provide switching capability and greater flexibility in system configuration. In addition to a 15-pin VGA output with user-selectable RGB or YPbPr formats, the iScan Ultra boasts a DVI output, which enables it to interface to the growing number of DTVs and projectors with DVI inputs. The DVI output enables the iScan Ultra to transmit an NTSC video input digitally to a DVI-compliant display, providing the highest video quality without the losses associated with an analog interface.
Advanced New Features
The iScan Ultra is packaged in a standard 17-inch rack-mount enclosure for easier system integration and cable management. Among its powerful new features is Aspect Ratio Control (ARC) scaling, with six options for displaying 4:3 images on a 16:9 TV, including full-frame, four squeeze modes and a new letterbox option that scales a 4:3 letterbox format onto a 16:9 display. The iScan Ultra also features separate picture controls for each input, including brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, luma/chroma delay adjustment, sharpness and chroma filter. The chroma filter function corrects a common problem found in many DVD players, where the chroma portion of the signal is improperly decoded from the source material, causing some of the colors to appear incorrectly on the display.
Video sources with poor timing stability, such as VCRs, can cause jittery or wavy edges on objects, bends in the sides of an image and overall image instability. The iScan Ultra`s full-frame Time Base Corrector (TBC) significantly improves overall image quality in these scenarios by removing any timing variations and irregularities from the input video image before sending it to the iScan Ultra`s progressive output.
The iScan Ultra also features multiple output controls, including a ``curtain`` adjust feature that allows cropping of the sides of a 4:3 image, and comes equipped with a remote control that mirrors the functions on the iScan Ultra`s front panel.