[mythtv-users] Myth scaling/deinterlacing vs Faroudja

[Yeechang Lee]

Louie Ilievski <loudawg at comcast.net> says:
> Hi all, I recently purchased the Westinghouse 42" 1080p monitor
> recently mentioned in the lists, and am finally taking my first
> steps into the world of HD.

Welcome. You join me, Jarod, and at least a couple of other people on
the list as a member of the Westinghouse LCD club.

> I am wondering what, in your opinions, the best output resolution
> would be to drive the monitor?  The Faroudja chip that comes in this
> monitor seems to be talked about very highly.  I would imagine it
> does a better job of scaling and deinterlacing than the methods in
> Mythtv.

Not in my experience.

My LVM-37W1 (and unlike the LVM-37W3) has the same Genesis Faroudja
descaler that the LVM-42W2 does. Get thee hence to
<URL:http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/203862#203862>
for details on my setup. In my experience, 59.94p+Bob+'OpenGL vertical
sync for timing' is slightly, but noticeably, better than
59.94i+Kernel+No OpenGL.

> Also, I was thinking about the fact that different recordings will
> have different resolutions....some shows in 720p, some in 1080i, and
> of course there's then just my SD stuff as well.  Is there a way to
> have the output resolution change according to the material being
> played?

Yes; look at Setup|Appearance|Video Mode Settings|Separate video modes
for GUI and TV playback.

That said, again, having MythTV handle the upscaling results in a
better experience. For example, I just tried watching a SD recording
with and without putting in 720x480/800x600 in the above settings
screen; in both setups the picture was grainy (there's only so much
that can be done with analog-cable SD video, after all), but the
MythTV-upscaled picture was solid while the TV-upscaled picture
occasionally vibrated up and down. Having MythTV do the scaling also
means that a) there's only one set of
brightness/contrast/backlight/etc. controls to set, and b) there's
also no delay from the TV having to switch to another mode.

Lastly, let me repeat what I wrote in the above-mentioned post:

    With the above settings, I get what I can only describe as jaw
    droppingly-good video output on my 37" panel.

The video you will get once you have everything set up as I describe
it will be so, so, so astoundingly good that grown men will weep
tears and children will rejoice.

-- 
Yeechang Lee <ylee at pobox.com> | +1 650 776 7763 | San Francisco CA US