i've been looking for a trickery device for my Pioneer CLD-R7G laserdisc player.
i looked up all threads here and didn't find any good info.

I'm interested in an upscaler DVDO iSCAN VP50 or the linedoubler DVDO iSCAN PRO.
would it be a good investment for my crt tv buying one of these two DVDO's?

I know PRO device is a lot cheaper to buy and probably a much older gadget than VP50.
what do you recommend me to buy?
VP50 or PRO gadget?
do you recommend any of these two toys at all?

I'm only using a crt tv for laserdisc viewing, am i going to see any picture improvment with one of these DVDO's?
i don't have any knowledge about VP50 or PRO, i apprechiate if you explain to me in a few words what these do for improvment?
what does an upscaler do?
is this correct: A linedoubler gives the twice X of lines for sharper and more detailed tv image?

the Pioneer CLD-R7G has a 3D combfilter, the combfilter on both DVDO's are these combfilters inferior to my Pioneer R7G?

i apprechiate your honest feedback coz i don't wanna waste my money on crap if i don't get any better pic quality on my crt tv

thanks

A "line doubler" only de-interlaces, to give a progressive scan image. So 480i becomes 480p, and not much else.

As far as the R7G in regards to these devices, I don't think any comb filter will help the R7G better than the R7G's own filter. I had an R7G for many years, and not even the superb 3D comb filter in my Sony WEGA cleaned up its image better than the internal R7G filter. So I hardly ever used the composite output from the R7G.

Especially since I believe that most of DVDO's scalers/de-interlacers only have 2D comb filters. I had a DVDO IScan Plus, and the 2D comb filter was meh.

If you're using an SD CRT, there's no need for a scaler at all as the displayed image is 480i, which matches Laserdisc perfectly. A scaler/video processor can do the following:

* Deinterlace video in order to display it on a progressive scan display.
* Upscale or downscale the signal to a certain resolution.
* Adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, color gain/offset etc.

And lots of other things depending on what you've got. The DVDO units have excellent deinterlacing and decent scaling, but their comb filters aren't very good. A DVDO iScan VP50 with ABT installment would give great results with a CLD-R7G if you're using an HDTV. I've used a DVDO Edge and was quite satisfied with it.

EDIT: Elahrairrah was first.

thank you both for quick replies.

so what you're both saying, for my 90's old skool non HD crt tv it would be unnecessary to hook up a DVDO iScan Pro or the iScan DVDO VP50
if i get a projo would there be a good thing to invest in a DVDO?

Incorrect!!! Line doubler does exactly what its name imply. It bob and weaves two following fields into one frame.

De-interlacer analyzes multiple fields and match them with the correct field. Sometimes matching fields do not follow each other, this is called bad edit. When a match can't be found then weaves two most appropriate fields.

Adaptive deinterlacers can match fields like regular deinterlacer and when a match isn't found, it uses interpolation on the most appropriate field to match the other perfectly. The quality depands on interpolation ability. This is most needed if there is plenty of bad edits or video based material.

Video based material is not converted from 24 frame into 60 (3:2 pull down) like film based material. Each field is unique on its own. It is impossible to match it to any other field so constant interpolation is needed. Regular deinterlacers and line doublers don't have this ability and result extereme combing.

Scaling is adding artificial resolution to increase the resolution. Again here interpolation is happening. Some scalars can detact diagonal edges(which is the most difficult) and do better. Some are poor and cause stair case effect. Some scalars incorrectly scale chroma around detail and cause ringing(halos).

Iscan pro is a deinterlacer but not adaptive. It will do a fine job on good mastered film material but comb on bad edits and video(think cgi scenes in films)

Vp50 is an excellent adaptive deinterlacer. It can apply deinterlacing to 1080i correctly too. Vp30 with abt102 is adaptive for only sd resolutions.

All dvdo products(except edge and duo) use former philips saa type 2d 4 line comb filters. You should use svideo from your r7g.

Vp50 and vp50pro has the best deinterlacers to date acing all benchmarks. Vp50pro has noise reduction and edge enhancement functions. Also hdmi1.3 so it would pass hd codecs if you hook up a bluray player to it. Edge and duo dropped some deinterlacing modes but still equal in performance.

Dvdo scaling is aggressive and cause the most ringing out of all vps. Vp50pro has edge enhancement feature and can be set negative values which compensate this to an extend.

Will a scaler adjust for the picture being on a 16:9 tv?

Many scalers do have some kind of zoom feature so yes.

Hmm. I guess I was wondering if there was a way to adjust it without ruining the image. I use the "panoramic" setting, which to my eyes is less offensive than the zoom and wide features and doesn't seem to be cutting off the image.

If you're using a modern display then I'd highly recommend you to look for a scaler. Most DVDO units from 2005-2009 will give you much better results with LD than any built in scalers on the HDTVs today. Not only with zoom but in terms of pretty much everything... Sharpness, colors, overall stability, deinterlacing etc.

Thanks for the advice nissling. I've been in a "ignorance is bliss" situation. Definitely enjoying watching lds and don't have too many complaints about the picture, but I also don't know any better.

I notice that some HDTVs over the last few years don't even have zoom modes. I mean my 32" LCD is a cheap model from 2009 but it offers only 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratio modes, both modes are annoying for watching non-anamorphic letterbox/widescreen Laserdiscs on.

That's a major reason why I got a DVDo iScanHD+ because it has loads of customization for adjusting the aspect ratios.

In general external video processing equipment isn't so critical with SD 4:3 CRTs. It's a lot more important for projectors, LCD/LEDs, plasmas and maybe also for 16:9 HD CRTs.

What's the reliability like on these? Just wondering if there are negatives to picking up a used DVDO versus biting the bullet and buying a newer unit.

My DVDO Edge isn't working any more (turns on but doesn't any response from the remote and after two minutes it turns off again). Other than that I haven't heard of any malfunctions.

I just purchased a tvONE video to HDMI scaler (1T-VS-622). It's a little pricey at $335, but I found someone selling a new one tonight on ebay for only $99. Once I get it, I'll check back in to let you know of my findings. Currently, I have a pretty nice 55" Samsung HDTV that I bought in 2010. It has a single S-Vid connection, but the upscaling is fairly poor. It's 'blocky' and colors are smudged. Not worth my time for my LD's. Hopefully, the tvONE does a much better job. If so, I'll be hooking it up to my theater room.