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shopkins82
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Post subject: Key Digital VPHD2 vs. Marantz AVR + Epson Projector Posted: 29 Mar 2021, 18:13 |
Serious fan |
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Joined: 13 Jul 2020, 22:36 Posts: 198 Location: United States Has thanked: 1 time Been thanked: 28 times
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My player is a Marantz LV520 (D504 clone). My current signal path is as follows:
Player [Composite 480i 4:3]-> Marantz SR6011 AVR (Comb/AD/Deinterlace) [HDMI 480p 4:3]-> Epson HC4000 Projector (1080p 16:9 Scaling/Letterbox Zoom)-> Silver Ticket 128" 2.35:1 WVS AT Screen
As-is, this is the only signal path that works and allows letterbox zoom. The projector will only do letterbox zoom if fed 480p, and the AVR doesn't do letterbox zoom. It works well enough and I don't have any specific glaring complaints (no tearing, excessive noise, wonky colors, etc)... but I've been wondering for a while if an affordable stand-alone VP would yield better results? I've been watching for a deal on a VP20/30/50 for a while and haven't come across one in my price range. I passed on a Key Digital iSync HD months back and have regretted it... they've jumped up in price it seems, even higher than the DVDOs.
Right now I have an offer from a seller on Key Digital VP3HD, a predecessor to the iSync HD (same chassis) that should do everything I need (Comb/AD/Deinterlace/Scale/Letterbox Zoom) in one stop and also switch between Analog Audio, PCM/DTS, and AC3 audio (currently using both composite outputs from the player to 2 inputs on the AVR). I can grab it for $100 shipped including remote and power adapter.
I know there are some reviews from a while back on the iSync HD, but does anyone have an idea (or even gut feeling) on whether the VP3HD would be an improvement, or would it just be taking up rack space without any improvement?
Thanks in advance.
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shopkins82
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Post subject: Re: Key Digital VPHD2 vs. Marantz AVR + Epson Projector Posted: 19 Apr 2021, 22:12 |
Serious fan |
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Joined: 13 Jul 2020, 22:36 Posts: 198 Location: United States Has thanked: 1 time Been thanked: 28 times
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Such as, just so I know what to look for? If the LV520 (D504) is ~50db SNR, what's a step up without being D704 money?
I'm trying to look at all of this in the vein of something I spin once a month or so and not get roped into chasing (and paying for) a unicorn that just isn't getting used that much all because of a nostalgic interest and boredom. I don't really watch niche content, so there's nothing I can't watch on a higher quality format more easily and with less investment. I'm also fighting the fact that other improvements to my theater (mainly moving to a 128" 2.35:1 screen from a 106" 16:9 screen) is making LD even harder to continue to enjoy. And outside of moving the LD to the bedroom (60" 4K Samsung), I don't have anywhere else in the house to dedicate to a complete retro setup (CRT, '90s/2000s audio) either.
All of this is still all in the vein of enjoying the format more than enjoying the results, so I have to keep that in mind when allocating budget towards it. I pretty much set $200 as my cap for what I'd spend for a VP, so I'm going to keep that as my cap for what I'd consider spending on a player upgrade as well... which means I might stretch to $300 assuming I can net $100 from my LV520.
I've not come across anything locally (within 100 miles) and have had FBM and OfferUp notifications set for the last year or so, outside of a $200 CLD-59 which, to my knowledge, would have been pretty much identical to the LV520 (D504/604 clone) PQ wise. I do a good bit of Goodwill-ing and have NEVER come across a player, only a few discs occasionally mixed in with the Vinyl. I don't know that I want to start hitting estate sales just looking for LD... that seems like equally as big of a needle in a haystack.
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substance
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Post subject: Re: Key Digital VPHD2 vs. Marantz AVR + Epson Projector Posted: 19 Apr 2021, 23:22 |
Confirmed Padawan |
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Joined: 16 May 2009, 18:05 Posts: 3593 Location: California, USA Has thanked: 29 times Been thanked: 328 times
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shopkins82 wrote: Such as, just so I know what to look for? If the LV520 (D504) is ~50db SNR, what's a step up without being D704 money?
I'm trying to look at all of this in the vein of something I spin once a month or so and not get roped into chasing (and paying for) a unicorn that just isn't getting used that much all because of a nostalgic interest and boredom. I don't really watch niche content, so there's nothing I can't watch on a higher quality format more easily and with less investment. I'm also fighting the fact that other improvements to my theater (mainly moving to a 128" 2.35:1 screen from a 106" 16:9 screen) is making LD even harder to continue to enjoy. And outside of moving the LD to the bedroom (60" 4K Samsung), I don't have anywhere else in the house to dedicate to a complete retro setup (CRT, '90s/2000s audio) either.
All of this is still all in the vein of enjoying the format more than enjoying the results, so I have to keep that in mind when allocating budget towards it. I pretty much set $200 as my cap for what I'd spend for a VP, so I'm going to keep that as my cap for what I'd consider spending on a player upgrade as well... which means I might stretch to $300 assuming I can net $100 from my LV520.
I've not come across anything locally (within 100 miles) and have had FBM and OfferUp notifications set for the last year or so, outside of a $200 CLD-59 which, to my knowledge, would have been pretty much identical to the LV520 (D504/604 clone) PQ wise. I do a good bit of Goodwill-ing and have NEVER come across a player, only a few discs occasionally mixed in with the Vinyl. I don't know that I want to start hitting estate sales just looking for LD... that seems like equally as big of a needle in a haystack. Let me give you an example. I have a Pioneer HLD-X0, processed by a Lumagen Radiance 2144 and a Lumagen Radiance Pro 5348, all with upgraded linear power supplies and pure silver heavy shielded cables, running into a 77” Sony OLED. It is very difficult to watch an LD after watching a 4K disc or a Blu-ray on the same day, even with this setup which is difficult to top IMO. TV shows, Anime, and some demo discs look good enough but mainstream movies are barely passable. For $200, you won’t see any significant enough improvements. Back in the day, it was only a couple of dozen of us here and maybe just a handful other lurkers looking for these deals. Such that, we would know the next day who bought that cheap CLD-95 which showed up on eBay. Today there is a ton more interest. I lost count on how many Laserdisc related groups are on Facebook. Hundreds of people have notifications setup and browsing local listings daily. All that knowledge for what to look for is out here on this and few other older forums. So knowing more than the next guy to look for those niche players and video processors isn’t really in the equation anymore. You must really like this format to be in it, maybe because it’s cool? Or nostalgia? not because it is cheap or its (not) high picture quality.
_________________ Coming Soon Derman Labs Anything Of Substance
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shopkins82
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Post subject: Re: Key Digital VPHD2 vs. Marantz AVR + Epson Projector Posted: 07 May 2021, 18:52 |
Serious fan |
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Joined: 13 Jul 2020, 22:36 Posts: 198 Location: United States Has thanked: 1 time Been thanked: 28 times
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I got the Extron DSC-301 HD (along with a $4 Female RCA to BNC adapter from Amazon) earlier in the week and got it dialed in last night. It's definitely sharper in 1080p60 output than my combination of Marantz SR6011 AVR doing comb/AD/deinterlace over HDMI to my Epson 4000 projector scaling to 1080p and doing aspect ratio zoom. The added sharpness does bring out a little more noise, however.
I haven't tried letting the Extron output 480i and letting the Marantz or Epson scale from there yet, but it's on the to do list. I'm going to experiment with both as it seems the Extron's deinterlacing isn't quite as good as the Marantz, but its Comb and possibly AD seems a bit better. I'll also experiment with letting the Marantz scale all the way to 4K60... the Epson projector defaults to the panel native 1080p when it receives a 1080p signal, but having the Marantz scale to 4K60 will, in turn, let the Epson engage its 4K shift as well.
The Extron doesn't have a specific letterbox zoom mode, only FOLLOW (native) and FILL (stretch)... but it does have full range horizontal and vertical size and position adjustment with 3 savepoints. Other calibration settings are pretty basic (Brightness/Contrast/Saturation/Hue/Sharpness) but I was able to dial things in pretty easily with Video Standard so I didn't have to make any adjustments on the projector (which has been ISF calibrated with both SDR and HDR savepoints).
So, all in all, nothing magical but I will say a worthy addition for the price paid ($80 shipped) and flexible solution for anyone with a digital display that lacks aspect ratio zoom, has subpar comb filtering, or otherwise needs a flexible (if not completely full-featured, no LUT or even individual color calibration) VP.
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