I was investigating that possibility too.
Very short answer: no.
Short answer: yes, but doesn't worth it.
Long answer: depends on the device what you can extract from it.
For example, the Sony SAU-500MN has 3 three main ICs. (And SAU-300MN too - but i don't have that one to confirm, but these two seem very very similar, if not the same).
Simplified: one for MUSE audio, one for MUSE processing, one for HD->NTSC format conversion (zoom/wide/full) and downscaling (1 NTSC line is produced using 5 neighboring lines from the MUSE signal).
From the MUSE signal processor IC (CXD2020) to the NTSC format conversion IC (CXD2021) the luminance and chrominance signals are transmitted via two 8-bit digital channels. This one chroma signal contains both B/R multiplexed. So you would need to build some custom signal processing to make it into a HD component signal. It is not impossible, but requires probably lots of effort and additional devices. Doesn't really worth it unless you enjoy hacking with it, it's much easier to get a MUSE decoder with HD component output. Also the "quality of decoding" is lower in M-N converters, because in order to save costs some image processing were omitted (e.g. anti-aliasing, and interpolation only in the same field to save VRAM, possibly losing some horizontal resolution too), which may be OK for the final NTSC output on an SD display, but maybe noticeable when using a HD signal with HD display. So even if you manage to convert the Y+C output of the CXD2020 into something useful, you'll possibly get a lower quality (due to the lack of some post processing/filtering) image than from a "real" MUSE decoder.
Possibly this is (partly) true for M-N converters made by other manufacturers too.
An easy thing to try is to get the SD component signal before the NTSC encoder IC (CXA1219). It's still SD but can be a bit better than NTSC. Maybe also doesn't worth hacking with it.
drecksoft wrote:
One thing that would be interesting to me: Is it possible to get the HD component signal out of a MUSE - NTSC Converter? I have one but of course I would like to get a HD signal (once I find a Hi-Vision LD for a decent price). If it is a two-step process - first decoding, then downsampling - it could be possible.