You can definitely do better for the price. You can just not use a scaler and buy a good TV in the first place.

There are people who WILL NOT watch stuff without a scaler. Period. Those people will think it’s a deal. People who saved $200 by not buying a Sony will be thrilled at the value in a box for twice that to add the features they should have had in the first place.

Are you comparing the output of a scaler dealing with an analog image to the quality of a DVD player with HD output? That’s totally apples to oranges. Internal upconversion from a PS3 etc isn’t ever seeing an analog signal. It’s creating a progressive scan upconverted image internally, digitally, as part of its MPEG decoding. No external scaler on Earth of any price or quality can compete.

Is this able to mask Japanese subtitles that are in the black bars?

I am not aware of any feature like this, however I did not spend time with it in that regard.
Maybe it is possible to setup a mask of that kind, but I am not sure.

If you really want to know maybe check out the discord community (yeah I know... not to my liking as well) but there are some rather helpful chaps out there.
https://discord.com/invite/jE6deAhjCM

Cheers,
Markus

There is a far cheaper device to do that.

It's called "A piece of cardboard".

Haven’t you heard? If it isn’t digital it isn’t real.

There’s an even cheaper method, don’t buy the Japanese version of the LD.

I'm curious, what do you think about simply using the upscaler on the Marantz?
I ask because I have a similar setup, a CLD-2950 player + Denon AVR-2113. Denons are basically the same thing without the brand tax (same company, same insides). On my Denon, the upscaler seems to do a pretty good job at removing dot crawl on NTSC discs...

Hey zyrobs,

my Marantz SR6014 would be the equivalent to the Denon AVR-X4500H.
So I am not aware if or what type of comb filter exactly the 2113 is using. I know that the SR6014/X4500H do have a 3D-Comb-Filter.
From what I did find on the internet the 2113 is using a 3D-Comb-Filter as well, but it is hard to find the exact used model of chip.

So my comparison is the SR6014 3D-Comb-Filter to the RT4K 3D-Comb-Filter which I did use before getting the RT4K.

My experience is:
Yes, the RT4K does give you a better picture overall.

Is it better in a way that would validate buying the RT4K for the comb filter alone?
No. Absolutely not.

If you are just going for a good pictures that is easy on the eyes the 3D-Comb-Filter in your 2133 will be absolutely fine.

However for me the additional features of the RT4K are worth the upgrade if you got the cash to burn.
There are many different features to improve the viewing experience like aspect ratio changes with a single press of button, favorites etc.

In case you are a bit crazy like me: Go for it!

If you just want to enjoy a LD, your AV will do a hell of a job.

Cheers,
Markus

Hello,
I just set up my new system in our new house.
This is what I have:
Pioneer LD-S9
Retrotink 4K
Marantz SR6015 AVR
Sony Bravia 8 K-77xr80

I've been playing around with the rt4k for a while, but I'm not convinced I'm using the correct settings
in the advanced settings menu. There is so much to adjust!

So, I was wondering if anyone has set up a good universal profile on the rt4k for laserdiscs?
Thank you!
D.

Finally Forced into an Upgrade to a 4K HDM last year... the model i could Afford being a SAMSUNG 47" without provisions for Analog Video proc.

That in Mind; i ponied up for a RETROTINK 5X soon as i was able to, and, to my Admittedly Crappy, Non-Videophile eyes, it looks Plenty Good.

i Just Finished a Big, Exausting Move; i'll have to get round to taking some example Photos...

Hey David,
I could provide you with my profiles, but that will not help you.
Best thing for me was to start with the provided profile for Laserdisc and worked my way from there.
This video (although it is describing the process for VHS) did help me to get started into the details:

... okay I did search for the video and I am not able to find it anymore.
Got this instead, which is way less detailed but might help get you started as well:



Glad you are happy with your result, tasuke!

Cheers,
Markus

Looks like the Retrotink 4K has a good bit of combing/aliasing, but I guess one can't be too picky considering IVTCing analog video isn't its main purpose. I've had pretty good results with DVDO scalers, but of course those only go up to 1080p.

Glad I wasn’t the only one thinking that! I’m sure a DVDO Duo or similar is still likely the best and most cost effective way to go for a projection based setup or 4K OLED TV that lacks a composite input, I’m not sure the lack of 4K output is a problem either as to my eyes SD video from both LD & DVD seem to look better at 1080P rather than the 4K setting when using the Lumagen R2144.

Can 100% confirm this issue. Did take a lot of tuning / try & error to find some settings with minimal aliasing issues.
Btw: The 3D Comb Filter did get added in a later release (the video was done beforehand).

Nervertheless: You need to spend some time with it to get a good / great picture.