Introduction Anchor Bay Technologies, makers of DVDO system products offers a full line of video processors that deliver great performance at extremely competitive prices. Last year, I gave the company’s second from top-of-the-line processor, the iScan VP30, very high marks for the price performance ratio with really only one serious caveat or downside, which was how it handled de-interlacing of 1080i HDTV sources. Since then, I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of their latest flagship processor, the iScan VP50, which purportedly solved the above issue. I have now been living with the VP50 in my system for about a month, have used it with several 1080p resolution projectors, and have it driving my reference Samsung SP-H710AE one-chip DLP projector. Anchor Bay’s VP50 is an extremely impressive video processor in terms of video performance and system set-up flexibility. Some might suggest that, at $2,995, a VP50 is probably overkill for most consumer TVs like DLP and LCoS ...

Introduction Home theater enthusiasts have long known about the need for video calibration. For years, the Imaging Science Foundation has trained professionals to return your set to the standards that filmmakers and broadcast companies expect. Yet the average consumer sometimes might ask why there is a need for video calibration at all. Why don’t video companies with vast resources set the latest and greatest HDTVs correctly at the factory? While most manufacturers have improved their picture quality since the ISF and Joe Kane made us all aware of the necessity for calibrating our monitors, most HDTVs still need calibration out of the box. They are usually set up to deliver the most “impressive” image, not the most accurate. Imagine that you are trying to sell HDTVs under the giant sodium lights at Costco, not in the light-controlled rooms of a high-end custom integrator – you might bump the brightness a little to move some boxes, ...

Introduction In the last year, I took on the costly and often frustrating process of adding on 850 square feet to my relatively small 1,500-square-foot 1959 “post and beam” home in Los Angeles. The process amazingly and unexpectedly included no less than $75,000 in cement to make sure a modest two-story addition wouldn’t come crumbling down if, or should I say when, the Earth starts a-rocking and rolling. The overall design of the addition features a master bedroom and master bath cantilevered over a light-controlled, purpose-built, stadium seating-based theater with a 16x9 screen from Stewart, fabric walls, acoustical treatments from RPG and beyond. While working on the design of my theater with Beverly Hills-based installation and design firm Simply Home Entertainment, I sold off my trusty JVC Professional DLA-HS2U projector, tore out my existing theater in what was always supposed to be my living room and headed toward what I would call the Dark Ages ...

Introduction DVDO burst onto the home theater scene in the late 1990s with a 480p video processor, shocking manufacturers and consumers alike with a $599 list price point. The surprise was not so much the low price, but the fact that it produced awesome pictures for so little money. Only a few years before that, good 480p video processing, or what we used to call “line doubling,” from Faroudja’s venerable LD-100 carried a list price of $15,000. Since then, the company has continued to put out head-turning video processing products that remain the best bang for the buck in the home theater industry. Enter the VP30 with a list price of $1,999, with a virtual plethora of useful features and near state-of-the-art video performance. Many of you might be wondering why I would need a video processor anyway. There are a number of different reasons you might want a product like the DVDO VP30. One is ...

Introduction I think Ferris Bueller said it best when he said, “Life moves pretty fast.” I must admit, Ferris’ statement was a bit lost on my then young ears; however, more than a decade later, his words ring true. Especially when it comes to the world of consumer electronics. It seems like just the other day I was being sold on EDTV technology and insanely long runs of component cable. High definition was just a dream that was still years away. Then the days of yore turned into yesterday and high definition was no longer just a dream. It was a whole different animal, a beast really, and it was now walking among us. All of a sudden, my once state-of-the-art system was nothing more than a really expensive picture frame. Well, I upgraded and joined the HD revolution. I bought the plasma. I got the digital cable. And with my trusty component cables ...