1. Posted: Oct 4 2007

   Here's the short review. This unit scales video inputs to a desired video output size/format. That's pretty much it. No other real processing going on. Very simple. Yet it works very well. The slightly longer version: This unit is the most basic of DVDO's line and is appropriate for people who have an HDTV and simply want to scale their video sources up to the native size of their display. It can also serve as a nice "hub" for your components as it does have automatic switching between components (should you want it to automatically flip over to the DVD input when the DVD player is turned on and flip back to TV when turned off). It even has a few test patterns built in to help you calibrate your TV. But this is essentially a scaler (or "line doubler" if you prefer). Inputs can be: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, or 1080p. All can be 4:3 or 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratio Outputs can be virtually any of the above (except 480i) and can be "stretched" horizontally and vertically to fit the screen. Much of this can also be handled automatically with only some fine tuning/tweaking done by the user when necessary. This is a very straightforward unit and doesn't have many bells and whistles. It scales video quite well, and will help you avoid the "jaggies" and "stair-stepped" edges of video and will even clean up such errors a little when coming directly from the source. The target market is for people who want a better scaling device than the chip built into most TV sets and "upscaling" DVD players. All you do is set the video source to output in the format's native resolution, set the DVDO to scale all inputs to your TV/display's own native output resolution (you'll have to look in the manual or spec sheet), and the DVDO handles the rest. If you don't use this technique, the scaler inside your TV (or, God forbid, your $100 DVD player) will scale it itself. The difference is that this unit uses better chips and costs $900, whereas your TV and DVD player use built-in chips that probably run $20 or so to do a much poorer job (ther are exceptions). For those who are interested, the DVD specification is for 480i, not 480p. Thus, if you have purchased this DVDO unit, you have no incentive whatsoever to purchase an "upscaling" DVD player as this unit does exactly that, and will do it better than all but the most high-end DVD players. Nothing will make your DVDs look like "high def," but to get the most out of existing material, this is one of the best ways to go. Also, do not purchase this unit unless you have an HDTV or a display capable of outputting more than 480i resolution. Putting this box on a large standard definition display will not help it look any better. To sum up, get this unit if you want the least expensive external solution to upscaling your video sources to your display's native size. It'll do a better job than all but the most high-end sources. It's good, but a bit pricey for what it does. It's solid construction from a well respected name in the industry. Get this if you're planning on moving up market a bit in your components, but aren't ready to spend $10k on a whole new system.

See all reviews...