Gefen Home Theater Scaler converts standard-def to high-def

At first glance, the Gefen Home Theater Scaler looks like just another cheap Mac mini knock-off, but it's so much more than that. Assuming that it works as advertised, the HTS will upconvert your standard-definition video to high-definition, all the way up to 1080p. That means you won't have to buy a new upscaling DVD player to use with your hot HDTV. Furthermore, it also works as a video switcher between a pair of component sources and two HDMI sources, which is pretty sweet as well. The Scaler will set you back four Benjamins and is available now from the company's website.

[Via eHomeUpgrade]

[Leon Lamle @ Nov 10th 2006 9:24PM]

Hmm looks like i have a new addition to my MacMini based Media Center

[Cousin @ Nov 10th 2006 9:29PM]

So assuming this thing works as advertised, it would be able to convert the standard Wii signal to 1080p? I know it's an expensive fix for the difference in graphics, but at $650 combnied cost, it would be almost the same as the high end PS3.

[Cousin @ Nov 10th 2006 9:30PM]

edit: combined

[Eric M @ Nov 10th 2006 10:03PM]

Hmm, interesting. I wonder how this will preform next to a Lumagen or DVDO.

[caleb @ Nov 10th 2006 10:10PM]

Why would anyone buy one of these for $400? You can get a Toshiba A1 for about the same price and it plays real HD. And probably does a good job with your standard def stuff too.

[charlie @ Nov 10th 2006 10:31PM]

I dont understand these upscalers. They cant really increase the effective resolution? What value are they actually adding?

[Count Porkula @ Nov 10th 2006 11:34PM]

Good question, Charlie....I've been wondering the same thing myself. Anyone???

[jseveringhaus @ Nov 11th 2006 12:51AM]

I could be wrong, but upscaling video utilizes mathematical algorithms essentially to fill in extra resolution.

It's kind of like in movies when they get a really low resolution image of the bad guy...what do they do, enhance! So yeah, it basically takes some number of pixels and uses them to predict what would be the best fill for each pixel.

[Daniel @ Nov 11th 2006 12:57AM]

It's true that you can't actually increase the resolution, and it definitely won't look like content that is natively at that resolution. But there are various methods of resizing, some of which look better than others. For example, the resize feature in some photo-editing programs allows you to choose what algorithm it uses, and some work better than others.

So this is similar to the scaler in your HDTV or upscaling DVD player, but the idea is this scaler does a better job by using more intensive signal-processing and better algorithms. I'm sure there will be reviews available to let us know how much better it actually is.

As for using this with game consoles, one thing to keep in mind is the delay added by the scaler. I'm not saying that it will be a problem, but I would definitely find out first if you can.

[Jake @ Nov 11th 2006 12:58AM]

This seems like an idiotic waste of money. Why would the upscaler in this device be any better than the upscaler in your TV?

Huge waste of money. At least the so-called upscaling DVD players could theoretically provide an improvement since it's starting with the digital bits. Probably still a waste of cash, but it could provide some benefit.

[Skrilla @ Nov 11th 2006 12:59AM]

This is an example - if you have an HDTV and cable service with HD programming you may understand this.

If you were to watch the analog version of your local news (ex. cable channel 13) you would get it in analog (even though it does come through your digital cable box). If you switched to the HD version of the same channel (ex channel 113) you would see that the quality is much better on channel 113. Even though this is the same program, in standard definition. The 'HD' channel shows a much better picture. Perhaps this is what this device will do.

[Jake @ Nov 11th 2006 2:35AM]

Upscaling doesn't really work. It can't really work. It's magically creating more pixels that aren't already there, which is a fool's errand.

This device is for suckers.

[Rinil Boban @ Nov 11th 2006 1:16AM]

could you do similar upscaling with software?
for example, dvd upscaling with windows media player?

[Liam @ Nov 11th 2006 8:44AM]

Check out ffdshow and theatertek for MCE2005, depending on you setup this ccan be used to scale content and can also do a range of post processing. Be warned this can bring even the most high spec system to its knees! YMMV

here is a link for a good (although a little outdated) guide for noobs.

http://www.htpcnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=132&Itemid=48

[FraGGleR @ Nov 15th 2006 9:20AM]

Have you ever used an upscaling DVD player? Have you ever used a home theater computer to upscale DVD's? If you have, you know that a huge difference can be seen. Is it true HD? Of course not, but it looks pretty f'ing good if you have things setup properly, and it means that I don't have to switch to HD DVD or Bluray right away. I am interested in seeing some reviews of this product, as I have used upscaling DVD players and my HTPC. The HTPC wins hands down, but it also cost me a lot more. This could be a nice, multi source alternative for some people.

For those asking honest questions, you will not get true HD, what you will get is one company's best efforts to get you close. It should definitely look better than SD, and is probably worth it for those who have multiple sources they are trying to upscale and who do not want to build or buy a dedicated home theater computer.

Please people, if you don't understand something, don't immediately bash it and say everyone else is an ignorant fool. Guess who ends up looking like the ignorant fool?

[Aaron @ Nov 11th 2006 3:02AM]

I too have been wondering what the hell upscaling really does. Obviously you can't create something from nothing, and yeah, is a different algorithm really going to make a big diffference? I'm skeptical about all this. I'm thinking it's just a buzzword that'll disappear once everything is truly high definition.

[Jon @ Nov 11th 2006 3:16AM]

If you one track with curren products you shouldnt need anything like this. If your willing to spend this much on a single upscaling device, you should invest your money in a new AVR instead. For me......
TV-Projector (720p)
Xbox (720p)
Xbox 360 (720p)
HTPC Media Center (set to 720p)
VCR (standard 480i? def)
AVR (auto switches audio + video compoent/hdmi)
They have AVR's on the market that can upsample/pass through all analog inputs. The price is right too (same price point, maybe a few hundred more if you want something good) result? ((only one video cable to my TV-Projector)) all 720p avsforum will show you the ropes

[Matt @ Nov 11th 2006 5:29AM]

Every HDTV runs at some native resolution so it naturally has an upscaler built in to be able to handle different input resolutions. That being said, the built in upscaler may or may not work as well as this thing so some folks would certainly get some benefit from such a device. This device does include a switcher for different HDMI and Component inputs though, so it's probably not a bad deal for someone with a HDTV with limited inputs and a mediocre upscaler.

[temper @ Nov 11th 2006 8:26AM]

The need for this is pretty simple, today you can buy a lot of cheap HD TV's, the up-scalers in these are low quality ...
There is a huge market for good up scalers ... 400$ seems cheap, but is probably good enough to make that low cost HDTV really good in PQ

[Gary J @ Nov 11th 2006 12:14PM]

All you can do with upscalers is try it in your particular setup. Either it upscales better than your TV does or it does not.

[Jim @ Nov 11th 2006 12:55PM]

This is very interesting.... So could you hook your coaxial cable up to this and get "high definition" on all the channels? And i am going to assume that you would need an hdtv for this.... are those assumptions correct?

[Skrilla @ Nov 11th 2006 3:19PM]

@Jim, no you won't get HD on all your channels, just clearer SD. From what I have seen, SD programs look like crap on an HD set - unless you are watching SD on an HD channel - see my post above for an example. Another example is watching regular HBO then switching to HD HBO when they are actually showing an SD program. The same program looks much better even though it is not HD.

[Teazo @ Nov 12th 2006 5:50AM]

So this will make my atari 2600 look like a PS3 Right?

[gefen @ May 4th 2008 10:29PM]

I think the scaler is now dated as there are many new hd sources and blu ray dvd. I do like the switcher part but you can pick up hdmi switchers for a lot less money.

one is located here

http://www.htmarket.com/ext-hdmi-241n.html

this allows you to hook up blu ray player using the same input on your tv.