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Overview
The ADS HDTV UPCONVERTER was the most anticipated product
that we have seen in 2003/2004. We saw the unit at CES2004, and the demonstration
(controlled environment) was very impressive – the unit was able
to take 480i (normal NTSC picture) and upconvert the signal to 1080i.
The demonstration picture at CES appeared noticeably better upconverted.
The unit has a suggested retail of $599.
There are two types of use for this product: (1) hook-up
with a monitor that has no internal video processing; (2) hook-up with
a television that has internal video processing.
For the first configuration, we tested the unit with a simple
widescreen (16x9) HD LCD monitor. For the second configuration, we tested
the unit using a Mitsubishi 65703WS.
When we performed the field test on the first configuration,
the unit provided signal processing to enhance the native picture –
providing an “expansion” from 4x3 to 16x9 formats, and providing
picture resolution of ghosting. Unfortunately, when we performed our field
test on the second configuration, there was no discernable difference
on our test configuration between a normal NTSC cable feed through the
Mitsubishi’s digital processing and the HDTV UPCONVERTER’s
1080i “upconverted” imaged processed and fed into the HDTV
1080i input.
While the unit performed satisfactorily for pure HD Monitor
configurations, we desperately wanted this unit to shine for consumers
with HDTVs – specifically because many HDTV consumers have complained
about particularly poor picture quality when viewing some NSTC programming.
But in our test configuration we just can’t make a recommendation
for our HDTV readers.
We will continue to evaluate the technology, as ADS continues
to develop improved video input configurations (DVI and HDMI), and audio
inputs.
What It Does
The ADS HDTV UPCONVERTER (we’ll call it by the model
number: the HDUP1500) automatically takes lower resolution input signals
(i.e., the standard NTSC 480i picture) and using video processing technology
to improve the picture resolution (removes picture artifacts and ghosting)
and interpolates the image to provide at 1080i output signal.
The HDUP1500 adds as many as six times more pixels to normal
video signals. This is not the same as displaying HDTV originated content.
Only content that was created with HDTV cameras at HDTV resolutions is
true HDTV. The HDUP1500 formats the video and aspect ratio to match the
HDTV 16x9 versus 4x3 capabilities.
It should also be noted that pure HD Monitors differ from
HDTVs, in that HDTVs contain internal turners (at least NTSC and some
now contain ATSC HD tuners). The HDTVs have internal signal processors
(e.g., line doubling technology) that improve picture quality of NTSC
broadcasts, whereas HD monitors rely on an external tuner (and any picture
enhancement circuitry) to produce the picture.
Applications
The unit has nine (9) video/audio inputs [Video: 3 component,
3 S-Video, and 3 composite; audio: 9 RCA jacks]! So one positive is the
ability to connect multiple signals and output to the single HDTV 1080i
monitor input [i.e., most monitors have one or two HDTV component inputs
– with DVDs, HDTV Cable, DVR as the three primary inputs to the
monitor – you need an HDTV switcher that can handle more than two
HDTV inputs.
Installation
We opened the package and found an extra high-quality component
cable, remote control unit, power cord, and unit. The installation instructions
(basic installation) were relatively simple on how to hook-up the unit.
First problem: Surround Sound. The installation manual instructs
you to input the video from each source to one of the respective video
inputs, and connect the audio from each source to it’s respective
audio input. As noted, the audio input is strictly RCA jacks. However,
I have a DVD player with 6 output channels connected via optical cable
to my surround sound processor, and my cable (Time Warner Cable) channel
output connected via digital cable to my surround sound processor. The
HDUP1500 only has dual channel RCA inputs. This immediately created a
problem, and I was left to my own devices in hooking up the sound. As
shown in the photo, my already crowded rear connectors would need an additional
4 audio connectors/splitters to properly hookup.
Two Configurations
As noted in the introduction, there are two test configurations:
(1) Using a 16x9 widescreen LCD flat panel 720p monitor connected to the
HDUP1500 connected to the Time Warner HD tuner; and (2) Using a Mitsubishi
65703WS HDTV connected to the HDUP1500 connected to the Time Warner HD
tuner.
For the first configuration, the unit provided signal processing
of the Time Warner cable HD tuner to enhance the native picture –
providing an “expansion” from 4x3 to 16x9 formats for NTSC
pictures, and providing definite, but not dramatic, improved picture resolution
from ghosting. In all cases, no adjustments were made to the factory settings
of the HDUP1500 – but the factory settings were confirmed to be
on “AUTO”.
It should be noted that when the Time Warner cable HD tuner
was bypassed and the cable fed directly to the HDUP1500, the HDUP1500’s
NTSC turner provided virtually identical performance to the Time Warner
cable HD tuner [note: the HDUP1500 does NOT process ATSC HDTV signals
– it is NOT an HDTV tuner].
In this first configuration, the unit also provided a straight
pass-through of the HDTV 1080i ATSC signal from the Time Warner HD tuner
to the LCD HD 720p Monitor without any problem (see note below on second
configuration). NOTE: The HDTV UpConverter accepts a 1080i input and can
display the 1080i signal but only in a Pillar Box mode only (black borders
on left and right sides). The 1080i signal can be down converted to a
different resolution such as 720p and the image will fill the screen –
which it did on the 720p monitor.
For the second configuration, we compared 3 signals:
• Native 480i 75-ohm cable output from the Time Warner
cable tuner directly into Antenna B input of the 1080i Mitsubishi 65703WS.
This is the normal configuration I use for watching NTSC broadcasts. The
Mitsubishi 65703WS expands the 4x3 NTSC image to 16x9. The quality of
the image would be the “baseline” for comparison of the images
produced by the HDUP1500.
• HDUP1500#1 – This configuration takes the
native 480i S-video cable output from the Time Warner cable tuner and
inputs it into the INPUT#4 of the HDUP1500, with the 1080i component output
from the HDUP1500 to the HDTV 1080i HDTV input of the Mitsubishi 65703WS.
While on “Source 4” (S-video input) the HDUP1500 would function
to expand the image to 16x9 and to process the image to improve the picture
quality above the native 1080i.
• HDUP1500#2 – This configuration takes the
HDTV 1080i output from the Time Warner cable tuner and inputs it into
the INPUT#1 of the HDUP1500, with the 1080i component output from the
HDUP1500 to the HDTV 1080i HDTV input of the Mitsubishi 65703WS. While
on “Source 1” (component input) the HDUP1500 would function
to pass through the image in normal 16x9 1080i. This configuration is
just a simple test to ensure that the HDUP1500 can pass through the HDTV
signal without disruption.
In all cases, no adjustments were made to the factory settings
of the HDUP1500 – but the factory settings were confirmed to be
on “AUTO”. In this configuration, the unit is suppose to auto
sense the input signal and adjust as appropriate to provide the 16x9 1080i
output signal.
1. A visual qualitative evaluation was performed between
the “baseline” native 480i picture and the HDUP1500#1 configuration.
This test would confirm whether the HDUP1500 did indeed improve the picture
quality. Three test images were used: comparing sports (ESPN College basketball),
movies (HBO), and news (CNN).
In repeated comparisons, there was no discernable difference
in picture quality with or without the HDUP1500 (i.e., the “basline”
image was virtually identical to the HDUP1500 “upconverted”
image). This is attributed to the internal video processing of the Mitsubishi
65703’s line doubler and picture enhancement technology (i.e., the
HDUP1500 provided equivalent video processing to the Mitsubishi –
an important positive in the first test configuration using a pure monitor).
2. The HDUP1500#2 test produced an unacceptable picture.
As noted in the test image picture, the top 10% of the normal HDTV picture
was distorted and skewed horizontally. Also, we did confirm that while
the HDTV UpConverter accepts a 1080i input and can display the 1080i signal
– it is displayed in a “Pillar Box mode only” (black
borders on left and right sides). Regarding the skewed picture, while
it is possible that the test unit was defective, checks of the HDUP1500
indicated that the unit was functioning properly. [We have returned the
unit to the manufacturer for confirmation testing; if the unit was malfunctioning,
we have agreed to rerun the tests and republish our findings].
We then attempted to use the internal menu controls to adjust
the vertical and horizontal display (to determine if the picture interference
was adjustable). We were unable to reconcile the picture distortion; worse,
we managed to lock up (freeze) the entire unit, and had to remove power
to the unit to “reboot”.
After two hours of attempting to obtain a normal HDTV 1080i
picture from a 1080i source, we declared the test #2 a failure.
SUMMARY
The ADS HDTV UPCONVERTER should be evaluated for each of
the two configurations.
For the first configuration (720p Monitor – no video
processing), the HDUP1500 provided improved NTSC picture quality, and
expanded the picture format from 4x3 to 16x9.
For the second configuration (1080i HDTV – video processor),
the HDUP1500 failed to produce an acceptable HDTV image (1080i input to
1080i output), and failed to produce a discernable difference when “upconverting”
an NTSC signal over the typical video processing inherent to most HDTVs.
Additionally, the inability in either configuration
to handle optical, digital, and coaxial audio would result in hook-up
difficulties in systems using DVDs with 5.1 and 6.1 channel Dolby.
(Ratings for Configuration 1 : Use as video processor for monitor)
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8 / 10 |
OVERALL SCORE
74%
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- Simple as
long as you don’t adjust internal settings |
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8 / 10 |
- Simple as
long as you don’t adjust internal settings |
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8 / 10 |
- Performed
as expected |
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7 / 10 |
- No DVI, HDMI,
optical audio inputs |
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6 / 10 |
- Expensive |
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7.4 /
10 |
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For Configuration 2 (Use as video processor with existing
HDTV): We would not recommend the unit, as additional picture improvement
over typical internal video processing was not sufficient to warrant additional
expense, and the unit was unacceptable in processing 1080i pass through.
Postscript: The HDUP1500 is the first video processing unit by ADS
Tech (http://www.adstech.com). We will continue to monitor their product
line and will be looking forward to other video processing and video switching
equipment in the future.
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