As you all know, I receintly aquired a shiny new VP50 Pro. Out of the box, it was
not bad, but I wondered what all the hype was about. After updating the firmware, and doing some tweaking, I think I am realy going to like this. I have watched a couple LDs, and one non-anamorpic DVD. Star wars THX remaster was disapointing, but that could have been the source, or the disc itself
I popped in True Lies
dts LD and was starting to see why I needed one. It was when I watced the Non-Anamorphic DVD "The Abyss" that I truely appreciated my VP50 Pro. For the first time, I was able to watch this disc. I tried to use the scaler in my Pioneer Elite AVR, but it wouldn't help the aspect ratio, or window boxing, problem. With the Iscan, I can adjust the output resolution to mtch my screen, and adjust the image size accordingly. The image was clear, and sharp even within about 3' of my 65" DLP. I can only imagine what will happen with the image on a MUCH larger screen with a 9" CRT
So, as it stands, I can use my LD player for LD, and non anamorphic DVD. As the non-anamorphic DVDs I have were not exactly money makers for the studios, I doubt I will ever see an Aanmorphic release.
Audio:
The Iscan VP50 Pro has 4 digital inputs ( 2 Toslink, and 2 S/PDIF with one each output. ) Aparently, it will not transcode digital audio in to the HDMI output ( I haven't checked since the firmware upgrade ) but is designed to handle the new audio formats hinting at a possible firmware upgrade to allow that. As it stands, my HD DVD collection goes through as PCM, as I don't have a next gen decoder in my AVR ( Upgrade time? Anyone want a VSX 82TXH?
)
I did have an issue with updating the firmware and thought I had bricked my VP50 already
After checking the AVS forum, and bouncing a few emails back to Anchor Bay, I now have a fully functioning VP50 Pro again, and am contemplating upgrading the firmware to the 1.4 beta that is out.
I post back some more observations as I settle in and get more use out of it.
j