High end processors - impact to video quality
So i have a nice lg 4k smart tv with hdr which is nice. Most of my video comes from netflix, prime, hulu, youtube, etc thru apple 4k box, really nice. Occassional bluray disk.
so what will all the fancy video processing capabilities of a high end processor do for me? Seems like alot of hype that may not yield much improvement beyond what im getting.
I am buying a better processor moreso for improved audio.
so what will all the fancy video processing capabilities of a high end processor do for me? Seems like alot of hype that may not yield much improvement beyond what im getting.
I am buying a better processor moreso for improved audio.
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That's correct. Most separate "HT Processors" will not have any video processing. There may be some exceptions, such as Marantz/Yamaha (where their AV receivers use the same HDMI board and may have some video processing/scaling circuits). That being said, the HDMI video quality between all these devices is not equal. There may be some processors that output better quality HDMI video. It all has to do with how they engineered the HDMI board and the power supply lines. I have found my Krell S1200 has superior HDMI video quality over any other device I have tested. It's almost like a turbo boost for video. You can look at the HDMI board and see that there is a large collection of electrolytic power supply filtering caps all around the HDMI IC chips. It also has several voltage regulators on the board itself. If you compare this to a typical receiver, the receiver will NOT have any power supply filtering and all you will see on the HDMI board are the IC chips themselves (along with all the tiny SMD resistors/caps required). If a receiver/processor does advertise video processing, it is likely a basic color/tint/sharpness adjustment with possibly some noise reduction stuff. If you really want to look into video processing, check out Lumagen Radiance processors. Anyone who uses these are typically doing it for real multi-point white balance and color shade correction for the projector itself. None of the receivers will have anything like this (but it does require additional software and light meters to do the calibration). |
Get some Synergistic Research ECT, stick one or two on your current gear as indicated. These will improve video and audio about as much as spending five times the money on a component. I am not kidding. When I stuck one on my player my wife noticed immediately. Then if you want to improve the audio even more get some HFT and do the speakers and room. This will again be at least as much improvement as you will get from a more expensive component, but for less money, and they never wear out or become obsolete. Want better still? Start putting everything on Townshend Pods. Huge. Mega. Only after doing all this should you even begin to consider a component upgrade. Could prove this easily with a demo but you would have to come here for that. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 Redmond, WA. Welcome any time. |
Sorry, but I was at the Synergistic 20 minute demo at RMAF 2018. I heard absolutely no difference with the HFT High Frequency Transducers (before/after they were removed). The ECT is inconclusive to me, but all his electronics introduced some really bad hard edged harshness to me. Even though there was clearly hiss/noise, the audio actually sounded better to me with all his power conditioners and his magic electromagnetic stuff TURNED OFF. |
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@auxinput @ausaudio "An exciting evolution of the ever expanding UEF Technology engineered to balance close proximity electromagnetic fields in electronic circuits. When placed inside your components ECT's or Electronic Circuit Transducers transform ordinary electronics to the extraordinary, while elevating state-of-the-art components to unprecedented levels of refinement." "ECT's significantly improve the function of D to A chips, fuses, IC chips, vacuum tubes, capacitors, analog and digital cables and transformers. Now is your chance to experience the magic of UEF applied directly to your components and cables." - At least they told you it was "magic" right from the start. I appreciate their honesty. If these claims held any merit, every audio manufacturer of gear would be using them to enhance performance. Dump a lot of them inside a cheap DAC and see what happens. |