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Topic: Please Recommend Processor(s) to Scale DVDs to 1080p
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Joined: Jun 25, 2020
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I need advice deciding between two schemes for deinterlacing and scaling 480 content to achieve the best results affordable on a late model 1080p 50" plasma TV.

My collection of movies and TV series is sizable but only 30-odd movies and one TV series are on 1080p BD. The rest are on DVD, though pressed from Warners, Sony, Universal, Fox, CBS/Paramount, Studio Canal, et al.

Rather than my Oppo 95 or Pioneer LX500 players, I'd rather use the BD drive in the HTPC that I want to build-outputting the video via HDMI and the audio via USB to a DAC. The good news is I do no gaming, so I may not need a super powerful video card. But how much horsepower will I still need to make my DVDs look their best on a plasma?

I only know of two ways to do this. The first way is this expensive box, not that I have any experience using it. http://www.lumagen.com/testindex.php?module=radianceMini_details

The second way is certainly far most popular: Use an HTPC with a suitably powerful graphics card and madVR software, or the Jinc utility which I believe is built into JRiver player. But while Jinc's learning curve might not be very steep most users say madVR can take you days or weeks to produce decent results. I don't mind putting in reasonable time to learn as much as I can so long as my efforts bear good looking fruit.


However, the big concern here is fan noise, power draw and/or heat emission. My HTPC build is way overdue but it also needs to be virtually (~ 80%) silent-and in a
case no bigger than this. https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=233&area=en

But a madVR user said this silent card's too weak.
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/gt-1030/specifications/

and to scale DVDs for a 1080p plasma-even when viewed 10 to 12 feet away-
I'd at least need a card idling at 82 watts like this one.
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/gtx-1650/

And the card's idling fan noise levels really aren't rated too well.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/14270/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-review-feat-zotac/15

Same with this card.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/15010/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-review-feat-evga/15

There is a fanless version of the 1650.
https://www.a2kmedia.net/post/is-silent-gpu-any-good-palit-gtx-1650-kalmx

But that's assuming I wouldn't actually need some stronger and even noisier card for great looking DVDs on a 50" plasma @ 10 feet, using madVR or Jinc.

So is asking for low fan noise and stellar DVD to 1080p scaling from a video card pretty much asking for the impossible?

If so, then unless this less costly model would give exceptionally good results on my screen and viewing distance https://www.kramerav.com/us/product/vp-424c , would this processor produce indispensably better images? http://www.lumagen.com/testindex.php?module=radianceMini_details


BUT I'll be sending the audio to an external DAC via USB, so any problems syncing the video with the audio while the pc's playing the DVD via JRiver?
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Joined: Mar 28, 2005
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I always kind of shrug at this.

If you have a really good Oppo player, then why are you looking for a convoluted solution?

If you are building a HTPC, then there are a ton of options out there which are pretty quiet. Not silent, but really close unless under a pretty heavy gaming load.

I ended up taking my entire world of movies to Plex, and I watch all of my movies in HD streamed throughout my home (and world) just using Roku units. Yes, there is some work here, but it is all HD now and it works incredibly well for over 1,000 titles stored on a computer... in another room.

The TV you have already does a decent job of scaling. The Oppo was well established for doing a good job as well. You can certainly go with hardware of software solutions as well. Or, you can lean into HD at this point as a much more realistic way to get best quality into your system.

Yeah, sorry, not much help. I think you've done your homework here and I think you do have good ideas if this is the way you intend to go, but I would take that entire movie collection, rip it to hard drives, and start streaming it around the world.

Plex is amazing.
AV Integrated - Theater, whole house audio, and technology consultation during the build and installation process in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.