Should I get the HD Extender?

[JUC]

Ya-the obvious answer is of course but hear me out.

-I have no HD channels available in my area (no LOS & no cable). So, I am relegated to dtv's SD offerings.

-I have no divx or other files on my server that really need encoding

-I DO have over 100 DVD's on my server however

Thats really the situation. Would I benefit greatly from an HD extender with the better output? Right now I am outputting the MVP into my receiver via s-video which then converts it to component to my HDTV. Pictures pretty good IMHO. Of course i do not get all the fancy animations/slick UI experience the HD extender would bring. Also no optical audio.

So--would I just gain the animations,the optical audio & component/HDMI outputs by upgrading now? Will i see an improvement in picture quality on SD material? DVD's?
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Juc

[sam99]

if you have a surround sound setup, it would make it worth the extra cost to output optical audio. If not, I don't know that i ever thought my regular mvp DVD picture needed improving on my 40" LCD upstairs. How much is $100 to you. If not much, then you are future proofing by buying the HD extender. If it is enough to make you stop and really think about it, then I would say go with the regular extender, then retire that to an SD tv if at some point you get HD.

edit- just noticed you are already running the regular extender, so the choices would become spend $0 or spend $200. Not sure surround sound for some DVDs would be worth the extra cost if that is your only source.

[JUC]

Thanks,

Ya-its not really the $$ but i have a LONG list of things I need/want am just trying to prioritize I guess. If i'm going to see a big improvement on SD material, or get something else out of it then it would move to the top of my list. Otherwise, maybe a little lower.
Juc

[poluxproject]

In My case I will get the hd extender mostly to get rid of the Crushed black problem with the MVP; Don' you have that problem with the mvp?
How do dark scenes play on your mvp?
Best
Polux

[matt91]

Originally Posted by JUC

Ya-the obvious answer is of course but hear me out.

-I have no HD channels available in my area (no LOS & no cable). So, I am relegated to dtv's SD offerings.

-I have no divx or other files on my server that really need encoding

-I DO have over 100 DVD's on my server however

[...]

I'm in the same boat too. I do have the ability to get HD (locals via QAM (or OTA), once I buy a HDHR) but don't now.

My question is basically this: Is my current MVP/S-video out limiting the picture quality of SD shows on my HDTV? And would removing that link in the chain and replacing it with a HD extender make a difference?

I will probably get one in the next 6 months anyway, but might do it sooner if the PQ would be better without S-video.
Matt

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by matt91

Is my current MVP/S-video out limiting the picture quality of SD shows on my HDTV? And would removing that link in the chain and replacing it with a HD extender make a difference?

I'll let you know when I get mine later today!

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by matt91

My question is basically this: Is my current MVP/S-video out limiting the picture quality of SD shows on my HDTV? And would removing that link in the chain and replacing it with a HD extender make a difference?

Saying this without having compared my MVP and HD100 on the same display...

I'd say no, it's probably not limiting you quality wise. The MVP has excellent output for SD, so unless your TV does a terrible job upconverting, the HD100 won't buy you much.

[Opus4]

I haven't done a direct comparison of MVP vs HD100 SD output, but I'm told the HD100's chip should have better quality. What I have noticed is that the HD100 does a better job of FF/REW so that jumps are almost instant; with my MVP there always seemed to be a very short delay after each jump... it wasn't that bad, it is just that the HD100 feels faster in that regard.

Also, my older MVP doesn't have the ability to select which SageTV server to connect to, while the HD100 can connect to any server on your network -- this may not matter much to most people, but since I have a few test systems, it is nice to be able to leave all their extender servers enabled so I can connect to any of them.

If you have HD content, or other formats the MVP can't play natively, the HD100 can play it on your SD TV w/o transcoding on the server, while the MVP requires the server to do a bit of cpu work for that.

I like the animations that the HD100 can do too.

I'm obviously biased, so it is up to you to decide if it warrants an upgrade, but I know which way I would go if it were a new purchase & I had to choose an MVP or the HD100.

- Andy

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by matt91

My question is basically this: Is my current MVP/S-video out limiting the picture quality of SD shows on my HDTV? And would removing that link in the chain and replacing it with a HD extender make a difference?

I would have to say it is a lot lighter than the MVP. I never minded how dark the MVP looked on my HDTV but the HD100 does look a lot better in that regard. Overall picture quality is better but I don't know if I would buy it just for that if I already had the MVP - with the one exception I noted above about the brightness. It definitely looks a lot more natural on the HD100 - without adjusting the TV anyway! I wanted the HD100 for it's expanded format capabilities and for future HDTV recordings - not possible for me currently - at least none I want to record anyway.

[ybrew]

I'm just wondering what I'm going to do with the really nice HTPC I built a few months ago.

Maybe I'll turn it into a server for something else. If I had an office, i'd use it as my gaming box. I may put it in my son's room and give him a really good gaming box.

I really want an HD extender!

[unkyjoe]

I went for it, namely cause I am damned sick and tired of dealing with getting the client running propery on a Windows PC.

Drivers, video cards, ram, hd, why bother, plus the extender uses much less power than a pc.

I have the non-hd MVP in the bedroom and the wife loves the fact that it just works.

SO I say go for it!

[JUC]

I'm leaning toward it now. I could put my mvp in the bedroom and free up another reciever.

[valnar]

I'll disagree and say my Hauppauge MVP looks like crap. Dim picture, oversaturated reds, blurry. This is with composite or s-video.

I personally look forward to the HD Extender, even for SD. IMO, the MVP is a dead duck now.

Robert

[Taddeusz]

I don't have an HDTV but I went ahead and ordered one for the specific purpose of taking the load of transcoding video off my server. I've loved the video quality of my MVP. It's much better than the SD video quality I was receiving by having my HTPC connected directly to my TV. Also, moving the HTPC away from the TV took away the fan noise. I should be getting my HD Extender on Friday. I can't wait!

[matt91]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

I don't have an HDTV but I went ahead and ordered one for the specific purpose of taking the load of transcoding video off my server. I've loved the video quality of my MVP. It's much better than the SD video quality I was receiving by having my HTPC connected directly to my TV. Also, moving the HTPC away from the TV took away the fan noise. I should be getting my HD Extender on Friday. I can't wait!

I think this might be a reason for me to get one too.

Getting rid of S-video link, less CPU overhead on transcoding, and good price point, means that i'll probably get on in the new year (once the Xmas bills get paid off!)

Matt