Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 598 SDI mod in US ???

has anyone here had their 598 SDI-modded?

if so could you share by whom and at what cost?

how did you find it compared to component out?

i've seen some references to conversions in EU-land, but not in the US.

many thanks!
doody.

anyone? buehler?

tia,
doody.

Ferris' brother's uncle's best friend's niece's friend's sister's father's great uncle's friend says you might find some help here

http://www.immersiveinc.com/products_services.html

LOL!

yeah, i emailed immersive. no response.

have you had a 598 modded, JerryL?

doody.

Call Thomas at Cinematrix in Agoura CA. His number is: (818)878-6920
They have modified many Meridian 598's and can do it easily and reasonably priced. Good luck.

Id love to have a SDI modded player.

I have an 800 and I am awaiting the digital video output board from M.

I know a guy who has an 800 and I think he has an immersive sdi output board going into a cinema cellars PC with the immersive holo 3d card doing the scaling. he says its the best video ever from DVD and I 100% trust his opinion. Hes a member here, but doesnt post that much and I dont want to say who without his permission.

I think it would be fun to try sdi, but given that my projector has a dvi input and we are so close to the Meridian board, I will wait.

Sadly the current MPEG decoder in the 800 isn't the best of it's kind.

Certainly agree on the benefits of SDI over the Meridian component outputs (which I have seen through a Barco Cine9/Interpolator Gold combination) - a cheap Panasonic with SDI had better PQ. Audio was no comparison though, as it should be.

In comparisons, where the analog output of the 800 really does well is with containing ringing. the issue with the decoder is the CUE (color upsampling error).

That is why I mated the 800 to a faroudja processor. The faroudja does something to mask the CUE. My processor takes the analog input, digitizes it and passes it along as dvi to my PJ. Its not the best possible solution, but at least I avoid another d-a and then a-d.

I believe in only one d-a- your eyes+brain

Jerry,
the eyes are the absolute worst place to do D-A , why do you think people get headaches watching DLP projectors (I know I do).
The best place to do D-A is in the display itself, right before it get's shot at your eyes/a screen.

Have to agree though, Meridian's component outputs are designed very well to address certain analogue issues, but SDI or HDMI all but eliminates them.

no doubt. Thats an interesting point. I dont get headaches from DLP- but it is a known issue. I think for digital displays, my comment would still hold. How about LCD (I know its a totally different technology). There your eyes do the d-a .

Do you get headaches from 3 chip DPL also? Is it the color wheel that does it for you? What experience do you have with LCoS like DILA or even Sonys new technology?

I fully expected to see all the issues with 1 chip DLP (HD2) but, when I autidioned the projector, I was just very impressed. Id say I see a rainbow once every 2 movies- which isnt a big deal for me. I could tell you all the ways the video off the DLP pj is not "videophile" but instead I am really impressed by how pleasing it is to watch. Ive become a convert to the "big and bright" school of thought (but not at the expense of everytihng else).

[This message has been edited by JerryL (edited 01-14-2004).]

LCD is analogue, the digital values represent voltages which control the degree of twist in the crystal. So no D-A in your eyes. DLP operates much like the DACs in SACD players, a pixel is switched on and off rapidly, with no in between state. Only persistence of vision makes it work, with a camera with a fast enough shutter you would see either black pixels or white pixels but never grey ones.

3 chip DLP and 1 chip DLP both make me want to gouge my eyes out. Strangely enough Plasma doesn't give me the same headaches, though it might in a totally dark room.
DILA/LCOS I'm perfectly fine with other than the greyness.

Mark

Interesting- how about CRT or even film? The image isnt all there either? Film can give me a headache on certain pans- if the image is bright enough.