Yamaha RX-V3800

Although to many people, Anchor Bay Technologies seems like an 'off brand' (if you will), the reality is that they are the parent company of DVDO which makes the iScan line of video processors/scalers. They have been around for a very long time, certainly longer than has DCDi (although not Faroudja itself) or the Reon or Realta series of scalers/processors by Silicon Optix. The truth is that Anchor Bay has significant experience in this field and their products have worked well, been well reviewed and have been consistently good values for their level of performance. In fact, they have just released a THX certified version of their VP50 scaler/processor called the VP50 Pro and getting THX certification for any piece of hardware is a significant indicator of performance.

The Con concerning the Anchor Bay Technologies ABT scaler is a non-issue given the results of a Dec. 5, 2007 review by Ultimate AVMag.com

with the following excerpt found at this link:

http://www.ultimateavmag.com/avreceivers/1107yam3800/

" ran a final battery of video tests on the V3800 to dtermine how well it deinterlaces. I used my legacy Sony S-7700 DVD player to output a 480i signal over component and allowed the Yamaha to upconvert the signals to 1080p. Using the torture tests from the HQV Benchmark disc from Silicon Optix, the video processing provided outstanding results. The first two jaggies tests were more than acceptable, the Anchor Bay chip was able to quickly lock on to 3:2 pulldown in the racecar sequence on the test disc and it passed the cadence tests with flying colors. Finally, I used some "real world" material and popped in Gladiator and proceeded to the Chapter 12 coliseum fly-over sequence, which showed no letdown in performance. "

Compare this to the review of the Onkyo Tx-SR875 by the same institute dated Sept. 06, 2007.

Excerpts are as shown below taken from this link:

http://www.ultimateavmag.com/avreceivers/907onk875/

"But there is one characteristic of the Onkyo's video processing and switching, even in the Through mode, that I can live without. The processor altered both the black and white level of the signal passing through it compared to a direct feed from the source to the projector. This appears to do no irretrievable damage to the signal—it did not clip either white or black—but does require a significant readjustment of the display's brightness and contrast controls to bring the setup back into line.

In its scaling and deinterlacing performance, the Onkyo did a good job processing the test patterns on the HQV Benchmark test DVD (tests conducted using HDMI). It fell down only on the first Jaggies test in the 480i to 720p upconversion, where it displayed slight jagged edges when the rotating line in the test was vertical, a very unusual failure mode. But the problem was subtle, and both jaggies tests were excellent when upconverted from 480i to 1080p. The processor was a bit slow to capture 3/2 pulldown in both upconverted resolutions. But even though it lacks a manually selectable film mode, the processing performed well on both the 3:2 (film) and 2:2 (video) cadence tests.

...

Using the HD HQV Benchmark high-definition Blu-ray test disc, the processor properly deinterlaced a 1080i source to 1080p, but did not compensate for 3/2 pulldown.

...

But this will not always be convenient, particularly with an HD DVD or Blu-ray player that can play discs with various resolutions. Some such players do not offer a "native" option but require that you switch manually between, say, 480i and 1080p. With such a player you may have to experiment with different settings to find the combination of performance and convenience that suits you best. Also, many players do not offer 480i over HDMI. In that case, all bets are off and you will need to check other settings, though 480p from the player is a good place to start. With the Samsung BD-P1200 player and the Sony VPL-AW15 720p LCD projector, for example, 480p from the player and 720p from the Onkyo's processor produced a sharper image than any other combination I tried.

The Onkyo's video circuits will also pass 1080p/24 HD sources when set for either a 1080p output or in Through mode.

...

When I cross converted a 480i component input into a 1080p HDMI output from the Onkyo there was a slight but noticeable loss of resolution. The THX recommendation (printed in the owner's manual) is to avoid cross conversion if you want to prevent any degradation. It's a valid position, but for average quality component sources, it's worth trying if you need the convenience of a single connection to your display.

But keep in mind that a single connection from the receiver to the display eliminates the option to make separate video adjustments for each source—a feature now offered on many video displays. There are no video controls on the Onkyo. "

So, taking the good with the bad, one can get great performance from the Anchor Bay Technologies ABT1010 chip as well as with the Faroudja chip found in the Sony's and Denons.

The hype surrounding the Onkyo's use of the Reon HQV chip is just that, hype.