I have HD service and an HDTV, but some channels don't come in HD. Is there a way to "upconvert" like DVDs?

Question

I have a dvd player than can upconvert standard def dvds to look almost HD, can the same be done wiith standard def channels? I would have assumed so...but I can't find anyone talking or selling a device or feature like that.

Answer 1

Yes, there should be a setting on your HD box (satelite or cable) for how the signal is output to your TV.  Choices are usually 480i/p, 720p, and 1080i.  Sometimes there is a "native" setting so that it will just output the original resolution of the program.  Since you have an HD box and an HDTV, you probably have a scaler in both.  It's usually recommended to set your HD box to match the native resolution of your HDTV.  You could also set to "native" on your box and let your HDTV to all the scaling.  

The key is to scale the picture as few times as possible, i.e. once.  For example:  let's say you're watching a standard def show that's presented in 480i and you have your HD box converting it to 1080i but your HDTV has a native display of 720p.  The TV has to scale the 1080i back to 720p to show it, so the pictures is being scaled twice.

Hopefully I've given you some ideas and you can play around with the settings on your HD box and HDTV and see what you like better.  Good luck!

Answer 2

It's called a Scaler and the "iScanPro" is one such unit.

But your TV automatically up-scales the video to it's own internal 720 or 1080 resolution so the outboard scalers dont really improve anything.

Standard Def video is from the 1950's designed to fill a nine-inch screen.  You can magnify/up-scale the image - but you cannot add information to make these channels look good on a high res display.