North Reading, MA–January 2007–Rotel, well-known throughout the world as an affordable high-end manufacturer of components for music and home-theater audio-video systems, has introduced the RVE-1060, 1080i video scaler, which seamlessly brings together analog and digital video sources.
“Devices such as VCRs, cable-TV set-top boxes, and DVD players can all be routed simultaneously alongside digital video sources such as off-air high-definition signals, HDMI set-top boxes, and DVI adaptable devices,” says Michael Bartlett, Vice President and General Manager of Rotel America.
Analog video can be fed into the RVE-1060 and then output to a high-definition display. The RVE-1060’s scaling functions are so advanced that it will calculate the appropriate resolution for a specific display device. Whether it’s 1080i or 720p, your high-definition television will be maximized for optimum performance.
The RVE-1060 provides users who already own Rotel surround preamplifiers or receivers with an excellent HDMI video upgrade path. There’s no need to replace current AV processors or receivers–just insert the RVE-1060, which will then handle all video scaling and switching to let you immediately enjoy the benefits of digital video. Simply plug in a video source and leave the audio connections in the receiver or processor. Automatic video switching is communicated through the RS-232 connections on both the RVE-1060 and the surround processor, making operation invisible to the user. Any of the RVE-1060’s video inputs can be assigned to match the source inputs of the audio processor, thereby simplifying and expanding the system’s future capabilities. Of course, the RVE-1060 can also be used with other manufacturers A/V processors and receivers. However, it is necessary to switch the RVE-1060’s video input and the other brand’s processor or receiver’s audio input together. This function can be integrated into a macro command on a learning remote control, or via RS-232 commands.
The RVE-1060 is designed to convert the signal from any analog source to a higher digital format, combine it with any onscreen display (OSD) information from the source, and output them to virtually any screen. The RVE-1060 also provides for an analog screen to be connected with simultaneous viewing output.
Why do we need scaling?
In the analog world, all TVs and video sources matched perfectly because there was only one picture ratio, 1.33:1 (aka 4:3), and only two possible number of lines of vertical resolution (480 in the US, 576 in Europe). With digital video, this is no longer the case. Digital sources present several different formats, and the RVE-1060 is designed to work with all of them.
Simple integration–flawless performance
When first connecting the primary display device to the RVE-1060 using the HDMI output, the scaler’s automatic communication will independently discover the maximum the display’s maximum native resolution and set itself to consistently output that resolution to that display. Once the RVE-1060 has been set to match the screen’s native resolution, it will then always scale the source information up or down to fit the screen’s maximum resolution up to 1080i.
To reiterate this key point: When used with a screen that has a maximum native resolution of 720p, the RVE-1060 will scale up all inputs to 720p. However, should there be a source with a resolution lower than 720p, the RVE-1060 will scale that image down without picture loss.
The RVE-1060 has two HDMI inputs and 11 analog inputs split between three component, four S-video, and four composite. The outputs are one each of HDMI, component, S-video, and composite. Also featured are an RS232 interface and discrete IR commands.
Not all scalers are created equal. Those installed or built into TV monitors are unlikely to match the quality of the RVE-1060. No two brands of scalers are alike, and the mathematics involved in calculating the additional information needed to convert a lower-resolution video source signal into one of higher resolution is very complex. Having the scaler figure out what to add to flawlessly present the best picture quality is a very difficult task.
Availability: January 2007
Suggested Retail Pricing: $1199.00
