Pixel Magic Crystalio VPS-2300 Owner's Manual
VPS-2300 User Guide
HDTV Video Scaler / Processor VPS-2300
Over the years, Pixel Magic Systems Ltd. has devoted itself to the
creation of a modular, expandable and network ready video
processing solution using the best of breed components, with a
view to delivering a cinema-class visual experience at an
affordable price level.
We are glad to have achieved this with Crystalio, the video
processor of excellence.
USER GUIDE
2
VPS-2300 User Guide
Welcome
Thank you for purchasing Crystalio, the next generation
of video processors! This unit will bring you a
breathtaking visual experience by exploiting the utmost
capability of your display devices.
Before we start, let us first check that you have all of the
following contents with you:
1. Crystalio VPS-2300 Video Processor
2. Remote Control
3. Mains power lead
4. Pixel Magic DVD
5. Crystalio User Guide
6. Crystalio Installation & Setup Quick Guide
7. USB Firmware upgrade thumb disk
8. Rack mounting brackets
If any items are missing, please contact your Crystalio
retailer immediately.
If everything is ready, you may now:
1 Connect your Crystalio to your AV devices with
reference to the section 3, Hardware Installation.
2 Configure your Crystalio with reference to
section 4, System Setup, and section 5, Expert
Configuration.
3 Register your Crystalio to enjoy official warranty,
technical support, and software update from
Pixel Magic Systems Ltd.
4 Upgrade your Crystalio with the USB Firmware
upgrade thumb disk as provided. Also check
Crystalio’s website (http://www.crystalio.com
regularly to download the latest firmware.
)
Enjoy!
!!Caution: Make sure you read and follow the
instructions of the Crystalio User Guide or Installation &
Setup Quick Guide to connect the Crystalio to your AV
system.
Contents
Welcome..................................................................3
Contents..................................................................4
1. About Crystalio ...................................................5
1.1 Why do I need Crystalio? ....................................5
1.2 Video Processing History ....................................5
1.3 Video Processing Technology Primer ..................6
2 Familiarizing with Crystalio.................................8
2.1 Crystalio Front Panel...........................................8
2.2 Crystalio Rear Panel ...........................................9
2.3 Remote Control.................................................11
3 Hardware Installation.........................................12
3.1 Compatible Equipment......................................12
3.2 Mains................................................................12
3.3 Video Inputs......................................................12
3.4 Video Outputs ...................................................13
3.5 Product Registration..........................................13
4 Basic Software Setup ........................................14
4.1 Configure Your Video Source ............................14
4.2 Switch on Crystalio............................................14
4.3 Select Input Terminal ........................................14
4.4 Select Output Terminal......................................15
4.5 Set Output Format / Resolution .........................15
5 Expert Configuration .........................................16
5.1 Overview...........................................................16
5.2 Input Select.......................................................17
5.3 Aspect Ratio .....................................................17
5.4 Video Settings...................................................18
5.5 Advanced..........................................................19
5.6 System Config...................................................24
5.7 AR Profile .........................................................30
5.8 Video Profile .....................................................31
5.9 Pixel Magic System...........................................32
6 Troubleshooting.................................................33
7 Specifications ....................................................34
8 Safety Information..............................................35
9 Support and Warranty Information ...................36
4
1 About Crystalio
Crystalio is the realization of a dream long held by many engineers and product designers but accomplished by few.
Over the years, Pixel Magic Systems Ltd. has devoted itself to the creation of a modular, expandable and network
ready video processing solution by adopting the best of breed components, with a passion to delivering a cinemaclass video image performance at an affordable price level.
“We envisaged a product that would be powerful enough and configurable for the Videophile, while at the same time
VPS-2300 User Guide
accessible to film enthusiasts who care about the picture, not the technology. More importantly, it should be so
designed that integration with the new breed of 21
take pleasure and pride to have achieved these goals with Crystalio.”
st
Century ‘connected homes’ could readily be accomplished. We
1.1 – Why do I need Crystalio?
Crystalio is designed to deliver the best viewing
experience from your video sources and video display
device. This is made possible by the use of the award
winning technology introduced by Faroudja
of the DCDi
®
technology which is widely used in a
diverse range of domestic and professional AV
components.
You may wonder why you need a separate video
processor, if you can simply purchase a projector or a
DVD player with DCDi
®
technology built in. The reason
is performance and flexibility. Crystalio allows you to
have the sophisticated control over every aspect of
video processing, so that you can control the
performance of the entire video system to a far greater
extent. Crystalio also gives you the flexibility to enjoy
this feature from many different types of source
devices, from basic composite video sources right
through to pure digital SDI and DVI video. SDI (Serial
Digital Interface) is a specialist video distribution
standard for video transmission in the broadcast
industry at maximum quality over long distance by
using inexpensive co-axial cable. While this is not
available for domestic equipment, it is possible to
purchase modified domestic equipment that is SDI
enabled. DVI (Digital Video Interface) on the other
hand is a technology used by the computer industry to
connect digital displays (e.g. plasma panels, LCD
monitors etc.) to PC video cards, and this is only
suitable for relatively short distances of a few feet.
In a nutshell, Crystalio is able to maximize the
performance of any video sources, from traditional
SVHS recordings, video games consoles to high
definition TV broadcast and DVD players.
The following will give you an in-depth evolution of the
video processing history that has led to the innovation
of Crystalio. You may skip these paragraphs and go
directly to Section 1.3 for an overview of the most
cutting-edge technologies that Crystalio has embodied.
®
, inventor
1.2 – Video Processing History
Faroudja®’s technology began in the early 1970s
when Yves Faroudja and a group of videophiles
invented state-of-the-art video processing
technologies and began licensing them to other
companies. In the 1990s, Faroudja became involved
in the specification of High-Definition TV (HDTV).
This is a new television standard which is being
introduced at different rates worldwide, and vastly
improves the quality of the image that is displayed.
How is this achieved? Well, simply by increasing the
amount of picture detail used to make the image.
To put this into perspective, a standard definition
(SDTV) image is made up of around ¼ million pixels
or points of light. This sounds like an awful lot of
information, more than it would ever be required to
display a good quality TV image. However, when
this standard was defined, the maximum screen
sizes that could be used in a domestic environment
were much smaller than those available today.
Consider that a 50” screen has four times the area
of a 25” display, with the increased use of projection
systems meaning that 100” or even 200” screen
sizes are commonplace (16 times of the visible
area). Suddenly, ¼ million is not a lot of detail at all,
and the result is any problems in the image are now
magnified to such an extent that the viewing
pleasure is reduced. The solution is to use more
pixels to make up the image, and HD increases this
by a factor of eight to 2 million. This makes a huge
difference to the quality of the image, which has
been likened to ‘looking through a window’ – it really
is that good.
However, while the hardware industry has now
started to produce affordable HD capable displays,
the availability of source devices and programming
to use with HD devices has been limited. The
amount of HD programming material is miniscule
compared to the availability of SD material, which
means that if you simply connect your SD video
source to your high quality display, you will often be
very disappointed with the results.
reference information
1 About Crystalio
From SD to HD
Engineers at Faroudja realized that to find an entry
point for the new HD programming into a
broadcasting industry where HD programmes were
yet to be available, they had to develop a device
capable of ‘up-conversion’, i.e. increasing the detail
of the then existing SD material into HD format. This
of course was a highly complex task to achieve. To
convert a ¼ million pixel SD image into a 2 million
pixel HD image, the device should have a
sophisticated programming to ‘guess’ the missing
pixels in-between, which is essentially creating
nearly 90% of the image information from the
originally available 10%. Faroudja was successful in
such ground breaking attempt. And in June 1998,
Yves Faroudja won the Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime
Achievement Award by the Academy of Television
Arts and Sciences.
DCDi®
1.3 – Video Processing Technology Primer
Crystalio is the only video processor on the market that
uses the latest Faroudja FL2300 DCDi
processor, so quite simply if you want to enjoy the
benefit of over 30 years of pioneering video
excellence – Crystalio is your video processor of choice.
Listed below are some state-of-the-art video processing
technologies that Crystalio offers to you:
Aspect Ratio Conversion
The aspect ratio of a video source describes the
proportion of the image’s width versus its height.
Traditionally, programmes made for television have
been made at a 4:3 aspect ratio (for every 3 units
high the picture is 4 units wide), whereas films have
used widescreen aspect ratios (16:9 or wider).
®
central
The equipment developed to achieve the SD to HD
up-conversion for the broadcasters was of course
way beyond the budget of the domestic film
enthusiasts, but with the ever increasing power and
sophistication of microprocessors, it was clear to
Faroudja that this technology could eventually be
made available to the domestic market. DCDi®
(Directional Correlational Deinterlacing) to give it its
complete title, pioneered affordable, high quality
video processing for the first time in the domestic
market.
DCDi® eliminates the jaggedness that conventional
up-converters causes to diagonal edges in video.
DCDi®’’s unique algorithm identifies all the moving
edges in a scene and adjusts the angle of
interpolation at each pixel so that the interpolation
always follows the edge instead of crossing it,
eliminating stair-casing or jagged edge artifacts. This
technology was first used in the Digital Format
Converter introduced in 1997. With its combination of
decoding, de-interlacing and enhancement
technologies, they won an Emmy Award from the
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in
2001. In addition to being used in all Faroudja Home
Theatre and High Definition Broadcast products, the
DCDi algorithm has been incorporated into a wide
range of video sources and displays by different
manufacturers, identifiable by its distinctive DCDi®
logo on their front panels.
For the image to look correct (i.e. to prevent the
image being distorted or stretched either vertically or
horizontally), every part of the playback ‘chain’, i.e.
the video source material, the video source and the
display, must be correctly configured.
Aspect Ratio Conversion is used to fit images on
displays with different aspect ratios while best
preserving the correct aspect ratio of the image.
NTSC and PAL contents including TV, VCR,
Camcorder and video games, typically have an
aspect ratio of 4:3.
NTSC and PAL contents can be shown on a 16:9
display using various forms of conversion, including
Pillar Boxing, Zoom and Non-Linear, referred to as
Anamorphic or Panoramic. Faroudja’s technology
varies aspect ratio and picture position to handle
traditional 4:3 aspect ratio sources and the wider
16:9 HDTV aspect ratio on a variety of display types
and video formats.
4:3 image 16:9 image (distorted)
reference information
6
VPS-2300 User Guide
1 About Crystalio
TrueLife® Enhancement
Conventional video enhancement simply boosts up
the high-frequency components of the video signal
with a ‘peaking filter’. This often leads to undesirable
artifacts (or visible ‘glitches’), which are distracting
and ruining the viewing experience.
Faroudja, on the other hand, uses its TrueLife
Enhancement technology to identify patterns of
transition that are the desired details in an image
such as skin texture, freckles or hair. These areas of
transition are deliberately enhanced to render the
details more visible and more lifelike. At the same
time, the technology enhances large edges to create
greater depth of perception without introducing
visible artifacts or distortion.
Film Mode Detection Technology
Cross Colour Suppression
Cross colour is an artifact produced by imperfect
decoding of composite video. High frequency luma
(brightness) components are incorrectly decoded as
chroma (colour) signals, causing colour effects to
appear where there should be none. This problem
®
can be detected in many types of “busy” scenes
including tiled rooftops, herringbone patterned
clothing and leafy scenery etc. The most common
and visible cross colour artifacts are flickering,
flashing colours or rainbow patterns. The artifact can
be eliminated in still images, but is much more
complex to detect and correct in moving images.
Faroudja’s Cross Colour Suppression uses motion
detection to selectively perform the filtering in an
intelligent manner, identifying where there is no
motion in the image and using the already existing
frame memory for the chroma storage required.
In 1989, Faroudja invented and patented film mode
detection, also known as 3:2 pulldown detection.
Film-originated content (where conventional film
cameras were used as opposed to digital video
cameras) that has gone through 3:2 pulldown for
conversion to NTSC (the United States television
broadcast standard) is detected and the original film
frames are recreated by blending the fields back
together.
‘Pulldown’ is the process of translating film signals to
tally with the broadcast standard. Again, such a
process often results in artifacts commonly known as
combs. Faroudja was the first to introduce “bad edit”
detection capability to detect the original film frames
within the video stream and reconstruct an accurate
image. This produces an image free from motion
artifacts with full vertical resolution. This film mode
processing is widely accepted in the industry.
Motion Adaptive Noise Reduction
Noise in an image is typically eliminated or reduced
by filtering. Filtering can be done spatially (1-D) or
temporally (3-D). Spatial filtering results in a softer
image with the details lost. Temporal filtering, without
the problem of detail loss, would however induce
smearing or ghosting of moving objects in the image
if not accurately performed. Faroudja employs
Motion Adaptive processing to reduce noise without
causing smearing.
2 Familiarizing with Crystalio
2.1 – Crystalio Front Panel
2 3 46
1
POWER
FILM
2:2
PULLDOWN
RGB/DVI
8 9
1 POWER button
Press once to switch on, press once again to switch
to standby.
The status is shown by the Power Indicator LED.
!!Caution: Before connecting Crystalio to the power
supply, check the voltage switch at the rear panel to
make sure the correct voltage is selected.
10
5
HDTV Video Scaler/Processor VPS-2300
SETUP
SDI
Serial Digital Interface
9 FILM & 2:2 PULLDOWN indicator LEDs
Film 2:2 Pulldown Mode
OFF OFF Video (DCDi)
ON OFF Film (3:2 Pulldown)
ON ON Film (2:2 Pulldown)
OFF ON Not applicable
7
OK CANCEL
Pixel
Magic
INPUT
OUTPUT
DCDi
byFAROUDJA
!!Caution: When Crystalio is switched off, please
wait for at least 10 seconds before switching it on
again.
2 POWER indicator LED
Green - Crystalio is running
Red - Crystalio is in standby mode
3 INPUT button
Press to cycle through the Crystalio video input
sources.
Input sources support HDTV Component, HDTV
DVI, SDI, S-Video and RGBs etc. Please refer to
Section 5.2, Input Select, for details.
4 OUTPUT button
Press to cycle through the Crystalio output modes:
<RGBHV>, <RGBs>, <DVI>, <YpbPr>, & <YcbCr>
5 Navigation buttons
6 SETUP / OK button
7 CANCEL button
8 RGB indicator LED
ON - analogue video output in RGB mode
10 LCD Display
The LCD display has 2 distinct modes.
Status Display
By default, the LCD displays the current status of Crystalio
which includes the following information:
Video input source
Video source format
Screen aspect ratio
Output resolution / format
Image aspect ratio
Image size
Output selection
Current de-interlacing mode
Setup Display
When setting up Crystalio, the LCD displays setup menu.
Typical operation includes:
To enter menu set up mode, press <SETUP>
To highlight the previous or next item, press <UP>
or <DOWN>
To increase or decrease value, press <LEFT> or
<RIGHT>
To select an item or confirm setting, press <OK>
To exit and go up one level of the menu, press
<CANCEL>
8
OFF - analogue video output in Component Y-Pb-Pr mode
VPS-2300 User Guide
2 Familiarizing with Crystalio
2.2 – Crystalio Rear Panel
1 2
230
POWER
1 Power Supply Cable Entry
Use the cable supplied with your Crystalio.
5
Cr/R Y/G Cb/B
LAN
USB
Component /RGB1
Component/RGB2
RS232
S-Video1
S-Video2
6 7
Video1/sync
Video2/sync
3
HDTV Digital in HDTV Analog in
Cr/R Y/G Cb/B
VIDEO INPUT TERMINALS
These allow you to connect your video sources to
Crystalio. Please refer to Section 3.3 for details.
Hsync Vsync
4
Expansi on
SDI 1 SDI 2 S DI 3DVI Out
2 Power Supply Voltage Selector
This must be set to the same as your mains
voltage, either 110v or 220v AC. It should have
been set correctly by your supplying dealer.
!!Caution: Make sure this is correctly set BEFORE
connecting Crystalio to your power supply.
Digital
3 HDTV Digital In
4 SDI 1, SDI 2, and SDI 3
Analogue
5 Component/RGB 1
Can be used either as:
RGBs (RGB with composite sync) or RGsB (RGB
with Sync on Green)
Component Video Y-Pb-Pr
1 x Composite (CVBS) video and 1 x S-Video
6 Component/RGB 2
Can be used either as:
RGBs (RGB with composite sync) or RGsB (RGB
with Sync on Green)
Component Video Y-Pb-Pr
1 x Composite (CVBS) Video and 1 x S-Video
7 HDTV analogue in
Can be used either as:
High Definition Component Video Y-Pb-Pr
RGBHV
RGsB (RGB with Sync on Green)
2 Familiarizing with Crystalio
2.2 – Crystalio Rear Panel (cont’d)
10
230
VIDEO OUTPUT TERMINALS
Your display device(s) should be connected to these
terminals. Crystalio offers the following connection
configurations.
11 12
Cr/R Y/G Cb/B
LAN
USB
Component /RGB1
Component/RGB2
RS232
S-Video1
S-Video2
Video1/sync
Video2/sync
9
HDTV Digital in HDTV Analog in
Cr/R Y/G Cb/B
Computer / Network Connectivity
These are optional / advanced connections
10 USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Hsync Vsync
8
Expansi on
SDI 1 SDI 2 S DI 3DVI Out
Digital
8 DVI
The DVI (Digital Video Interface) provides the best
quality video output from Crystalio. If you are
connecting to a display device that has a DVI terminal,
this is the recommended option to use. This allows
direct transmission of the video information from
Crystalio to the display without any conversion from
digital to analogue signals.
Analogue
9 5 x BNC Connectors
Can be used either as:
RGBHV
RGB(Cs)
Component Video Y-Pb-Pr or Y-Cb-Cr
Allows Crystalio to be upgraded using USB thumb
disk.
11 RJ45 Ethernet connection
Allows Crystalio to be connected to a computer
network for firmware upgrades.
RS232 DB9 Male Serial connection
Allows Crystalio to be integrated into and controlled
by home theatre control systems.
10
VPS-2300 User Guide
2 Familiarizing with Crystalio
2.3 – Remote Control
A remote control is supplied with your Crystalio for
your direct access to the commonly used functions.
Note: Insert batteries to remote control before using.
1 Power ON & OFF buttons
Press ON to switch your Crystalio
on and press OFF to switch to
standby mode.
!!Caution: When Crystalio is
1
switched off, please wait for at
least 10 seconds before switching
it on again.
3
2 Video Settings buttons
Use these buttons to configure
the appearance of the video being
displayed. Parameters available
for customization including
BRIGHTness, CONTRAST,
COLOR saturation, RGB
OFFSET, RGB GAIN, and HUE.
Refer to Section 5.4 for details.
5
6
7
3 Aspect Ratio buttons
To switch to the common aspect
ratio settings directly including
9
11
4:3, 16:9, 2.35:1, and SCREEN.
Refer to Section 5.3 for details.
10
4 Input Select buttons
To select the active video source
directly including SDI 1, Video,
Component, and DVI etc. Refer to
Section 5.2 for details.
17
5 Navigation buttons
6 ENTER button
ENTER button acts the same as
the SETUP / OK button on the
front panel. It is used to enter the
menu setup mode and to select
item or confirm setting.
7 ESC button
ESCape button acts the same as the CANCEL
button on the front panel. It is used to exit and go
back one level of the menu setup
OFF ON
4:3 BRIGHT CO NTRAST COLOR
16:9 GAINOFFSET HUE
2.35:1 SDI 2SDI 1 SDI 3
SCREEN
HDTV SVIDEO 1D VI SVIDE O 2
SC
E
LC
D
OF
F
STORE PROFILE
AR USER CUSTOM CENTER
LED ACTIVE P IXEL MAGIC 1:1 LED OFF
AR PROFILE
12
56
1 2 43
2:2 EVEN NTSC30 ON VIDEO AUTO
2:2 ODD NLS
COMPONENT1
VIDEO
ENTER
ZOOM
ZOOM IN
43
FULL WIDTH FULL HEIGHT
VIDEO USER PROFILE
9 AR STORE PROFILE button
Use this to memorize Aspect Ratio profiles.
10 AR PROFILE buttons
To recall stored Aspect Ratio profiles. Refer to
Section 5.7 for details.
11 USER STORE PROFILE button
To store user-defined video
profiles.
12 VIDEO USER PROFILE buttons
2
14
16
4
8
13
15
COMPONENT2
LCD
CD
L
POSITION
ON
IVE
ACT
BEST FIT
ZOOM OUT
12
18
18 NLS button
Use this to switch on and off Non-Linear
Stretching. Refer to Section 5.5 for details.
To recall stored user profiles. Refer
to Section 5.8 for details.
13 POSITION CUSTOM CENTRE
Use this together with the
Navigation buttons to control the
position of displayed image. Refer
to Section 5.5 for details.
14 LED ACTIVE / LED OFF buttons
To switch on and off the LED
indicators on the front panel.
15 PIXEL MAGIC 1:1 button
To activate Pixel Magic System.
Refer to Section 5.9 for details.
16 ZOOM buttons
To scale displayed image so that it
makes the image perfectly fit the
display device. These include
ZOOM, BEST FIT, ZOOM IN,
ZOOM OUT, FULL WIDTH, &
FULL HEIGHT. Refer to Section
5.5 for details.
17 Deinterlace buttons
Use these to select deinterlace
method including AUTO, VIDEO,
NTSC@30 ON, 2:2 EVEN, and 2:2
ODD. Refer to Section 5.5 for
details.
8 LCD ON / LCD ACTIVE / LCD OFF buttons
To control the backlight of LCD display on the
front panel. Refer to Section 5.5 for details.
3 Hardware Installation
3.1 – Compatible Equipment
In simple terms, Crystalio serves as a video processor
which enhances video signal from source devices and
then deliver the enhanced video signal to the display
devices.
Crystalio is compatible with:
Any source device capable of outputting:
Composite Video
S-Video
RGsB (Sync on Green)
RGBs (Separate Sync)
Component (Y-Pb-Pr)
VGA (HD15)
Digital DVI
3.2 – Mains
!!Caution: Ensure that the voltage selector is set
correctly for your mains voltage. If you have any
doubts, DO NOT connect your Crystalio and contact
your dealer for advice. Incorrect setting of the voltage
selector will result in serious damage to your unit and
may lead to fire hazard / electric shock.
!!Caution: Connect Crystalio to a power point using
the mains cable provided.
3.3 – Video Inputs
Crystalio includes a comprehensive set of input
terminals to allow you to connect a wide range of video
sources.
For the best results you should:
use the highest quality output that your video
source provides
SDI (Serial Digital Interface)
Any analogue or digital display device is
capable to accept input in the form of:
Analogue RGBHV
Analogue RGB with composite sync
use high quality cables for all connections
When deciding on which output to use from your
device, use the following list as a guideline (with best
quality being first):
1 SDI or DVI (a direct digital connection from a
compatible set top box or DVD player).
2 RGB (RGsB/RGBS) – often available from set
top boxes, DVD players etc., This could be used
an optional connection on games consoles.
3 Component (YpbPr) – typically available on
mid-range to high-end DVD players and some
games consoles.
4 S-Video – a general purpose connection found
on many devices. Sometimes (but incorrectly)
this referred as SVHS.
5 Composite – the most common, and the lowest
performing video connection.
Analogue Component (Y-Pb-Pr)
Analogue Component (Y-Cb-Cr)
TIPS: It is recommended that you choose the
interlaced output from your source device instead
of the progressive (e.g. 480i instead of 480p).
Digital DVI
This leaves the conversion from interlaced video
to progressive video to be performed by Crystalio,
which has sophisticated processing dedicated to
this task.
12
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