Calibre HQView 320 firmware and software

[orange808]

The HQView 320 has reached EOL and (true to form) all the resources for the machine completely vanished from the Calibre website. The machine has uses for gamers, so here's an archive of the user manual, warp software, updater software, and the final HQView 320 firmware.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/e75mxex3c ... 0.zip/file

Everything enclosed was previously available for anybody to download for free.

[Fudoh]

thanks for archiving!

[orange808]

I was initially hard on these video processors. Calibre made some big promises, but I think these machines deserve more praise than they are getting. If you can find one, it might be the "all in one" machine you are looking for. So I'll give these a little praise.

Lots of people are okay with adding a full frame of lag to use an Extron DSC 301 HD. Okay. These Calibre machines get it done with 1 1/2 frames of lag. If you're already okay with a full frame, what's another half a frame?

What do you get for the extra half a frame of latency? You get tate mode rotation (the way it should be) with padding and even scanlines. You get fully adjustable warping. Want to curve the edges slightly? Go ahead. Of course, you also get 960p support for ordinary everyday scaling to 1080p.

There is chroma subsampling somewhere in the chain. On the other hand, does it really matter? It accepts 960p.
Doesn't do direct 240p, but who cares? We're using OSSC's.

Sync jitter from your Nintendo? I haven't seen any issues. It holds sync.

Frame Lock? Check. Smooth motion with Neo Geo, NES, and SNES. Nice.

Deinterlacing is pretty good, but about 6ms slower (Edit: It's 13ms slower. 6ms was wrong.) than the DVDO vp50pro in high quality mode. It absolutely smokes every single Extron machine on the planet.

I am posting photos from the Calibre HQView 320, but you will get identical results feeding the OSSC through a Kramer vp-792 or Kramer vp-794. Calibre has a high end unit that matches the Kramer vp-794, but I've never seen one in person--and I don't recall the specific model.

Full disclosure: I don't use this one much. I still use my DVDO, because I'm NOT okay with adding a full frame of lag, but you might be. If you want to hook the OSSC through one machine and be done, this is it. In fact, it's the only solid "all around" gaming OSSC companion processor there is (that I know of). It does just about anything you need from a video processor--and it does a decent job with all of it (not the best, but genuinely decent).

This is just my unmodded SNES feeding the OSSC through SCART. Linex4 with generic stock settings. I set my OSSC to 100% scanlines with 100% hybrid.

Link:
https://imgur.com/a/TvERvBE

Edit: Fixed link
Edit: Corrected the deinterlacing comparison to DVDO iScan Game Mode 2. Sorry about that.

Edit:
Time Sleuth results:
Progressive is ~22ms lag
Interlaced is about ~38 ms lag

About 5ms slower than an Extron DSC 301 HD.

[Fudoh]

Help me recall some details you posted last year:

the processing adds up depending on which of the menu features you're using right? I really don't remember the details, but I seem to recall that you did a post about that at some point.

And let's disagree on this one:

Deinterlacing is pretty good

I really, really dislike what the HQV processing looks like on video and movies. I know that there people that appreciate this particular processing (when built into DVD/BD players or AV receivers), but I don't. This said, I recently revisited some Faroudja based processors and it those are still unbelievably good on DVDs. So much better than the DVDOs.

[orange808]

Help me recall some details you posted last year:

the processing adds up depending on which of the menu features you're using right? I really don't remember the details, but I seem to recall that you did a post about that at some point.

A frame and a half is the lowest the lag goes.

Pan/Tilt/Zoom costs an additional frame; although I discovered I don't need it. Deinterlacing costs an additional frame when used as well. The processing lag changes based on which features you are using.

Warping is "free" and doesn't cost anything to use. So, you can use a PC to create custom warp maps to adjust or rotate the image. Use the warp designer to tweak your padding and you won't have to turn on P/T/Z. Save your warp map and you can access the warp settings later directly through the processor menu without a PC connected.

There is also overscan and aspect ratio options available with P/T/Z turned off, so I can't find a use case for it. Might be useful for building video walls? Not useful for us, though.

[orange808]

I really, really dislike what the HQV processing looks like on video and movies. I know that there people that appreciate this particular processing (when built into DVD/BD players or AV receivers), but I don't. This said, I recently revisited some Faroudja based processors and it those are still unbelievably good on DVDs. So much better than the DVDOs.

Yes. I know you hate it. And, people should 100% take your advice there. I am not in a position to argue.

I still contend the HQV is fine for slow moving 480i games. IMHO, it beats the crap out of the Extron. For almost all my 480i games, I use the OSSC's line doubling, anyway. Also, I still use my DVDO to deinterlace, so it's possible I haven't spent enough time playing 480i on an HQV. (Once again, people should listen to Fudoh.)

I like HQV for older lower quality video sources (I still own a VCR), but that's a personal preference thing--and we're talking games, anyhow.

[Fudoh]

Warping is "free" and doesn't cost anything to use. So, you can use a PC to create custom warp maps to adjust or rotate the image. Use the warp designer to tweak your padding and you won't have to turn on P/T/Z. Save your warp map and you can access the warp settings later directly through the processor menu without a PC connected.

thanks! That's what I meant (and vaguely remembered).

[Xer Xian]

You guys got any machine from the Kramer VP-728/729/730 series? They're probably stuck with an older version of the HQV engine, but can do geometry as well and are much easier to find. I've got a 728 but can't be bothered with testing it properly (in terms of lag measurement and ossc compatibility)

[orange808]

You guys got any machine from the Kramer VP-728/729/730 series? They're probably stuck with an older version of the HQV engine, but can do geometry as well and are much easier to find. I've got a 728 but can't be bothered with testing it properly (in terms of lag measurement and ossc compatibility)

Yes. I think those are Realta machines. Technically, the chip has a few advantages over the Reon that Calibre used, but the additional features may have locked the machine into too much latency. I recall the vp-728 lag was over 4 frames. I thought it was unplayable.

Calibre customized their Reon implementation for better results and less latency. I think the 728, 729, and 730 must be reference designs. I remember the VP-790 is also a Realta and too slow for games. I imagine the Reon was chosen for the HQView, LEDview, VP-792-794 because it was a better candidate for adding in house improvements.

I doubt there is a reasonably low latency Realta machine in existence, although I'd be interested in knowing if one was made.

------

Also, while we're on the topic of Silicon Optix, the original IA-100 tops out at 720p and has a little too much lag (3 frames??), but I still like it better than Realta. The scaling engine isn't as good, but warp adjustments are really easy to make. It's super power is seamless instant switching (no dropped sync, no handshake pause, no black screen) between 480i and properly handled 240p. No, the scaling isn't beautiful, but it puts the right image on screen. I've mentioned that before, but I figured I'd revisit that. Of course, 720p output and a dated scaling engine might be a deal breaker for some.

It's a shame the Calibre Reon and the Realtas don't handle 240p properly, because they retain the seamless option.

[Xer Xian]

^^ Thanks for the brief write-up. I didn't know much about HQV machines (and still don't lol, but reading here about Realta/Reon it seems to be a bit like the shift from FPGA-based VP50 to the Edge - please notice I said 'a bit like', the comparison might well be woefully inaccurate * ). Be that as it may, four frames of lag is bad news indeed.

* Edit: more 'splaining here. The Kramer VP-728 et al. are post-2006 though, so they are probably more likely to have a (downgraded?) Reon chip

[orange808]

AFAIK, no Reon chip was ever "programmable", so HQV machines that allowed users to create custom output timings are all going to be Realta.

I don't have one of the 728/729/730 series anymore, but I seem to recall a "custom output" feature on board.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Any faroudjas in particular fudoh?

[Fudoh]

for DVDs? A good Fli/Sage-2300/2310 implementation will offer great results. Technically the ABT's video deinterlacing is better, but the overall processing results of the Faroudja processors are better for anything but 100% video content. The better your sources are, the smaller the difference between Faroudja and ABT will be. If you use DVDs produced from HD masters (and aren't totally botched by post processing), then ABTs will deliver stunning results as well.

The 2300 or 2310 was used in many 3rd party processors and players.

[Xer Xian]

I don't have one of the 728/729/730 series anymore, but I seem to recall a "custom output" feature on board.

Yes, it lets you create custom timings, but it's hardly useful given that it doesn't get anywhere near 240 active lines and there's a frame lock feature already.

I've finally got around to testing the Kramer VP-728 for latency and I can confirm your findings.. base lag is about 2.5-3 frames and rotation adds one more frame on top :/