Display Review — Focus Enhancements CenterStage CS-2

Despite strong digital I/O, video scaler comes up short in userinterface and decoding interlaced video.

The CenterStage CS-2 supports a wide range of scan rates, includinga few tailored to specific display devices.

The proliferation of fixed-pixel projectors and monitors has createda market nearly as large for video scalers, devices that can resizeinterlaced video (and sometimes progressive-scan video) to fill theoddball pixel resolutions of plasma and LCD monitors and LCD, DLP, andLCoS front projectors.

Focus Enhancements manufactures several such products, including thenew CenterStage series of scalers. The CS-2 version accepts interlacedvideo in analog and digital form and converts it to one of 17 differentpreset output formats. Most of those formats (VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA)conform to existing video standards for PCs and workstations. A few aretailored for specific display devices. Examples would be Hitachi's ALiSplasma in the 42in. size (1024×1024 non-square pixels) and JVC'sD-ILA projectors (1365×1024 pixels). Both 1280×768 and1365×768 wide XGA resolutions are also supported. Pioneer uses theformer in its 50in. plasma monitors as do Sharp, Samsung, and LGPhilips in their widescreen LCD TVs. The latter is NEC's standard for50in. and 61in. plasma monitors.

You'll also see support for wide VGA (852×480 pixels), 480pDTV, 720p DTV, 1080i, and even 960×540p (how's that for an oddballscan rate?). In short, the CS-2 is supposed to work as a do-it-allinterface, and an optional SDI input card plus DVI inputs and outputscertainly bolsters its case. (Focus put everything in here except thekitchen “sync”!)

My review unit showed up with the optional SDI input card and a DVIoutput connector, plus a 15-pin multi-function analog output jack. TheSDI input was handy because I own a Panasonic RP56 DVD player with anSDI interface. Unfortunately, I didn't have any displays with DVIinputs on hand for the test, only my reference Princeton AF3.0HDmulti-format CRT monitor with YPbPr and RGB inputs.

The front panel layout of the CS-2 is simple. There are fourfunction buttons and a four-way keypad for menu navigation, plus abacklit LCD screen that shows your menu and function selections. You'llalso receive a remote control that emulates all of the buttonfunctions. This remote had small buttons and wasn't particularlyresponsive, so I made many of the menu selections using the front panelkeys.

The rear panel connections are designed to provide maximumconnection flexibility, but their layout makes it a bit confusing tohook up different signals. There are two separate rows of interlacedvideo input connections, and each row has composite, S-Video, andcomponent video jacks. Got a progressive-scan source? You'll have toplug it into a separate set of 480p YPbPr jacks.

There's also a DVI input and a 15-pin RGB analog input that passesthrough the scaler with high-resolution content (VGA and above). Andthe DVI output is enabled with High Definition Copy Protection (HDCP),according to the CS-2 brochure. For remote control, you'll have theusual RS-232 jack and a 12V screen trigger for home theaterinstallations.

The CS-2 has a few quirky operating features. First, it makes yousequence through all the possible inputs to change video sources anddefine them as active or inactive. Why not just use a signalauto-detect circuit derived from the CS-2's input format memory, andlet the user toggle up and down with a channel button?

The internal menu is very difficult to read because its textresolution is apparently tied to the output display resolution. Thatwon't cause too many headaches with VGA and SVGA sources, but that textgets pretty small with 1280×720 and the wide XGA modes. You willfind yourself using the front panel buttons most of the time (as I did)to make adjustments and fine-tune the image.

You'll have no end of adjustments to play with, either. In additionto horizontal and vertical image size and position, you can select thescaled aspect ratio (16:9, 4:3, 4:3 letterboxed), choose the syncformat, alter the input aspect ratio, dial up 60Hz or 72Hz refreshrates in many output modes, zoom in on letterboxed 4:3 sources, andeven choose the input color standard (NTSC, PAL, SECAM, or NTSC4.43).

The CS-2 adds a few more bells and whistles than you might expect.You can toggle the de-interlacing and motion compensation modes betweenfilm (2:3 pulldown) and 30fps video, and there's also a menu selectionto enable or disable the HDCP function when using the DVI output. Atime base corrector is included for use with “unstable”NTSC sources, like VHS tapes and other color-under video formats. Youcan even define and turn on/off a split screen made up of any two videosources.

Despite all of these features, the CS-2 lacks horizontal andvertical blanking adjustments, which is a real puzzler to me. Not allprojectors and monitors let you define the blanking area, so any scalerworth its salt should incorporate this feature to mask off verticalinterval sync info or other garbage on the source image.

One neat add-on, however, is the ability to control the CS-2 fromyour PC using CenterStage Remote software. Once you purchase the CS-2(or other CenterStage scalers like the CS-1 and CS-HD), go to the FocusEnhancements website and you can download the program for free. The GUIallows control of video inputs, settings, and preferences, and you canname specific input/output combinations. You can also update yourCS-2's display format memory from this site.

The CS-2 came up short in its ability to decode interlaced video.Its internal comb filter (described as “advanced”) stillleft plenty of color moiré on 300-line and 400-line zone platecharts from the Video Essentials DVD, and much of the detail inboth charts was missing. (That sort of performance is what you'd expectfrom a simple chroma notch filter.) The 3:2 correction does work;transitions from film to video and back are picked up quickly by theCS-2.

You can make an immediate improvement to video quality by using theS-Video inputs instead of composite, which gives you back all of thatmissing high-frequency detail. Wiring up the CS-2 through its componentYPbPr 480i inputs results in even better quality than S-Video, althoughthe improvement isn't nearly as dramatic. In this mode, however, theCS-2's de-interlacing and motion compensation performance isn't up tothat of the Faroudja processor in my RP56 DVD player. The flag-wavingand bridge zoom/pan sequences from Video Essentials revealedthis immediately.

The most effective way to improve your 480i sources is to stay awayfrom composite hookups and go component all the way. But a comparisonof the 480p output direct from my Panasonic RP56 into the Princetonmonitor with the 480i/CS-2/Princeton chain didn't reveal much in theway of image-quality differences. The upconverted 480p/60 and 720p/60images from the CS-2 weren't as crisp and clean as those from myFaroudja Native Rate scaler, which costs about $1,500 more.

The best overall video quality resulted from a connection from theserial digital output on the RP56 to the CS-2's SDI input, and nowonder — all of the analog signal processing is therebyeliminated. By going one step further and selecting the CS-2's DVIoutput, you'll have an all-digital path from source to screen and canachieve exceptional image quality from DVDs. However, if all you haveis 480p output from a DVD player, use that connection instead and letthe CS-2 do a simple RGB pixel upconversion.

The CenterStage CS-2 could use some help in the signal-processingdepartment. It works well with SDI input but not quite as well withYPbPr 480i video. At the other end, its composite video signalprocessing is no better than the average projector or monitor'sinternal processors, and it may even be worse. The best way to use itis to go SDI/CS-2/DVI and stay out of the analog domain altogether.

It sounds crazy, but this scaler may have too many connections. Onerack of analog 480i input connections in addition to the 480p input isprobably all anyone could ask for. As far as the human interface goes,the CS-2 also needs a better input navigation sequence plus aredesigned onscreen menu that's easier to read.

Company: Focus Enhancements
Campbell, Calif.
(800) 338-3348
www.focusinfo.com

Product: CenterStage CS-2 Video Format Converter

Assets: Supports 17 display rates; accepts all analoginterlaced formats; provides 3:2 correction; supports DVI and SDIinputs.

Caveats: Stay away from the CS-2's composite input if youcan. Use digital I/Os for best picture quality.

Demographic: Users of fixed-pixel projectors and monitors forprofessional industrial, broadcast, and home theater applications.

Price: $2,495

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