Video Processing/Up-conversion

The SR6003 offers analog signal conversion/up-scaling to HDMI via Marantz’s new “i-Chips” chipset, as well as interlaced to progressive processing if you select it. The Marantz applies absolutely no processing to HDMI signals, operating strictly in “pass through” mode. I couldn’t detect any negative effects on the video signal from my Samsung BD/HD-DVD player when passed through the SR6003, nor did I run into any HDMI handshaking issues, which is a very good thing. I did a brief comparison of up-scaled DVD from my Pioneer Elite DVD player (set to output 480i via component video) through the Marantz to the image created by my Samsung player, which has a Silicon Optix Reon chipset, one of the better processing solutions on the market today. The Marantz did a fair job, particularly when set to output 720P to my Fujitsu plasma. The Coliseum flyover scene from Gladiator was fairly smooth but not perfect, with a bit of “sparklies” visible in the image. 1080i output seemed to be a tad fuzzier overall, and was less smooth than 720P. Neither output was as good as that produced by the Reon in my Samsung player or the built-in processing of my Fujitsu plasma, but if you have very poor video processing in your display or source (as my Pioneer DV-47Ai does) then the SR6003 is a definite step up. The SR6003 also includes two flavors of lip-sync correction; automatic if your television supports HDMI 1.3a or manual correction from 10 to 200ms in 10ms increments.