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The DScaler project is an ongoing attempt to get the best video quality possible from a Windows PC. At the moment the project has two main strands.

* TV Viewing Application (DScaler 4)
* Media decoders (DScaler 5)

DScaler TV Viewing Application

The DScaler TV Viewing Application (also known as DScaler 4) is a piece of software that captures video, processes it, and scales it for presentation on a projector or computer monitor. DScaler implements highly sophisticated algorithms that work in real-time to provide PC owners with image quality matched only by very expensive equipment.

In order to get the most out of DScaler 4 you will need a supported capture card.

DScaler performs a variety of functions:

* Grabbing video from a DVD player, game console, laserdisc, or VCR in a reliable fashion, in either analog or digital form
* Deinterlacing video source, such as sports and news produced with a video camera, as well as console games
* Detecting and removing 2:2 pulldown (PAL) and 3:2 pulldown (NTSC) for movies and filmed television programs
* Reducing video noise on analog sources
* Automatically calibrating video capture cards for optimal brightness, contrast and color
* Manipulating video through gamma, sharpness and other filters
* Viewing still images
* Reducing judder and other video timing anomalies
* Presenting all of the above in the desired resolution and aspect ratio.

About the Media Decoders

The very confusingly named DScaler 5 was a long term project to migrate the key DScaler features of film detection and deinterlacing into the DirectShow world. This project has stalled but the media decoders are being maintained and published.
Where are we?

At the moment the focus of the developement is in getting the core decoders up and running. As each filter gets into a working state it will be released as part of the alpha DScaler 5 package and will be announced in the DScaler 5 forum.

At the moment the MPEG audio and video filters are coming along nicely.