Photos: Creative InPerson, Zen Stone with speaker, Xdock HD

By Nate Lanxon on 09 January 2008, 11:53am

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Upscaling DVD players may be all the rage at the moment but can the same technology be applied to videos with really crap resolutions? Say, those 320x240-pixel vids on your iPod? Yeah, we know they'll go up to 640x480 resolution if you make the effort, but what about 1,920x1,080? Then you'd be cooking with gas.

Creative's Xdock HD upscales videos on your eye-pop to 720p or 1080i HD resolutions, converts audio to DTS 5.1 surround-sound and, if you've got Creative's X-Fi Wireless Receiver, beams your beats around your house, too. The X-Fi Crystalizer technology is incorporated as well to make those MP3s sound less rubbish.

Our buddies at Creative gave us a private demo of the Xdock HD. We got to poke around one of the first models ever assembled and the results were pretty impressive. There were compression artefacts here and there, but the upscaled picture was stunning considering the poor iPod video was being pushed on to a 60-inch 1080p HDTV.

"We designed the Xdock HD so that all the movies, music and photos that you carry with you on your iPod can be experienced in HD in your home," said Steve Erickson, VP of audio for Creative. "The Xdock HD transforms your iPod from a portable device into a high-quality HD entertainment system."

More news on the Xdock HD when it becomes commercially available in the spring for about $400 (£200).