Originally posted by: MeBeJedi
It's not a misconception. When converting a letterbox transfer straight to anamorphic, it does make the picture softer. It can't be helped, since you are simply taking the existing image and making it larger (unless you use some super-duper scaler in the video chain, and I don't know anyone who has done that).
Check the sreenshots I posted in that thread - I can't detect any softening. But I use an Avisynth function called LimitedSharpen(), which supersamples the video to 150%. It's not a misconception. When converting a letterbox transfer straight to anamorphic, it does make the picture softer. It can't be helped, since you are simply taking the existing image and making it larger (unless you use some super-duper scaler in the video chain, and I don't know anyone who has done that).