In the context of AV applications, what does a scaler do?

In the context of AV applications, a scaler primarily functions to increase the resolution of video signals. This means that it takes video content that is in one resolution (for example, 720p) and converts it to a higher resolution (like 1080p or 4K) to ensure it displays correctly on high-resolution screens. The process of scaling involves resizing the pixels in the video, which is essential for maintaining quality when displaying content on various display devices that may have different native resolutions.

The scaler achieves this by analyzing the original resolution of the incoming video signal, implementing algorithms to effectively interpolate and adjust the image quality according to the output resolution. This functionality is key in AV setups, especially in environments where different sources of video content are used with various display devices, allowing for an optimal viewing experience on screens that may have higher resolution capabilities than the source material.