Specifications

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DVD PLAYERS & RECORDERS
INTRO TO DVD
Choosing a DVD Player
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The essential home theater source component,
a DVD player is also one of the best entertain-
ment values today. It delivers digital picture
quality that until recently you would only have
seen in a TV broadcast studio. You’ll hear
digital-quality surround sound. You’ll enjoy over thirty thousand titles including movies, concert videos, children’s
programs and more. Plus today, more and more DVDs include not only the original movie, but also extra content like
director's cuts, behind-the-scenes documentaries, interviews, outtakes, and more. Of course, compared to videotape,
DVDs are more compact, more durable and offer much faster access to individual movie scenes—no rewinding and
precise search features. Features to look for:
Progressive Scan
This feature effectively doubles the picture quality. To get the
benefit of progressive scan, you'll want to connect your DVD player
to a “high scanning”, “High Definition monitor” or “High Definition
upgradeable” television. If you own or you're thinking of buying one
of these televisions, then a progressive scanning DVD player is a
must.
3:2 Reverse Conversion
After you’ve selected a progressive-scan player, be sure to choose a
model with 3:2 pulldown processing 3:2 reverse conversion is a
technology employed in the better progressive scan DVD players. It
retains the integrity of the movie’s original film frames. You'll see a
clearer picture, especially on scenes with movement.
Component Video Outputs
Component (Y/PB/PR) outputs are a must for progressive scan
DVD—and they're highly desirable for all other players. They do the
best job of preserving the picture quality. Component video outputs
(Y/PB/PR) are the best way to convey the full quality of the signal
from the DVD player to the television.
DVD-R/RW, CD MP3/JPEG Playback
Most of today’s DVD players can handle all the different types of
discs you'll want to play. Newer DVD players have added the
capability to play DVD formats like DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW. These
are the formats usually associated with DVD burners for your
computer and DVD recorders. You’ll also want to make sure that
they player can play back CD-R and CD-RW discs embedded with
MP3 or WAV music files and JPEG photos—because it is this ability
that will turn your DVD setup into a true entertainment center.
Super Audio CD Playback
Higher-end models are also able to play either DVD-Audio discs or
Super Audio CDs (SACDs) — and a few can play both. The perfect
complement to multi-channel home theater speaker systems, these
high resolution discs provide the best sound quality available
today—capturing subtle details that make music sound richer and
more real. Both are capable of delivering 5.1-channel music that
places you in the center of the performance when you listen through
a home theater system. There are thousands of DVD-Audio and
SACD titles available.
DVD Changer Capability
This lets you load any mix of up to 5, 100, 300 or 400 CDs and DVDs for
pushbutton access to all your music and movies. No more rummaging
through the shelves. No more fumbling with jewel boxes. You can save a
lot of shelf space by simply storing your CDs and DVDs in the changer.
Plus, DVD players are so good at playing music CDs that you'll no longer
need a separate CD player. Choose from carousel models that hold a
handful of discs, or bulkier mega changers with room for up to 400 discs.
Picture Zoom
Some players feature a picture zoom capability, with different magnifica-
tion levels, so you can study the scene in detail. Some will even allow you
to pan up/down and left/right in order to enlarge specific areas of the
screen. If you have a conventional 4:3 aspect ratio TV, some DVD players
have a 4:3 TV zoom feature that will enlarge the letterbox format picture
to get rid of the black bars at the top and bottom of your TV screen. Just
like "full screen" DVD version of widescreen movies, you lose about 33%
of the picture area due to cropping of the sides, but at least you will no
longer have those black bars that can be annoying to some viewers.
Digital Audio Outputs
For utmost flexibility in a home theater system, be sure your DVD player
includes both optical and coaxial digital audio outputs. This allows the
player to pass the "raw" digital audio signal for outboard Dolby Digital
and/or DTS surround sound decoding by a receiver or preamplifier. A
digital audio connection is best, as the digital audio signal is less subject
to degradation and interference than the analog counterpart. The
optical digital connection uses laser (light) pulses to transmit data in a
fiber optic cable. In contrast, the coaxial digital audio connection uses a
modulated radio frequency (RF) signal and a specialized cable that looks
like an RCA-type connection.
On-Board Decoders
Some DVD players can perform on-board decoding of the Dolby Digital
or DTS signal and pass out the 5.1-channel decoded analog signals (five
full frequency channels and one low frequency effects ".1" channel). This
feature is worthwhile only if you have a "digital ready" or "5.1-channel
ready" receiver. If you have a Dolby Digital receiver, then you should use
one of the digital audio outputs and let the receiver perform the decod-
ing. One reason is that the digital signal is less likely to be degraded
when passing between the DVD player and the receiver or preamplifier.