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DVD Players Buying Guide |
| Overview User interface Video performance Video connections Widescreen playback Surround sound Audio connections CD-quality audio and beyond Construction Price range |
What the CD did for listening to music, the DVD is doing for watching movies. With over 500 lines of horizontal picture resolution, DVD video quality is twice as good as VHS tape. What's more, the format also allows for both dual-sided and dual-layer discs, so you can get both widescreen (letterboxed) and pan and scan ("reformatted to fit your screen") versions of a film on a single disc. When it comes to audio, DVD is a winner as well. DVD can deliver two channels of standard PCM (pulse-code modulation) CD-quality sound and several configurations of Dolby Digital, from monaural sound (one channel) to 5.1-channel surround. Most DVDs offer multiple language and subtitle options and a host of other features, including alternate sound tracks that can be used for an isolated music score (no dialog) or a forum for the director, the writer, the stars, or a noted film critic to engage in running commentary on the on-screen action. |
Overview
While most DVD-Video players offer superb
picture and sound quality--including outstanding playback of conventional
CDs--there are many important differences in features and performance. We'll
cover the gamut in this guide, exploring the relevant issues to help you locate
the best match for your system. By having all of the facts at your fingertips,
you can be sure of buying the DVD player that best meets your needs and
budgetary constraints.
User interface
DVD players come in single-play
formats, five-disc changers, and DVD/laser disc combination players. Regardless
of price and format, a DVD player should be almost effortless to use. The panel
controls should be clearly labeled and neatly presented. The remote should be
ergonomically pleasing; the buttons should be well-marked and easy to
distinguish in the dark. The better remote controls should also be backlit. More
expensive players will offer "jog/shuttle" controls on their remotes, which let
you move around the disc more easily. Player set-up and configuration using the
on-screen display should be easy to figure out. You should also note how quickly
and easily the player navigates the menus and features programmed on discs. The
manufacturer's manual should be provided in plain language, free of jargon and
stilted translations.
Video performance You should also examine a player's searching features; note how well it's
able to rapidly fast-forward and reverse-scan while providing a glitch-free
picture. Some players offer special visual effects such as zoom, which allows
you to examine elements of a scene in greater detail.
When examining a DVD
player's performance, it's important to look at the overall picture quality and
pertinent features. While only the most expensive first-generation players
offered 10-bit video processing--for better picture quality during action or
other high-motion sequences--today, even modestly priced DVD players offer it.
Picture-quality differences tend to be subtle on all but the largest screens,
but players do show variations in color balance, brightness, portrayal of black
level, color saturation, and other visual parameters. Finally, there's the
subjective emotional reaction to the overall visual presentation.
Video connections
The state-of-the-art video
connection at this point is component video. In this system, the video signal is
divided into three separate bands: luminance, or "Y"; a modified red (minus the
Y component); and a modified blue (minus the Y component). This method of video
transmission, which requires a TV or monitor with component-video inputs, is
about as good as it gets. If you have a TV or projection system with
component-video inputs, look for a DVD player with component-video outs; only a
few DVD players and televisions currently offer this system. S-Video
transmission offers the next-highest quality after component video; composite
transmission is the next notch down on the quality scale after S-Video. Most DVD
players have both composite and S-Video outputs. Even if you have to use the
much-more-common composite transmission format, you'll still see a huge
improvement in picture quality over VHS and even laserdisc--just not quite the
same quality as with component or S-Video transmission.
Widescreen playback
Many DVDs come
"widescreen-enhanced" or "anamorphically squeezed," which means the actual
picture is squeezed into a horizontally narrower frame (making the image taller
and thinner than normal). A special widescreen television with a 16:9 aspect
ratio can un-squeeze the picture so it fills the screen. While being able to
view anamorphically squeezed DVD video on a widescreen TV provides the ultimate
in DVD picture quality, most folks have conventional 4:3 aspect-ratio (square)
televisions, in which case the DVD player itself has to do the un-squeezing and
create a letterboxed version to fit the screen. Some DVD players do a better job
of un-squeezing anamorphically squeezed video; we'll note this performance
feature in our reviews.
Surround sound For the very best in surround audio, it's best to have your Dolby Digital
decoder built into your home theater surround receiver. But if you only have a
"Dolby Digital-ready" receiver--which might not decode the digital signal but
does offer six-channel analog inputs-you should look for DVD players that have
built-in Dolby Digital decoding and six-channel analog outputs.
Many discs are now available with DTS (Digital Theater Sound) surround sound
as well; DTS is another 5.1-channel format that uses lower compression rates
than Dolby Digital (and thus tends to sound a little better) but uses more disc
space for audio. DTS is currently the only format on which you'll find surround
mixes of mainstream musical releases. If you're interested in exploring DTS
surround sound you'll need a player that passes the DTS bitstream.
One of the biggest advantages to
the DVD format is that it can play back surround-sound audio. A surround-sound
format like Dolby Digital 5.1 consists of five discrete, full-frequency-range
channels plus a restricted-range, low-frequency "effects" channel. Some DVD
players have "virtual" surround built in, which synthesizes a surround sound
effect using only two speakers.
Audio connections
All DVD players offer some
form of digital output for Dolby Digital, DTS, or conventional 2-channel PCM
sound. Some players have both optical and coaxial digital outs; others may use
one or the other. If you've already purchased an AV receiver, check to see
whether it has optical or digital inputs and plan on buying a DVD player that
uses that output format.
CD-quality audio and beyond All DVD players can play CDs as well (although not usually CD-Rs); you won't
be compromising much (if at all) if your DVD player is going to be doing double
duty as a CD player. In fact, depending on the DVD player, you may find that
your CDs have never sounded better. Our reviews will examine how each player
sounds with CDs and whether or not it includes a decoding chip for HDCD (High
Definition Compatible Digital) discs. There are thousands of HDCD-encoded CDs,
and you probably own many, perhaps without even knowing it (they all bear the
HDCD emblem somewhere). HDCD-encoded discs sound great without HDCD decoding and
can be played in any CD or DVD player. With the decoding, however, they offer
substantial gains over standard CDs in dynamics and perceived depth. If you're
an audiophile or merely someone who appreciates good sound, HDCD decoding is a
feature worth checking for in both DVD and CD players.
One of
the other benefits of DVD technology is higher-than-CD-resolution audio
playback. While CDs are recorded using a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz and
16-bit words, the DVD-Video allows for 96 kHz recording at 24 bits, offering the
potential for wider frequency response and higher dynamic range, respectively.
Some players down-sample the 96-k/24-bit signal to 48-k/16-bit prior to both
analog and digital output; our reviews will help you find out which ones
down-sample and which ones pass and decode the full high-resolution signal.
Construction
The quality of a DVD player's
construction is also important. Some players are built better than others and
simply feel more substantial. Usually, the more you spend, the better the build
quality will be--but not always. Our reviews make special note of which players
rise above the average.
Price
range
At this point, because the DVD format is relatively new,
there isn't as wide a discrepancy in DVD player pricing as you'll find with more
established products like CD players or televisions. Low-end DVD players start
at approximately $250, while high-end DVD players level off at around $1,000,
with a scant few in the ultra-high-end $2,000-and-up range. Expect to pay
between $300 and $600 for a solid mid-level player with state-of-the-art
features like component-video outputs and 96-kHz, 24-bit digital-to-analog audio
converters.
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