The DVD home entertainment format has taken the world by
storm. DVD offers top quality sound and video images from a standard CD-sized
disc and much more besides.
DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc, not, as many people think, Digital
Video Disc. DVDs can hold all sorts of files, from video and sounds to
computer data. Given its versatility and exceedingly high quality, it's not
surprising that the format has really taken off since players were first
launched in the spring of 1998. Its success will undoubtedly result in the
demise of the video cassette.
Picture quality
The picture quality on DVD
is nearly twice as good as that on conventional VHS videotape, since tapes
offer a horizontal line resolution of about 300 lines and DVD resolution is
typically about 500 lines. Also, movies on tape will wear out over a period
of time, but DVDs can be played again and again without deterioration.
Surround sound compatibility
Many movies on DVD offer the
very latest digital surround sound formats, such as Dolby Digital and DTS
(digital theatre system). These offer a simplified version of the surround
sound you hear in the cinema. To hear Dolby Digital surround sound you
connect your DVD player to a Dolby Digital-equipped five-channel amplifier or
TV and then add the requisite five or six speakers - the sixth generally
being a subwoofer for extra bass. DTS is still a little less common in the
UK, but most DVD players and multichannel receivers are capable of decoding
it and those in the know regard it as the better sounding format.
How much will it cost?
When the format was launched
in 1998 you'd be hard pushed to find a player for under £500. But now players
from the likes of Sony, Philips, Toshiba and Denon have dipped well below
this price barrier, and players from rather less well-known companies can be
picked up from your local electrical retailers for around £80. Now the
typical selling price is approximately £200 - roughly the same as a top-end
VCR.
Region type
There is not just one type
of disc on sale throughout the world - there are many. The globe is split
into regions so the Hollywood studios can have control over which film is
released in which territory. Europe, including the UK, is Region Two (and
plays Region Two discs), while the USA and Canada is Region One.
In theory all DVD players sold in the UK should only play Region Two discs,
however this is not always the case. Most players will also play Region One
discs. Some will automatically play a Region One DVD, while other players
need to be tweaked. Usually this involves punching in a series of numbers on
the remote control.
Some players may need to be modified internally before they will play back
Region One discs. If you own Region One discs then check with your dealer
that the player you are about to buy will play them. Remember though, if you
or the dealer tampers with the machine internally you will invalidate the
manufacturer's guarantee.
Added extras
Many DVDs feature lots of extras. These can include the
trailer for the movie's theatrical release or deleted scenes. The disc can
also be used to hold entire movies complete with different language
soundtracks, multiple camera angles and subtitles, as well as directors'
notes and actors' commentaries. Big movies such as Lord of the Rings often
come in standard and collectors' editions; in this case the latter was a
whopping four-disc set with an extra 30 minutes of film footage.
Surround sound capability
For more information on this
check your player's audio credentials. All modern home cinema receivers are
compatible with Dolby Digital surround sound, just connect the DVD player to
any amp/TV with amplification for five channels and a Dolby Digital decoder,
and you're ready to go. If your amp or TV only has Dolby Pro Logic you may still
be able to hear Dolby Digital if it has a 5.1 channel input and your DVD
player has a Dolby Digital decoder built in, which many do.
DTS discs are rarer, but fortunately all the latest receivers decode the
format. Newer versions of surround sound such as Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES,
which offers six or seven channels of surround sound rather than the standard
five, are also available on more expensive receivers. Dolby Pro Logic II can
turn stereo sources, such as CDs, into surround sound.
Picture tweaks
As not every DVD is perfect,
it's sometimes useful to have a picture tweaking option. Having said that,
build quality may have more of an impact on the way your machine plays DVDs
rather than fancy-sounding image enhancers.
Navigation
All DVDs have disc
navigation. This can be anything from a screen where you just have to click
on 'play movie' to specially animated sequences that allow you to wander
round and choose to play the movie or access the extras.
Connectors
At least one Scart socket is
essential, and two is better. S-video outputs are also very handy. Some
players also offer component outputs; this high-end video-only method of
transfer is compatible with Plasma screens, home cinema projectors and
widescreen TVs.
Progressive scan
Many of the latest DVD
players are capable of outputting an image in progressive scan. This
high-quality picture format is a dramatic step up from the interlaced picture
traditionally used for TVs. To take advantage of this improvement, you'll
need a compatible DVD player with component video outputs, and a screen
capable of accepting the signal - most often a Plasma or projector.
Progressive scan was until recently only available on NTSC discs (the
standard used in the US and Japan), but recent developments mean it can be
used for PAL (the standard used almost everywhere else) as well, and players
from Philips and Arcam, among others, are set up to do this.
Size of player
You might want to consider
whether you want a multi-disc player (which typically stores five discs at a
time), or if you need a smaller portable player. However, these machines
haven't really caught on, and are increasingly rare.
Remote compatibility
Check the remote control
handset. The best ones will also control your TV and VCR as well as your DVD
player.
DVD recorders
This is where DVD really
starts to take the place of your VCR. These machines record footage on to a
DVD disc in much the same way that VHS video recorders tape programmes on to
cassettes. They also play back pre-recorded DVDs as well as CDs and offer far
superior picture and sound quality to VHS video, while allowing instant
access to any part of a disc. Other than that they operate in a similar way
to VHS recorders and are compatible with the VideoPlus+ easy programming
system. Although prices are dropping rapidly, even the cheapest DVD recorder
will cost you around £350, and the discs aren't cheap either. There is also a
format war going on with different manufacturers supporting different types
of recordable DVD (DVD+RW, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM). Unfortunately the formats are
pretty much incompatible with each other, although as long as you are only
planning on making recordings for yourself this may not be that important to
you.
DVD-Audio (DVD-A)
All DVD players will play
standard audio CDs. However, some players can decode a high-quality audio
format, DVD-A. It is hoped that DVD-A will eventually replace the
well-established CD format as it offers even better sound quality and music
will be available in multichannel formats (usually DVD-A's proprietary MLP,
but also Dolby Digital, which can be accessed on a standard DVD video player)
as well as stereo.
Super Audio CD (SACD)
A rival format to DVD-A, SACD is as close to the original
analogue signals that a digital format can afford. This high-quality
multichannel audio format also appears on some CD players, mostly from Sony
and Philips. Pioneer, Marantz, Onkyo and Yamaha now have a number of machines
that will play CD, DVD video, DVD-A and SACD. These 'universal' players
appear to be the way forward, and while prices have already dropped to £400,
expect them to get cheaper still, with Pioneer launching a $250 machine in
the US this year.
