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To Buy a DVD Player Check List

1. Audio features—One of the primary benefits of Super Audio CD (SACD) is premium audio. You want a player that uses the new DSD technology; all Philips DVD/SACD players have it.

2. Surround sound—For the optimal music and DVD experience, select a player that has Dolby Digital and DTS decoders built-in.

3. Connections—For the clearest sound and picture, be sure your DVD player includes both optical and coaxial digital audio outputs and a variety of video outputs, such as S-Video, Component Video, Composite Video.

4. Video processing—For optimum picture quality, select a player that uses 10-bit to 13-bit digital-to-analog converters (DAC).

5. Progressive scan—A must for any movie fan. Progressive scan players nearly eliminate motion artifacts and when paired with a progressive scan HDTV offer a picture that's more vibrant and virtually flicker-free.

6. DVD features—For maximum usability look for special effects features like pause, fast scan, slow motion and zoom.

7. Disc formats—You want a player that can handle multiple media. Be sure to compare compatible formats: CD, CD-R, CD-RW, SACD, DVD Video, DVD+RW, MP3, etc. Pick the player that offers the most versatility for your needs.

8. Multi-disc—Do you focus on one CD at a time or do you like to load up and sit back and let the player do the rest? Just like other players, DVD/SACD players can handle either single-disc or multi-disc capacity.

9. Audio evolution—Since DVD/SACD players can also play standard audio CDs; you may wish to replace your current CD changer with a multiple-format DVD/SACD changer. It improves all your existing CDs and takes audio to a new level with SACD.

10. Express yourself—Select a player to fit your space and style. Players are available in standalone component models or as part of an integrated home theater system. To get the best all-around entertainment, look for an SACD-integrated DVD player. These units play both DVD-Video and multi-channel/stereo SACDs.

When talking to people about DVD, it appears that strangely, some myths seem to have manifested themselves in people's minds, both, DVD owners and non-owners. The following section by Jim "The Frog" Taylor is trying to shed light on some of the most common myths about DVD, countering them with factual explanations.


1. Not HDTV compatible.
Current DVD players are compatible with HDTVs in the same way VCRs, camcorders, and laserdisc players are compatible. In order to take take advantage of the digital nature and progressive scan of HDTV, new DVD players will be required. These players will make current discs look even better on HDTVs, but won't provide full HDTV resolution. Eventually a new "HD-DVD" format will appear, based on blue lasers. The new format will require new discs and new players, but the players will play old DVD discs and CDs.

2. Dolby Digital is 5.1 channels.
Dolby Digital (formerly called AC-3) carries from 1 to 5 channels of compressed digital audio, with an optional ".1" low-frequency effects (LFE) channel. The Dolby Digital track does not have to include 5.1 channels. It may be mono or stereo, and the stereo may or may not be Dolby Surround encoded (for playback on a system with a Dolby Pro Logic decoder).

3. Audio is only 12 bits.
This myth was started by Widescreen Review magazine, which attempted to equate jitter in DVD players to a reduced audio resolution. DVD audio can be either 16, 20, or 24 bits. Jitter does not reduce the number of bits. There are many kinds of jitter. Jitter in the channel signal is accounted for in the readout circuitry. Jitter in the digital audio output is related to the audio circuitry and is independent of the DVD format. It's true that jitter at different stages can reduce audio quality, but comparing it to a 12-bit sample size is naive and inaccurate. Numerous reviews indicate that most DVD players sound as good or better than most CD transports.

4. Audio level too low.
In truth the audio level is too high on everything else. Movie soundtracks are extremely dynamic, ranging from near silence to intense explosions. In order to support an increased dynamic range and hit peaks (near the 2V RMS limit) without distortion, the average sound level must be lower. This is why the line volume from DVD players is lower than from almost all other sources.

5. 133 minutes per side.
This is a meaninglessly exact figure. A single-layer disc can easily hold 150 minutes at the typical average video data rate if there's only one audio track. Lowering the data rate slightly can accommodate over three hours on a single layer. Dual-layer discs can hold over four hours on one side.

6. Digital artifacts.
Almost all reports of "artifacts" on DVD turn out on examination to have nothing to do with MPEG compression. Artifacts come from many sources: film problems, bad video transfer, improper TV settings, bad video connections, electrical interference, player faults, disc read errors, etc. Some of these can be corrected by adjusting the TV or cleaning the disc. Most DVDs have very few visible compression artifacts. If you think otherwise, you are misinterpreting what you see.

7. Players can't read dual-layer discs.
All DVD-Video players and all DVD-ROM drives play dual-layer discs. Dual-sided discs must be flipped over by hand. (There are no side-flipping DVD players.)

8. DVD is a worldwide standard.
In addition to regional codes that can be used to prevent playback in different areas, DVD uses different formats for NTSC or PAL playback. Almost no US players can play PAL DVDs. Most European players can play both PAL and NTSC TVs, but only on a 60-Hz-capable PAL TV or a multistandard TV. Most DVD-equipped computers can play both NTSC and PAL discs.

9. Competing DVD from Sony.
Sony has made three announcements: 1) they're working on high-density DVD; 2) they're proposing the DSD audio storage format for DVD-Audio and they'll support it on their own if it's not accepted for DVD-Audio; and 3) they're developing a different version of erasable DVD called DVD+RW. These somehow morphed together into a rumor that Sony will release a competitor to DVD. There's no truth to this rumor. Many of the DVD Forum companies are working on new "HDVD" formats that are expected to be unified the same way DVD was and that won't be available until 2002 at the very earliest. Sony and Philips say their DVD+RW will be compatible with DVD-ROM and DVD-R and is intended only for use with computers.

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