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Buying A New DVD Player
By: Lorraine Simpson
Whether you are buying your first
DVD Player
or replacing an old
one it's important to know what's
available
on the market at the
moment. It's also useful to know
what some
of the terminology
means - many of us think terms
like HD and
Progressive Scan
sound impressive but don't actually
know
what it does!
The fact is these days there
is so much more
to DVD Players than
just watching movies. The newer
models offer
high quality audio
and video connections providing
crisp clear
images and
impressive surround sound. As
well as playing
recordable and
rewritable CD's they can handle
your MP3
mix discs, some can
also play WMA (Windows Media
Audio) files.
Some Players have
SACD (Super Audio CD's) or DVD
audio decoding
for high
resolution multichannel music.
Obviously the perfect DVD Player
for you
is the one that best
meets your needs - it should
have the features
that matter most
to you. For instance, if you
still have (and
watch!) a lot of
VHS tapes then a DVD/VCR Combo
Player is
a good choice. These
are extremely affordable and
provide the
familiarity of a VCR
Player with the enhanced music
and movie
quality of DVD. You can
use it to record your favourite
TV shows
on VHS, watch movies on
DVD and listen to your audio
CD's. If you
want to archive your
VHS tapes consider a DVD Recorder
which offer
convenient
tape-free recording with the
functionality
of a DVD Player. You
can also back up home movies
onto DVD. There
are a variety of
writeable and rewriteable formats
available
to enable you to use
the right disc for the right
job.
If you travel a lot a Portable
DVD Player
could be the answer.
These are compact and lightweight
and some
also offer dual
headphone jacks enabling more
than one person
to listen at the
same time. Many of these portable
players
are car-friendly - as
well as having rechargeable batteries
some
also come with
features like cigarette lighter
power adapters
and car mounting
kits.
If you have a High Definition
TV HD DVD is
a high definition
disc format designed to maximise
your viewing
experience when
using HDTV. Another option is
a DVD Player
with Video
Upconversion which will convert
DVD video
to a resolution that
more closely matches that of
your High Definition
Television.
The signal remains digital as
it travels
through the connections
to your television for the cleanest
possible
transfer.
If your TV is Enhanced Definition
(EDTV),
High Definition or
HDTV-ready a Progressive Scan
DVD Player
is an option. In fact,
even if your existing TV is not
progressive
capable your next
one almost certainly will be
which means
you would get a great
picture now and an even better
one when you
upgrade your
television. So what is Progressive
Scan?
Progressive Scan
displays the entire frame in
one sweep (unlike
Interlaced Scan
which splits each video frame
into two fields)
and since the
whole picture is displayed together
it has
less flickering and
clearer details. To view the
progressive
scan signals you need a
progressive capable TV so if
you don't have
one at the moment
choose a DVD Player that allows
you to select
either 480i
interlaced scan for use with
a conventional
TV or 480p
progressive-scan output for compatible
TV's.
A big part of choosing the right
player is
ensuring it has all
the necessary connections to
perform with
your other audio
visual equipment. Nearly all
current DVD
Players have at least
three video jacks - composite,
S-video and
component. Component
inputs are typically only found
on mid-priced
to high end TV's
made in the last few years. The
component
connection provides
the best picture quality. If
your TV only
has an antenna style
RF input you will need to install
an RF modulator
between the TV
and DVD Player. Also a DVD/VCR
Combo might
be worth considering
as some can pass DVD signals
through their
RF output.
Current players have a digital
audio output
- coaxial, optical
or both. This enables them to
send Dolby
Digital or DTS signals
to your receiver for multichannel
surround
sound. All DVD
Players include standard stereo
audio jacks
for connecting to
stereo receivers and stereo TV's.
Some players
also have built
in decoding with 5.1 channel
analog outputs
to connect directly
to 5.1 ready receivers. These
models usually
also play
multichannel DVD Audio or SACD
discs. Some
high end players have
IEEE1394 jacks (known as FireWire
or i.LINK);
these single cord
connections carry 5.1 channel
music to a
compatible receiver.
About the author:
This article was written by Lorraine
Simpson,
Director of Fifth
Ace Ltd. who sell DVD/VCR Combos,
Progressive
Scan, In Dash DVD
and HDTV on their website http://www.amplechoice.com
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