There are five basic types of DVD players to buy – standard, multiple, combo, portable, and recorder. A standard player only holds one disc at a time, while multiple players store many DVDs, but only play one disc at a time. A combo is usually paired with a VCR as a separate unit or part of a television set. Recorders are the DVD answer to VCRs allowing a person to record programs on a DVD video disc. A portable unit is a DVD player and monitor in one. The screen is usually 10” or smaller, and they're valued for their ability to play movies on the run.
How much does a DVD player cost?
On the low end, DVD players cost less than dinner for two at your favorite restaurant, but the high end can cost hundreds of dollars. The price depends on the type of player, features, and manufacturer.
What is the difference between analog and digital?
Analog uses a form of scanning called interlaced while digital uses either interlaced or progressive scan. When combined with a digital television, a progressive scan DVD player utilizing the component outputs will offer a much clearer and stable picture without the flicker, and shows the most difference with fast moving images like an auto race or action sequence in a movie. By nature, all DVD video discs are digital, but not all DVD players possess digital outputs. Therefore, you're not necessarily watching true digital when playing a DVD on a digital television when using analog input/outputs, like S-Video or composite.
What is progressive scan?
DVD players must decode the data on a disc to get an image. They do this by scanning, either interlaced or progressive. Think of a television picture as 525 lines broken into odd and even fields with 60 fields in a second, and two fields comprising a frame. There are 30 frames in a second.
Interlaced scanning decodes the odd field (1, 3, 5, 7…), then the even field (2, 4, 6, 8…), and then pairs both fields to create one frame. In progressive scanning, the DVD player decodes the lines sequentially (1, 2, 3, 4…) creating 60 complete fields per second and essentially 60 frames per second.
Progressive is a feature of digital television, and is often represented in a product description as 480p because televisions only show about 480 lines of picture. However, you must have a digital television in order to benefit from the advantages of progressive scan.
What is region free or Multi-Region?
With people buying DVDs online at a rapid pace, a region free player is a valuable tool, especially if you like buying foreign films from Europe. In North America and most parts of the Western Hemisphere, television programming utilizes the NTSC standard of 30 frames per second. But, other parts of the world, like Europe, use the PAL standard of 25 frames per second. NTSC and PAL are incompatible with each other. A region free or multi-region DVD player is able to decode NTSC and PAL at the flip of a switch giving the user an added convenience of being able to buy imports. However, this only works if you are viewing the disc on an NTSC monitor.
What is multi-format playback?
Multi-format playback allows the user to playback formats other than DVDs. Most multi-format players are compatible with CDs, MP3s, DVD audio, DVD-R/DVD-RAM, CD-R/RW, and WMA. Be sure to read the specifications before buying because not all players are compatible with the same formats.
What kind of outputs are there?
A DVD player will most likely feature component, composite, or S-Video outputs. A video signal comes in three colors - red, blue, and green. Component is the 'digital' output, and requires three cables (one for red, one for green, and one for blue) for output. It is the best choice for playback. Component outputs are used primarily with Enhanced or High Definition televisions. S-Video and composite are similar in that they hold the red, blue, and green video signal in one cable with S-Video featuring a slightly better picture over composite. Another output entering the market is the DVI or Digital Video Interface, which is similar to connecting a monitor to a computer. It is only compatible with televisions featuring a DVI input.
Are there High Definition DVD players?
Yes and no. The players featuring HD compatibility don't really play discs in High Definition. As of now, DVD video discs do not come in an HD format, but the DVD player uses an HDMI, High Definition Multimedia Interface, to give the user the best picture possible.
What other features are there?
One of the more important options is parental control, which gives parents the control in choosing movie ratings allowed for playback. Other extras include a zoom function that magnifies an image on the screen, a shuttle or jog function that allows frame by frame scanning, and dual laser for better playback of audio discs.
