dvd player features

[pdtricn]

Hi,

I have some non-HDTV programming questions (related somewhat though), about viewing DVD's on HDTV's. First of all, my current DVD player is first generation and doesn't play DVD-r's, has no digital out for surround, and no progressive scan.  I have Sony XBR high def TV and just bought a new receiver- 6.1. Iwant/need a new DVD player now of course! My questions are- and if someone knows a site that could answer these or wants to talk with my personally can use byagoda@wi.rr.com

1.  On technical specs some DVD players state they are 500 lines of resolution.  How can that be if DVD's only have less than that. Will I notice any difference on my HDTV?

2.  Is 3:2 pulldown that useful, aren't most DVD's not shot on film anymore?

3. Is there a difference in quality between optical vs "coax" surround inputs (thatI would notice) , and do I really need to spend 3x more for a Monster optical line when it is only digital data anyway? It is a little tricky on product specs to see if a product truly has "optical" out, sometimes it is referred to digital bistream.

4.  Should I splurge and get DVD recorder, or wait until HD recorders are cheaper in price? I figure I can get a DVD player with the features I want for about $!00 now. Or I can get a changer that has DVD audio as well, well anyway for about $250 the prodcut claims to "play" these discs, not sure if it really would be "true" DVD audio.

Sorry for the long message length!

[Matt Heebner]

1. On technical specs some DVD players state they are 500 lines of resolution. How can that be if DVD's only have less than that. Will I notice any difference on my HDTV?

The specs that are usually quoted are the theoretical limits of the player. I do believe that the true resolution limit of a DVD is     720 x 480, although many non-HD TV's will not have that high of a vertical resolution. Basically it is stating that it will pass all available resolution to the TV.

2. Is 3:2 pulldown that useful, aren't most DVD's not shot on film anymore?

"Film is generally shot and projected at 24 frames per second (fps), so when film frames are converted to NTSC video, the rate must be modified to play at 29.97 fps. During the telecine process, twelve (12) fields are added to each 24 frames of film (12 fields = 6 frames) so the same images that made up 24 frames of film then comprise 30 frames of video.Video plays at a speed of 29.97 fps so the film actually runs at 23.976 fps when transferred to video. "
Here is a good link to 3:2 pulldown:

3:2 Pulldown

3. Is there a difference in quality between optical vs "coax" surround inputs (thatI would notice) , and do I really need to spend 3x more for a Monster optical line when it is only digital data anyway? It is a little tricky on product specs to see if a product truly has "optical" out, sometimes it is referred to digital bistream.

The only difference between the two, and I have both in my system, is durability. Coax is more resilient and durable than optical, which has a glass sleeve through which light must travel unobstructed. One harsh bend or kink and the cable is junk. One side note...optical cables are not subject to RF interference if that is a concern. Most coax cables come very highly shielded though. As for sound differences....I would say no.
As for brands/price.....all I will say is you have to decide what you want to spend. I started off my system with Radio Shack Gold Series years ago, and every one of those cables fell apart, etc. Over the last few years I've have been upgrading to mid-level Monster Cable and I really like their stuff. They really aren't too expensive (compared to the many cable vendors online!), they are built very well, and I like the way they look. However...optical cables are probably the only cables you can get away with buying very cheap. Either its going to pass 1's and 0's , or it isn't.
Digital bitstream is the digital audio information that is being passed. If is not digital, then it is down converted to Pulse Code Modulation, or PCM. Composite (red and white) cables can only carry PCM signals, and either coax or optical can pass either PCM or any of the many digital signals.

4. Should I splurge and get DVD recorder, or wait until HD recorders are cheaper in price? I figure I can get a DVD player with the features I want for about $!00 now. Or I can get a changer that has DVD audio as well, well anyway for about $250 the prodcut claims to "play" these discs, not sure if it really would be "true" DVD audio.

Totally up to you. HD recorders that record to removeable media are a good 1.5-2 years away yet. Hollywood will make sure that a secure copy-protection scheme is in place first. DVD recorders that play DVD-Audio, are progressive scan, and/or have a harddrive in them seem like a great way to have everything in one machine. Prices are dropping.
DVD-Audio is great, but there are not a whole lot of titles out there. All DVD players will play DVD-Audio discs as everyone of them has a Dolby Digital and PCM layer that can be read by any DVD player. To listen to the high resolution music (and it is STUNNINGLY AWESOME!!) your dvd player must have 5.1 audio outputs on the back, and your receiver must have 5.1 audio inputs on it's back panel.  Again fears of pirated music has led to a non-digital interface between the two, so the information must be passed via analog cables for the seperate channels. In my opinion though, it is a pain to have to buy the 6(!) analog cables, but it is well worth it when you hear how incredible multi-channel high definition music sounds. It is very hard to go back to redbook CD audio after.

I hope this helps, and good luck finding a good player.

Matt

[easylistener]

If you could wait another month or two they are going to be coming out with a lot more players that will upconvert dvd's to 720p or 1080i.  I have seen some of these players and they have some great PQ.

As for a dvd recorder, they are nice but will not let you record 5.1 sound streams.  Also they will not copy movies.  Alot of people ask me this and think or was told they will.  They will copy home movie dvds, stuff that does not have copy protection on the.  I don't know if you were thinking of doing this or not just thought I would say it.

DVD-A and SACD in awsome.  The best sound that is out there right now.  It is a real eye opener:eek: .  There will be alot more players that will do both in the next month or so also.  This is nice because most receivers only have on set of 5.1 inputs.  I have played some DVD-A and some SACD's for friends and family and there jaws always  drop.  The pink floyd Dark Side of the Moon is just awsome.  BB-King and Clapton in Riding with the King is a DVD-A which is very well done too.

Pioneer makes a universal player that is around 150.00.  You can find it just about any where.  It is progressive scan and will give you a taste for all this new stuff with out breaking the bank.

[Snard]

Originally posted by Matt Heebner
DVD-Audio is great, but there are not a whole lot of titles out there. All DVD players will play DVD-Audio discs as everyone of them has a Dolby Digital and PCM layer that can be read by any DVD player. To listen to the high resolution music (and it is STUNNINGLY AWESOME!!) your dvd player must have 5.1 audio outputs on the back, and your receiver must have 5.1 audio inputs on it's back panel.  Again fears of pirated music has led to a non-digital interface between the two, so the information must be passed via analog cables for the seperate channels. In my opinion though, it is a pain to have to buy the 6(!) analog cables, but it is well worth it when you hear how incredible multi-channel high definition music sounds. It is very hard to go back to redbook CD audio after.

Matt

I just want to make sure I read this correctly. On a DVD-Audio disk, they don't pass the audio out of the digital out jack, as they do for a normal DVD video with a 5.1 soundtrack? How odd! Given that none of the DVD recorders out there have a digital audio input, why did they do this?

Saying "all DVD players will play DVD-Audio discs" and then saying you must have 5.1 audio outputs on the DVD player is a sort of contradiction, isn't it? Unless you mean that they will play the non-5.1 material, which is not much better than standard CD quality, if I recall.

[easylistener]

They will pass it through the digital out but very few receivers have the dacs to decode the sound stream.  This is why it is nice to get a all in one player for SACD and DVD-A because very few receivers have more than one .1 analog input.

DVD recorders don't have a 5.1 input because of the movie companies.  They beleive that people will just copy movies off of HBO and will not buy or go to movies.  This way you can not get all that good sound unless you buy it or watch it on HBO or other movie channels.  The comsumer has been asking for this input for years.

Not all dvd players will play dvd-a disks.  I have some discs that don't have a DD or DTS sound stream on them.  Most of them have a 5.1DD or DTS soundstream on them that the receiver can decode and they sound way better than cd's.

I hope this helps.

[Matt Heebner]

Saying "all DVD players will play DVD-Audio discs" and then saying you must have 5.1 audio outputs on the DVD player is a sort of contradiction, isn't it? Unless you mean that they will play the non-5.1 material, which is not much better than standard CD quality, if I recall

You must have analog 5.1 outputs on the player going to 5.1 inputs on your receiver to be able to listen to the hi-rez DVD-Audio layer whether it be 5.1 multi-channel or not. If you have only the digital cable hooked up, then you will only get the DVD 5.1 or Stereo layer which is at a lower resolution than DVD-Audio.

The Dolby Digital or DTS layers, which are higher in resolution ususally than redbook CD-Audio, but is still less than DVD-Audio.

Not all dvd players will play dvd-a disks. I have some discs that don't have a DD or DTS sound stream on them.

I had thought that ALL DVD-Audio discs have a layer that could be played on regular DVD players, even though you won't get the hi-rez layer. Correction noted. I do know that they are trying to work on getting a CD layer on there as well for compatibility with car CD players, etc. But...with how so many DVD-Audio discs are being pushed out later an later for release, I have to wonder how long this format is going to survive. All most all SACD's being released now are hybrids....SACD and redbook audio, and the SACD catalog is getting impressive with close to 2000 titles out now.

Matt