Dvd Players Buyers Guide
Lifeblood for the Movie and Music buff
Those with an ear for music and with an eye for movies but lacking the space to accommodate an ever-growing collection find DVD players the final answer; DVDs, with their astounding capacity to hold eight times the data than a normal CD-R, makes more space for digital data to be fed in a medium of an equal dimension without compromising on the quality. Moreover, DVD players do not confine a person to play only DVDs in it; a wide range of formats including mp3, CDA and DAT are supported in a DVD player. That makes this piece of equipment a versatile one.
How the DVD Players function
DVD players, the device to play Digital Versatile Discs or DVDs are produced under the DVD Video standard and requires to be connected to an output device, which could be a television set or amplifiers and speakers. Portable ones, however, come with an LCD screen attached. The functions of a DVD player are as follows:
- Read a DVD in ISO - UDF format.
- Data decryption with CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and Macrovision (for electronic copy prevention).
- Decoding MPEG-2 video streams at 10 Mbit/s (peak) or 8 Mbit/s (continuous) rate.
- Decoding audio from MPEG, PCM or AC-3 format.
- Playing audio and Video CDs.
- Enhancing sound and video qualities with Dolby Digital and Digital Theatre Systems.
Types of DVD players
The following are the eighteen categories in which DVD players can broadly be classified:
- 1. Standard DVD Player (both single tray and changer)
- 2. Universal DVD Player (SACD/DVD-Audio Compatible Player)
- 3. DVD Player/VHS VCR combination
- 4. DVD Recorder/VHS VCR combination
- 5. DVD player/AV Receiver Combination
- 6. DVD Recorder/Hard Drive Combination
- 7. DVD Player/TIVO Combination
- 8. DVD Recorder/TIVO Combination
- 9. DVD Player/Video Projector Combination
- 10. Portable DVD Player
- 11. DVD Player/Video Game Console Combination
- 12. Home Theater-In-A-Box System with built-in DVD Player
- 13. TV/DVD Player or TV/DVD player/VCR Combination
- 14. DVD Camcorder
- 15. Standalone Video Editing System With A Built-in DVD Burner
- 16. DVD-ROM and DVD-Writer Drives for PCs and Laptop Computers
- 17. HD-DVD Player (HD-DVD and DVD compatible)
- 18. Blu-ray Disc Player (Blu-ray Disc and DVD compatible)
High definition DVD players
The choicest item for the aficionados of high quality picture and sound, the HD-DVD players are made for playing high definition DVDs that can store up to 120 minutes of digital sound and video, MP3 and images in JPEG format. HD-DVD players provide the output in two different formats; while the first one is the Dolby digital, the second one is DTS digital. Certain HD-DVD players have recording facilities and record either in DVD-read or in DVD read/write mode and features like parental controls, on-screen menu functions, digital photo viewer, progressive scan, instant replay and instant skip. While purchasing a HD-DVD player, it's important to check whether accessories like digital virtual interface jacks are also supplied with the main unit.
HDMI and Components
In case one has a HDTV with HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), connecting two separate pieces of a home theater system becomes easy. It also helps in removing the deterioration that results from the digital to analog to digital conversion. However, what people largely overlook are the problems that remain associated with the HDMI.
This opens a little tech-chat. DVD players convert video from 420p resolution to 720p or 1080i, which is the native resolution of the HDTV. Thus, the quality of the DVD player's processor is important. HDMI connectors also must comply with HDCP or High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (an anti- piracy measure). This proves that a HDMI must not be taken for granted.
Portable DVD Player
Already in a high demand, portable DVD Players are something that requires careful observations before investing upon one. The greatest trait of this piece of equipment being mobile, they are also compatible with the home-theater system or with just the plain television. Thus, unless there is someone at home willing to use the dvd player other than yourself, going for a portable one is the sanest choice that one can make. Just make sure that the player has a jog-control system so it doesn't skip while on the move and the best part is, branded ones always come with the facility.
Key Features
| Key Features | | | Playable Disk Types | | | Playable File Formats | | | Contrast Ratio |
| | With over 1900 dvd players on the market, key features such as Playable Disk Types, Playable File Formats & Contrast Ratio are important factors when buying. These features not only effect the performane and quality of the dvd player you choose, but also the price. Shown below are price guides for a selection of dvd players focusing on the key features: Playable Disk Types, Playable File Formats & Contrast Ratio. |
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| Playable Disk Types | | DVD Video ? VCD ? SVCD ? DVD-R ? CD (Audio) ? Picture CD | £33.00 | | DVD Video ? VCD ? DVD-R ? DVD-RW ? DVD+R ? CD (Audio) ? CD-R ? CD-RW | £85.00 | | DVD Video ? VCD ? SVCD ? DVD-R ? DVD-RW ? DVD+R ? DVD+RW ? DVD Audio ? CD (Audio) ? CD-R ? CD-RW ? Picture CD | £120.00 | | DVD Video ? VCD ? DVD-R ? DVD-RW ? DVD+R ? DVD+RW ? CD (Audio) ? CD-R ? CD-RW ? Picture CD | £187.00 | | DVD Video ? DVD-R ? DVD-RW ? DVD+R ? DVD+RW ? CD-R ? CD-RW | £241.00 | | * | DVD Video ? VCD ? SVCD ? DVD-R ? DVD-RW ? DVD+R ? DVD+RW ? CD (Audio) ? CD-R ? CD-RW | £155.00 |
| | | Playable File Formats | | MPEG2 ? MPEG4 ? DivX ? MP3 ? JPEG | £40.00 | | DivX | £80.00 | | DivX ? MP3 ? WMA ? JPEG | £134.00 | | MPEG2 ? MPEG4 ? DivX ? MP3 ? JPEG ? MPEG1 | £182.00 | | MPEG2 ? MP3 ? JPEG ? MPEG1 | £222.00 | | * | MP3 | £172.00 |
| | | Contrast Ratio | | 400:1 | £299.00 | | 3,000:1 | £588.00 | | 3000:1 | £780.00 | | 1,200:1 | £990.00 | | 1,300:1 | £2,095.00 | | * | 800:1 | £929.00 |
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* Taking into account all current dvd players on the market the most desirable would be a dvd player with DVD Video ? VCD ? SVCD ? DVD-R ? DVD-RW ? DVD+R ? DVD+RW ? CD (Audio) ? CD-R ? CD-RW Playable Disk Types, MP3 Playable File Formats and 800:1 Contrast Ratio.
Price Guide
| Min | £13.50 | | Avg | £284.73 | | Max | £3,495.00 |
| | Dvd Players cost anywhere from £13.50 for a basic dvd player with few features to around £3,495.00 for a fully featured dvd player. |
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Brand Guide
| Popular Brands | | | Sony | | | SAMSUNG | | | Toshiba | | | PANASONIC | | | LG | | | Philips |
| | The most popular dvd players brand is Sony. The most expensive dvd players brand is CANON. If you're looking for a bargain then look out for Joytech branded dvd players as generally they offer the cheapest dvd players. |
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