The technology for dvd players has been around long enough now that it has matured and most dvd players on the market these days can be considered quality units with solid, useful features. But some are better than others. We decide to review dvd players that are available today and see which ones offer the best value for the buck.
If you read most independent reviews of dvd players these days it becomes apparent that the top manufacturers including Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba and Apex all produce excellent quality equipment that perform consistently well. However one trend becomes apparent though. Many dvd players are sold with DVI(digital visual interface) or HDMI(high-definition multimedia interface) as an alternative to the composite and S-video connections commonly seen on dvd players in the past. The difference is supposed to be that the DVI and HDMI connections are straight digital to digital connections when used with HDTVs, whereas the digital signal is converted to analog for transmission through a S-video and composite video cable and then converted back to digital on HDTVs. This is supposed to provide cleaner video since it avoids the conversions between analog and digital.
However many consumer reviewers report that the difference just isn’t all that apparent and may not be worth paying the extra money for the DVI or HDMI connections. So most people can actually do just fine with most conventionally priced dvd players on the market instead.
Here are a few models that have scored well in many dvd player reviews:
1. A very popular and inexpensive dvd player is the Pioneer DV-578A. It is a progressive scan player which has a component video output for improved video performance and a built in Dolby 5.1 surround sound decoder. It also is capable of playing various DVD formats including DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW and both CD-R and CD-RW as well. It’s a high quality versatile single disc player that would do a great job in any home entertainment setup. Cost – around $100.
2. The JVC XV-N510B is another dvd player in this single disc category that rates very highly on many consumer dvd player reviews. It also can use component video outputs for better video display, supports both Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround sound as well as virtual surround sound for those that have only a two speaker system, and features audio dynamic range control to help limit excessively loud sounds. It also displays practically all DVD disc formats that you could use even including DVD-RAM. Cost – around $120.
When you read a dvd player rating here on the web or elsewhere you often see these two models listed very highly and given excellent reviews. So why pay more for features that don’t really offer more value? By choosing models like the ones mentioned above and their counterparts you can get great performance and great value in the same package.
By: Jim Johnson
Posts Tagged ‘Progressive Scan’
How To Make A Smart Choice With Our DVD Players Review
November 21st, 2009Intensify Your Home Theater Experience With HDTV
October 9th, 2009Home theater is entertainment at home with a bit of excitement thrown in. It is basically a combination of video and audio equipment set up in your home in such a way that you feel you are actually sitting in a movie theater as opposed to in your own living room or family room. Contrary to popular belief, home theater does not have to run you into scores of big bucks. Instead it can be whatever you want to make it. A home theater can consist of as simple or as elaborate a system as you prefer. For example a 32-inch television set coupled with a DVD player and/or a HiFi VCR with a stereo and speakers can equal a home theater experience. Make it whatever you wish.
HDTV programming is gaining strength all of the time, in the form of broadcast, cable and satellite service. Home theater can intensify tremendously with HDTV. For example the audio that is part and parcel of HDTV video comes in surround sound. What this does is it takes complete advantage of the surround sound receiver of HDTV broadcasting.
Although a DVD (which stands for digital versatile disc) is not available in a high-resolution format, it displays what is known as a progressive scan signal. It is a progressive scan which makes the DVD player work to its optimum best. The majority of DVD players have the ability to give off progressive scanning and it is this function that gives the movie watcher an image that is clear, smooth and greatly resembles the quality of a film seen in a movie theater.
As well more and more DVD players in today’s electronics world have the capability of HD-up scaling. This up scaling takes high definition capacities of HD-compatible televisions to greater heights. In addition, DVD continues towards greater advancements. Blu-ray and HD-DVD are both forms of high definition DVD that are up and coming elements of HDTV. All of the benefits that HDTV has so richly to offer when it comes to details seen in visual images could go well beyond what the present technology of DVDs are, in particular in regards to projections on large screens.
In order to set up your own home theater to receive HDTV signals, you must first determine what particular sources are available in your area. HDTV can be obtained from three different sources. The first and most commonly accessible source is over-the-air (otherwise known as terrestrial) broadcasts that can be received by way of an aerial (or rooftop) antenna. In order to make use of this source of HDTV signals for your home theater you must live within a sixty-mile radius of the nearest transmitter and your property must have an unobstructed view for the signals to clearly come through.
HDTV signals can also be transmitted by satellite. This is the second most widely used source. Presently there are only two networks by way of satellite that broadcast HDTV. These are DirecTV and Dish Network. DirecTV offers the channels HBO, Showtime and HDNET, while Dish Network offers the Discovery channel, HBO, Showtime, a 24-hour pay-per-view channel, an HD demo channel and the national feed of CBS HD.
Cable is the third source of HDTV for home theater. Not all cable systems carry HDTV broadcasting as it varies from place to place. Keep in mind an important point, and that is that a “digital cable system” has no association whatsoever with DTV transmitted by way of cable. Digital cable is basically just regular cable that is digitally transmitted but with a multitude of other channels. The closest thing this could compare to is digital satellite. If you want to go this route it is important that you get in touch with your local cable company to find out if it is even possible to do so.
An HDTV tuner will be necessary for your home theater in order to do a variety of functions including grabbing, decoding and converting HDTV signals into a format that a television can recognize. An honest to goodness high-definition television has a tuner that is already built into the console of the set but this is not very common, as the technology for tuners has moved along swiftly and reduced in price much quicker than the technology for displays. The best thing to invest in is an HD monitor (which is a display minus an HDTV tuner) that can, if you like, be combined with a tuner any time you care to do so.
By: Gregg Hall
Home Improvements With Standard DVD Recorders and HDTV
September 1st, 2009While the price of HDTV prices on sets are decreasing, HD players are still fairly new to many market places, boasting prices ranging from $500-$1,800. At the lower figure, that’s more than what a top flight DVD recorder would cost. The higher figure is 10 times the price of a quality DVD player, plenty to consider for your home improvement plans and budget.
At those prices, many consumers will wait the two years or more for the initial bugs to get worked out and prices to reach more common levels. If you’re one of those, you can still get a great picture on your HDTV from a quality DVD recorder/player.
DVD recorders all record in 480i, for backwards compatibility with older discs and TVs. That means they all record at the level of resolution of standard TV, with 480 lines of resolution, interlaced. Then the signal is converted from digital to analog, if the TV display is an analog type.
‘Interlacing’ is a technique in which the image is formed by ‘painting’ the screen in two passes, even lines in one pass, odd the next. Progressive scan recorder/players – which all good ones are these days – ‘de-interlace’ the picture before sending it to the display, if the TV can display a progressive picture. Traditionally, interlacing is performed by the TV circuitry.
When connected to a HDTV the recorder/player-TV system has additional conversion to do. By definition, HDTV offers more than 480i resolution. 480p is an interim standard, sometimes called EDTV (Enhanced Definition Television). HDTV native resolutions vary. Some are 720p, some 1080i, some newer ones even offer 1080p.
Whenever the source is one resolution, say 480p, and the display is another, more conversion has to take place. The system converts the 480 signal into either 720p or 1080i for display. How well that conversion, called upscaling or upconverting, is done plays a large role in the ultimate picture quality, no matter the contrast ratio and other specs.
Quality DVD recorders do a good job of producing a great picture even with all the conversion going on behind the scenes. Here are some units that offer that, plus some really useful additional features.
The Panasonic DMR-EH75 offers a DVD recorder that can use a single layer DVD-R or DVD-RAM disc to hold up to 8 hours of video.
It also houses an 80GB hard drive to record, time shift and play back material. That material can be from DVD (for non-copyright blocked sources) or directly from broadcasts. Depending on recording/playback quality, the hard drive can hold up to 142 hours of programming.
It provides a HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) interface for getting the maximum quality image out to the TV set. Price is currently in the $440 range for a unit that will display an excellent quality image on a good HDTV set.
For the really space-hungry crowd, Toshiba offers their RD-XS52 recorder, with 160GB hard drive that will hold up to 200 hours of video. Panasonic had larger units, from 120GB up to 400GB with an Ethernet connector. They may still be available from some merchants.
As with most Toshiba products, the quality is great and the price is stellar at around $350. But, for those less interested in recording than in the best possible playback, there’s the new HD-A1. Retailing for around $500, it offers full high definition output at 1080i. See what fits into your budget and home improvements.
By: Jim Ames
