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ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE...Info overload!!!
Contents:
DVD
TV
Surround Sound
Connections-Video
Widescreen?
Connections-Audio
Other
Connections
DVD
resources on the web
Electrical
Glossary (New Page)
DVD - Digital
Versatile Disc
Regions:
0 All regions
1 US/Canada
2 Europe/Japan
3 Hong Kong
4 Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and South America
5 Russian states and Africa (not South Africa)
6 China and others
Discs will be locked to only play in certain regions (occasionally
more than one - this is often the case with Region 2 content, which
is also coded to play in Region 4). In order to avoid this region
protection you will need a modified player. It is not illegal to own
a modified player or to own discs from regions other than your own,
providing those discs comply with local censorship/classification
laws. It is illegal for companies based in one region to sell discs
from another region either from stock or as a personal importation
service. It is legal for a retailer to sell discs from their own
region to all other regions. It is legal to sell modified players
providing they are marked as such. However, there are concerns that
modified players may not comply with European Union CE
certification, although Trading Standards are yet to bring a test
case on this matter (all electrical and electronic components sold
within the European Union need to be certified to a minimum standard
(the CE standard) and there is a concern that a player which is
modified after it has received CE approval may no longer comply with
the standard).
TV Television systems:
NTSC - National Television Standards Council (also cruelly labeled
as "Never The Same Color", referring to its occasional
poor color reproduction performance). This system is used in North
America and Japan and DVDs encoded for this format have 525 lines of
vertical resolution and play at 30 frames per second (60hz)
PAL - not sure what this stands for! This standard is used in Europe
(except France) and South America. DVDs encoded for this format have
625 lines of vertical resolution and play at 25 frames a second
(50hz)
SECAM - not sure what this stands for either! This standard is used
in France and former French colonies. It is very similar to PAL but
subtlely different (typically French!). Most SECAM TV's have a PAL
playback capability.
TV systems are important because content encoded for one standard
will not necessarily be displayed correctly on a display device of a
different standard. As mentioned above, most modern European TVs
will take an NTSC signal and display it as PAL60 (a 60hz version of
the PAL standard which takes account of the higher frame rate of
NTSC signals) or occasionally as raw NTSC. An NTSC signal played
back on an incompatible PAL device will either be displayed in black
and white with correctly synchronized sound, or as a rolling black
and white picture, also with correctly synchronized sound. To find
out whether your TV is compatible either read your manual or contact
your dealer/supplier
Sound Systems:
Dolby Digital (DD)
A digitally encoded sound format that offers a number of audio
outputs ranging from Mono to 5.1
DD Mono - Mono sound from one speaker
DD Stereo - 2 channel stereo from two speakers - the same as your
hi-fi
DD Surround - 3 channel stereo - as above, but with a separate mono
rear channel
DD Dolby ProLogic - 4 channel stereo from front left, center, front
right, and mono rear channel from two speakers
DD 5.1 (AC-3) - 5.1 channel stereo. Discrete outputs to 5 speakers -
front left, front right, center, rear right, rear left with all low
frequencies being routed to a separate subwoofer (the .1 component
of 5.1)
DD EX 6.1 - as above but with the addition of a rear centre speaker.
Just becoming available in the home, although no content exists for
it yet. First used in cinemas with Star Wars Episode One: The
Phantom Menace. Since used on the latest Bond movie and Toy Story 2
Dolby Analogue
All of the above sound formats are available in analogue with the
exception of DD 5.1 and DD EX.
Digital Theater Sound (DTS)
The audiophile Digital sound preference. Similar to DD 5.1 but uses
a higher bit-rate to encode the audio information. The battle
between DTS and DD is similar to that between LP's and CD's - DTS
offers an improved frequency response, although the additional
frequencies offered are beyond the range of normal human hearing.
The vast majority of DVD's carry a Dolby Digital bitstream. The
player will output this to a digital sound processor which will in
turn pass it to a suitably compatible amplifier. Some players have
the digital sound processor built in. Players will also output sound
via the SCART socket or from standard stereo audio phono sockets
(red and white sockets as used on hi-fi's). All players will
downconvert a Dolby Digital bitstream to analogue stereo (or mono)
should you not have suitable equipment.
There are no DTS encoded DVDs available in Region 2 at the time of
writing. The first such disc will be the DTS version of Sleepy
Hollow, due for release this summer. There is a limited catalogue of
DTS titles available in Region 1. Due to the high bitrate used by
DTS soundtracks the studios normally have to release two versions of
the same film (the formats are incompatible) and DTS versions
typically have less special features, once again due to space
constraints on the disc.
Connection Types:
Audio and Video
SCART - the European connection standard. This is a 21-pin connector
which carries audio, video and television control information. All
European DVD players will have this output option. Generally the
best quality available, particularly if the SCART lead, player, and
socket are RGB compatible (see below)
Video only
RGB - Red, Green, Blue. Not so much a connection type but an output
type that can be carried by a variety of video connection methods.
RGB drives the red, green, and blue electron guns of your display
device directly, cutting out the conversion process used by other
connection methods such as composite (see below). The best quality
available, producing vibrant colours and stable pictures. The video
equivalent of swapping from stereo sound to Dolby Digital 5.1. In
Europe, RGB signals are normally carried by a SCART socket, in the
United States this will via component outputs.
Component - see RGB and SCART. Identified by three red, green, and
blue phono jacks on the back of the player.
S-Video - next best quality after RGB. Carries the video signal via
a six-pin DIN plug (similar to a PS-2 connector on a PC). Many
modern TVs and videos have a socket for this on the front panel for
easy connection to a camcorder, as this is the standard output
method used by most camcorders. Not to be confused with S-VHS, a
high quality videotape format invented by JVC.
Composite - a common connection type on budget players. Identified
by a yellow phono jack on the back of the player, although also
output via SCART in Europe. The lowest quality output offered by
most players - providing a satisfactory performance but requires
good quality cable and connectors for best results as it is
susceptible to RF interference from videos, TV, etc.
Widescreen versus
4:3
The DVD format allows for output in three different modes: 4:3 Pan
and Scan, 4:3 Letterboxed, and 16:9 widescreen. Discs will be
encoded in one of the above formats, and sometimes include different
formats on either side of the disc. The numbers refer to the aspect
ratio (width by height) of the screen. As you will be aware, movies
are filmed in a variety of aspect ratios, common ones being 1.33:1,
1.66:1, 1.85:1, and the super-wide 2:35:1. Simple mathematics
indicates that 4:3 is equivalent to 1.33:1 which means that a 1.33:1
ratio film will fill the entire TV frame. This is the format all
movies were filmed in prior to the invention of widescreen. In order
to fit all other ratios on a 4:3 TV screen it is necessary to either
add black bars to the top and bottom of the image in order to
present it's full width (known as letterboxing) or to crop the
picture to a 4:3 ratio (known as cropping or panning and scanning,
due to practice of moving the 4:3 frame around the widescreen source
in order to pick out relevant detail.)
16:9 TV's offer a ratio of approximately 1.77:1. This is not a
common aspect ratio so, as with widescreen ratios on a 4:3 set,
black bars or cropping will have to be employed to fit the image on
screen. Ratios less than 1.77:1 will be "windowboxed" on a
widescreen set, with black bars on all sides of the image. Ratios
greater than 1.77:1 will be letterboxed in the conventional way,
although this is complicated somewhat by the technique of anamorphic
enhancement. Anamorphic enhancement basically squashes the image in
the vertical dimension during encoding, giving a higher vertical
resolution (more lines per centimetre), and the DVD player expands
it when set to 16:9 mode. An anamorphic (or 16:9 enhanced) DVD when
displayed on a widescreen TV will therefore have smaller black bars
than a non-anamorphic widescreen disc (because a conventional
widescreen encoded DVD includes the black bars as part of the
encoded picture, and when played on a widescreen TV these bars are
also stretched). When an anamorphically enhanced DVD is played in
one of the 4:3 modes for display on a 4:3 television the DVD player
converts the 16:9 anamorphic picture to a 4:3 ratio picture in order
to ensure the image geometry is reproduced correctly. The reverse
effect can be seen if you set your DVD player to output 16:9 from an
anamorphic disc on a 4:3 display - the image will be stretched
vertically, causing objects to elongate vertically and round objects
to be stretched into ovals on their vertical axis.
What does this all mean to us? If you aren't interested in buying a
16:9 widescreen TV set then very little - as mentioned above DVD
players will convert a 16:9 source to 4:3 when set to the correct
mode. If you have a 16:9 set or intend to buy one there a couple of
issues to be considered. Firstly, unless you use the zoom function
that most widescreen sets have, you will get windowboxed
presentations of content with an aspect ratio less than 1.77:1. This
includes most of the P&P back catalogue. Secondly, you should
always attempt to buy anamorphically enhanced widescreen DVDs (if
available), as these will make best use of the screen size available
to you. Many anamorphic proponents refuse to buy non anamorphic
content - my opinion is that all that is necessary is that the
aspect ratio intended by the director for the theatrical release is
at the very least preserved. If anamorphic enhanced masters are
available (an example being Criterion's Peeping Tom) then they
should be used. Unsurprisingly, the whole issue results in vigorous
debates in the DVD and film newsgroups as ultimately it is a matter
of personal taste. This is particularly the case in the United
States where widescreen presentations on video and TV were, until
recently, uncommon (as were widescreen sets). American consumers
often complained to studios about "those black bars",
preferring pan-and-scanned and cropped versions of widescreen
movies. The reverse is largely true in Europe - I actually prefer
letterboxed presentations and I don't like it when the image fills
the entire screen (I always feel I am missing something, and
considering the overscan present on most TV's the chances are I
probably am...) There is also the evidence which suggests that the
widescreen format is more pleasing to the human eye because it is
the way we see the world. This has been known for centuries in art
(the so-called "golden section" so prevalent in mid second
millennium Italian art)
Audio only
connection types
Co-axial digital audio out - All DVD players offer this connection
type (or alternatively the optical output discussed below).
Identified by a black phono socket on the back of the player.
Connect this to a decoder or a suitably equipped amplifier for Dolby
Digital sound
Optical digital audio out - As above but using a fiber-optic cable
connector. Also used on minidisc and other hi-fi equipment. Because
both formats output a checksummed digital bitstream there is no
difference in quality between the two connector types
Stereo phono sockets - standard red and white hi-fi connectors. Will
output discrete left and right stereo channels or a matrixed
analogue Dolby Surround and Dolby ProLogic soundtrack. Used for
connection to an amplifier without digital inputs or to a TV without
a SCART socket but with suitable stereo phono connectors.
Other connections:
Progressive Scan - the Holy Grail of video connection types.
Historically only used on expensive home cinema projection systems
but beginning to move into the mainstream with the release of
progressive scan widescreen TVs and the Playstation 2 (a combined
DVD player and games console due for release in Japan in March and
in October/November in Europe). Progressive scan produces a more
stable picture than standard outputs by combining the two fields of
a DVD signal into one before passing that signal to the display
device. Each frame of a DVD consists of two fields of 260-310 lines
(depending on whether it is NTSC or PAL encoded) with each field
being made up of alternate lines (frame 1 consists of lines 1,3,5,
etc and frame 2 of lines 2,4,6, etc). Progressive scan combines
these two fields and outputs them simultaneously. Analogous to
interlaced and non-interlaced computer monitor outputs
As I've mentioned off-list to Steve, consumer electronics shouldn't
be this complicated - if it wasn't for the internet I'd be as much
in the dark as anyone else. As it is, I probably know more about DVD
than is healthy (you'll know from my list postings that I have a bit
of an obsessive personality!). I'm more than happy to help other
list members take the plunge into the choppy and slightly chilly
waters of DVD (and for that matter digital TV and home cinema
sound).
DVD Resources on
the web:
Region One news and views: http://www.dvdresource.com
Also home of DVD Savant, a writer with a more than passing interest
in P&P (and classic film in general).
Region Two news and views: http://www.dvd-debate.com
The premier UK news site. Also has a Region 1 section
Price comparisons: http://www.dvdpricesearch.com
Enables you to compare prices for Region 1 DVDs, including shipping
costs to the UK. Invaluable.
Hardware news and reviews: http://www.homecinemachoice.com
Be warned - they are a bit techie but will do an excellent job of
liberating you from your cash in exchange for cool home cinema kit
Retailers:
DVD Express: http://www.dvdexpress.com
My preferred Region 1 seller. Generally the cheapest, although
shipping costs are high to the UK ($7.95 for one disc, $10 for two).
Always check DVD Price Search for the best deals.
Other retailers I'd recommend are Amazon http://www.amazon.com) or DVD
Box Office (http://www.dvdboxoffice.com
- they offer free international shipping and the option of being
billed in Canadian dollars) or Reel (http://www.reel.com)
Player modifications:
Techtronics: http://www.techtronics.com
Highly respected and long established supplier of AV kit and a
specialist in DVD player modification. Generally an excellent
service, but are showing signs of creaking under the strain of
excess demand for their modifications.
As to buying a player on the High Street try the following;
Tescos (for the Wharfedale player)
Richer Sounds (http://www.richersounds.co.uk)
Also useful for excellent deals on other home cinema kit and will
offer you extensive and accurate advice on all matters home cinema
Sevenoaks Hi Fi
Where I bought my Pioneer player. Check Yellow Pages (http://www.yell.com) for a branch
near you. Will happily talk to you about region free players.
Intervocative Software: http://www.intervocative.com
Produce DVD Profiler, an excellent (and currently free) DVD
cataloguing tool, invaluable for when your collection starts to
grow.
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