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DVD Buying Guide
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The DVD difference
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What makes DVD better than my
VCR? |
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Superior
Picture Quality and Colour
A VCR cannot come close to matching the quality of the images
produced by a DVD player. Video quality is measured in horizontal
lines of resolution, with a DVD player offering up to 480
lines as compared to the 240 lines of a standard VHS VCR.
Surround Sound. Dolby Digital & DTS
All DVD players support Dolby Digital surround sound. In fact,
Dolby Digital is standard for all DVD players. Dolby Digital
is the sound technology used in cinemas. DTs (DTs Digital
Surround) is an additional surround format used in cinemas,
which is featured on some DVD players. Some people claim that
DTs offer better sound quality than Dolby Digital, but not
many DVD movies are available with a DTs soundtrack.
Built-in Dolby Digital surround sound
& DTs decoders
DVD players with built-in decoders are more expensive than
players without. If you don't care about surround sound, don't
pay for this feature. The extra cost is unnecessary if you
are going to connect your DVD player to a regular 2-channel
(2 speakers) stereo. The extra cost is also totally unnecessary
if you already own a Dolby Digital receiver or preamplifier.
Dolby Digital receivers already have they own surround sound
decoders. DVD players with built-in decoders are for those
who have a "digital ready" or "5.1-channel ready" receiver
or preamplifier. Digital Ready receivers are capable of playing
Dolby Digital surround sound, but since they don't have their
own surround sound decoder, they rely on the DVD player to
decode the sound.
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Besides better Sound & Video,
what does DVD offer that my VCR can't? |
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Multiple Language Dialogues and
Closed Captioning |
A movie can be distributed on DVD with up to
eight different language options or soundtracks on a single
disc. That means you can choose to listen to the same movie
in English, Spanish, French or what ever is offered on the DVD
movie. This is a great feature for those studying foreign languages.
Closed Captioning (subtitles) are also available in up to 32
different closed caption tracks. |
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Multiple Angles Option |
Some DVD movies offer you the option of viewing
a scene from different camera angles. However, not many movies
yet feature this option, and the majority of the ones that do
are adult movies. |
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Zoom |
Some DVD players can zoom in on a picture allowing
you to get a magnified look at a scene. Some players have stronger
magnification levels than others. |
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Parental Control |
Worried about your children viewing certain "adult"
scenes in a movie? The DVD format offers you the ability to
block out the viewing of materials unsuitable for children.
A DVD movie can even have different ratings (e.g. R, PG, PG13,
G) on the same disc. This means that if you set a rated R movie
to a PG rating, the player will edit the movie to suit viewing
by children. You can later reset the Rating to R. |
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Energy
Star Compliant
A DVD player that is Energy Star compliant will automatically
go into power saving mode if the player is turned on, but
idle for a prolonged period of time. It similar to computer
monitors that shut off if the computer isn't being used for
extended period of time.
Bonus Materials
We have gotten used to seeing the theatrical trailers at the
beginning of movies on VHS. However, DVD offers much more
than what is normally featured on VHS movies. On DVD, bonus
materials may include, interviews with the cast, behind the
scene and director's commentary.
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Random Access To Scenes |
Songs on a CD are organized in tracks. If you
wanted to listen to track 5, you simply enter the track number
or press the skip button until it reached track 5. DVD movies
are organized the same way except that the tracks are called
Chapters. Instead of fast-forwarding or rewinding to a scene
as you would with a VCR, all you need to do is enter the chapter
number, or press the skip button on the player. Access is instant.
No more waiting for a tape to rewind or fast-forward. |
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Durable Disc Format |
You know what happens when you watch a VHS tape
over and over again. The quality eventually deteriorates. This
is quite evident with VHS tapes from rental shops. If you already
have your VCR connected to your home theater, you know how annoying
it is to have the stereo track cut in and out all the time (it
sounds like a child is playing with the volume nob). The quality
deteriorates because the tape is constantly in contact with
the VCR's heads. With DVD, there is no wear and tear to worry
about, since a laser is used to read the DVD. You would care
for your DVDs the same way you would for your audio CDs. With
proper care, your DVD disc will last for a long time. |
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It's a CD player too! |
All DVD players are capable of playing audio
CDs. In fact, many people believe DVD players sound better than
most CD players. |
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Will it Play CD-R & CD-RW disc
& MP3s. |
Some DVD players are able to play CDR and CD-RW
disc. Look for this feature if you need it since all DVD players
are not capable of playing CD-Rs and CD-RWs. Some DVD players
will also play MP3 CDs. To be sure, you can take your own disc
to the store and try them out first. |
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Multiple Disc Player |
DVD players also come in multi disc changers
like CD players. The convenience allows you to load multiple
discs, so that you don't have to get up and change disc each
time one ends. Although you may not watch more than two movies
back to back, you may play more than two CDs back to back. If
you have a large CD collection, a DVD player can replace your
CD changer. The disc capacity of DVD changers ranges from 2
to over 400 discs. |
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CD Text |
Players with this feature will display the artist
name, album and sound title of compatible CDs that you play.
If you burn your own CDs with the CD text feature turned on,
the computer will transfer the information to the CD during
recording. |
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Video CD (VCD) |
Some DVD players are capable of playing your
Video CDs (VCD). Video CDs are video recordings on CDs. Many
Hong Kong movies are on Video CDs. The quality is not nearly
as good as DVDs. It is actually comparable to VHS videos and
sometimes even worst. It has advantages though. CDs are cheap
and you can make Video CDs at home on your computer. People
often download music videos and burn them on their CDs. A full-length
movie uses at least 2 CDs. |
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Other Types of DVD Players |
DVD players come in many formats. You can get
Portable DVD players, DVD TV combos, DVD VCR Combos, DVD players
in Computers (DVD-ROM), Camcorders that record on DVDs, and
even DVD players integrated into video game consoles such as
the Sony Play Station 2. |
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Special thanks to "West Riley
Electronics " for allowing us to take photos of their Products. |
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