DVD Shopping
We've entered the era of the $30 DVD player and $10 DVDs, proving that DVD has come of age. Here's a few shopping tips to keep in mind:
The $30 player is fine if you're prepared for a disposable machine you'll probably replace in a year or two of heavy use. The bargain DVD player is perfect for a small TVs with a limited sound system, perhaps as a second player for a bedroom.
DVD players are mechanical devices and moving parts will wear out. Chances are the player is rated to operate for X number of hours before parts grind to a halt.
Home theater sound systems capable of extended frequency response will bring out flaws in the sound. A larger-screen TV or use of progressive scan found in bargain DVD players (if it has component outputs) will also tend to expose more flaws and artifacts in the video; you get what you paid for.
If you're planning on hooking your new DVD player up to a home theater system with a large HDTV and a sound system, you'll want to do better than brave lines at Wal-Mart. Look for digital audio outputs for the best possible sound. This takes the burden of Digital Audio Conversion (performed by chips called DACs) to the receiver. This relieves the need for high-end DACs on your player.
If your TV is equipped with HDMI or DVI inputs, you should look for a DVD player with equivalent outputs. These are HDCP certified video interfaces.
HDMI is the future for high-quality digital video delivery. You should look for TVs and DVD players that use either HDMI or DVI interfaces.
Don't assume that all DVD players will look the same because they have progressive scan. Although it's a must-have feature if you're using an HDTV, you'll want to actually see how well the DVD players present video and judge on their individual merits.
Scaling, deinterlacing and 3:2 pulldown are all performed by processors purchased by the manufacturer and aren't all created equal. Cheap video processors find shortcuts that use fewer transistors and circuitry. Expensive video processors (like Faroudja or Runco) are the result of research by teams of engineers who make patented processes that aren't to be found on generic chips.
Fortunately these days, a moderately-priced DVD player can present fine video through either component (analogue) or HDCP compatible (digital) outputs. If you're using digital outputs, the audio quality isn't as much of a concern unless you plan on using a high-resolution audio player like SACD or DVD-Audio then you're back to using the player's DACs.
