Greg Smith

August 1997

The DVD Skinny

Everybody wants to know about DVD lately. I keep getting e-mail from our readers; why don't you write about DVD?, they ask. That's easy--DVD is, at the moment, a video format. The number of audio-only titles on DVD is minimal. SoundStage! doesn't cover video issues, so we don't cover DVD, either. My head isn't in the sand on this one, though. If you're in the market to buy a new CD player, or a new laserdisc player, you might very well be considering a DVD player instead. And if you're not, maybe you should be. With that in mind, let's take a quick run through the issues I see as being important things to know before buying DVD right now:

• While it's not required by the DVD standard, all the players being produced right now can decode regular audio CDs. The DVD laser is similar enough to read both types. Most DVD players can't read CD-R discs, whether they were made on a computer or with an audio CD-R drive. The Pioneer DVL-700 and Sony DVP-S7000 have backward-compatible lenses that can also read CD-R, the Toshiba SAD-3006 and Panasonic DVD-A300 don't. This isn't an issue for most people, but it really gets me wound up to discuss it.
  
  
• Pioneer makes DVD players that also can read laserdiscs. Considering that DVD doesn't have too many movie titles available, and that there are many laserdiscs that may never be released on DVD, it may very well be worth the extra money to get a DVD/LD combo player and stock on up some laserdiscs now.
  
  
• DVD movies are usually mastered in Dolby Digital. Dolby Digital was originally called AC-3, because that's the encoding mechanism it uses. You'll need something to decode that into the appropriate number of channels, typically six. Most players have built-in DD decoders that downmix the whole works into are two channel analog output, sometimes in a Dolby Pro-Logic compatible format (some only do a straight stereo conversion). You'll obviously be losing something in the translation to Pro-Logic if you use that output.
  
  
• The digital outputs on DVD players can either be coaxial or TOSLINK. That doesn't mean you can hook them up to a regular stereo DAC; the Dolby Digital AC-3 bitstream they output by default is formatted differently. Some players let you switch those outputs so they output in the older format, which is called PCM audio. Depending on the player, that switching can happen either via the remote or with a physical switch on the back. On units with multiple digital outs, you theoretically could have one running through your stereo DAC while the other drives a Dolby Digital decoder, if it supported the PCM/AC-3 switching for each individual output. I'm not aware of such a player right now.
  
  
• Back when Dolby Digital was called AC-3, the only source for it was a laserdisc player with a special RF output. A RF demodulator was needed before the AC-3 decoder transformed that into six channel playback. This is totally different from the digital output on your typical DVD player, even though the connector can look the same. The Pioneer DVL-700 still requires that demodulator for AC-3 laserdiscs.
  
  
• Dolby Digital decoders are designed to be driven with the digital output stream from a DVD player. Some also have the older AC-3 RF decoder in them for use with laserdiscs; if you're buying a Dolby Digital/AC-3 decoder right now, make sure it can decode both formats if you care about laserdisc.
  
  
• The built-in decoders in some DVD players (like the Panasonic DVD-A300) actually decode into six analog outputs, so you may not need a Dolby Digital Decoder. Typically, these built-in decoders are underpowered compared with the output decoder units, particular in the area of bass management.
  
• Most early Dolby Digital/AC-3 material had all six channels of output on it. Now that older movies are being released, including mono classics like Blazing Saddles and Caddyshack, some decoders that didn't quite follow the spec closely enough and have never been tested on mono material could choke on these discs.
  
  
• Receivers or preamps described as "Dolby Digital Ready" typically have six analog inputs, for discrete channels. The designation doesn't mean they have a DD decoder in them.
  
  
• The higher video quality of DVD exceeds the quality of normal NTSC video outputs (which are called composite video). In order to get better resolution, you'll need to have a TV with an S-video input instead While every DVD player I know of has S-video outputs, some (the Sony DVP- S7000 and Toshiba SD-3006) also have superior component video capability. This is irrelevant unless you've got a component video capable TV/monitor/projector, which are rare and expensive. Expect them to become more available now that DVD is here.
  
  
• The copy protection on some DVDs can screw up the signal if you pass it through your VCR before it hits the TV.
  
  
• If you don't like the DVD picture, try turning the sharpness down on the TV.
  
  
• There are differences between players in the quality of the MPEG decoder and the video DACs used in DVD players. Unless you're using component video with a really good display, it's probably not worth the trouble of paying extra for the best available video just yet.

Where do I see the market going? Let's look at the facts. VHS tapes cost over $2 each to manufacture, while laserdiscs run closer to $8. DVD disc costs are closer to $2 right now, but should in short order drop to the approximately 50 cents that CDs cost. Compared with VHS tapes, DVD doesn't degrade over time and has overall better reliability. Compared with laserdisc, the quality ranges from just as good to better, with the occasional MPEG-2 artifact being insignificant from the perspective of public acceptance. DVD is far easier to manage because you can fit an entire movie on a disc; the public at large gets bad LP mojo if they have to flip sides during any performance. Every manufacturer of note is making players, and everybody big in the video industry has signed up except Disney. Considering the economics involved, the manufacturers have got to love DVD. I expect market penetration to continue to rise, to the point where DVD only imposes a slight price penalty over a regular CD player or CD-ROM in your computer. The pricing is going to fall a lot faster than CDs did when originally released, because the manufacturing techniques involved are a lot closer to CD than the CD techniques were to LP--going from one little digital format to another is far less of a learning curve. There's still a battle to finish with the audio industry before you can start buying all your regular music on DVD, and expect that to take at least another year to hash out. I don't see any reason why the video side is going to change anytime soon, but if the price of a DVD player represents a lot of money to you it's wise to wait at least until Disney starts making discs--that will be a good sign everything is going well with market acceptance.

As for me, the only units I see that's worth buying right now are the Pioneer DVD players that also play laserdiscs and will track my CD-R discs. If you've got different priorities, these may not be the best choice for you. The information here should help you get a good start shopping for DVD. For the really in-depth scoop, read the DVD FAQ or check out the listing of sources on our buddy Robert's DVD Info page.

.....GS (gsmith@westnet.com)