Changers
Single-disc DVD players are the norm and fit most folks’ needs, but changers abound, too. Most DVD/CD changers come in one of two basic formats: five-disc “carousel” changers and 100- to 400-disc “megachangers,” most of which feature substantial disc- and title-sorting, display, and retrieval abilities. Clearly, the allure of changers comes mostly from the audio side: who wants to shuffle-play chapters from among several hundred movies the way you would CD tracks? But the convenience of having your whole movie library sortable and quickly available can be mighty attractive just the same.

Progressive-Scan and Upconversion
If you have an HDTV, you’ll get the best possible picture from DVDs by choosing a player with a progressive-scan output, which will provide a cleaner and smoother-looking picture. Most progressive-scan players cost only a bit more than standard ones, so there’s no good excuse not to at least consider them. To reap the benefits of this technology, you’ll need to use the player’s component-video jacks. Most players don’t come with component-video cables, so you’ll have to buy them separately.

Because of the different frame rates used for film (24 frames per second, or fps) and video (30 or 60 fps), movies and other film-originated programs are transferred to video by a process known as 2:3 pulldown, which converts film’s lower frame rate to the higher one used for video. For optimal picture quality, a progressive-scan DVD player must detect film-based material and handle 2:3 pulldown properly in the deinterlacing process. Nearly all of today’s progressive-scan players do this, but some do it noticeably better than others. A critical eye on demanding material — like clear, slow pans across static images with sharp diagonal lines — can reveal the difference between the best 2:3 pulldown processing and bad or even merely adequate performance. On a player that does a poor job, diagonal lines will look jagged.

If your HDTV has either a DVI or HDMI input, another upgrade that’s worth the extra money is a DVI or HDMI output. You’ll generally get a more pristine picture with these connections because they keep the video signal digital all the way from the DVD to the TV, eliminating a whole stage of digital-to-analog-to-digital conversion.

Players with these connectors go even further by upconverting the standard video on a DVD to an HDTV format, either 720p or 1080i. What you’re seeing isn’t true high-definition — the player can’t actually add detail to the picture — but you’d be surprised how close it looks to the real thing.

Sound
DVDs can carry a range of audio options, from mono (classic films) to stereo to Dolby Digital or DTS multichannel surround sound. Then there are the high-resolution, usually six-channel, DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD) options (see Music Playback) . All DVD players deliver audio in at least two formats: two-channel analog audio (via stereo line-level RCA jacks) and digital audio via an optical or coaxial (RCA) jack. Some players provide both types of digital audio outputs for hookup convenience.

Connect the digital output to a corresponding input on a digital surround receiver, preamp, or processor, and you can enjoy the movie-theaterlike multichannel soundtrack included on the vast majority of DVDs. Almost all DVDs have Dolby Digital, and some include DTS as well, but the digital connection can be set to deliver CD audio in stereo instead if you don’t have a multispeaker surround sound setup. In either case, when you use the digital connection, the ultimate audio quality depends on the performance of your receiver or surround processor, not the DVD player.

The DVD player’s analog audio outputs provide stereo (or two-channel mono from discs of old movies), which on most movies is Dolby Surround-encoded. That means it can be decoded by good old analog Dolby Pro Logic (or Dolby Pro Logic II or IIx) if you lack a Dolby Digital/DTS-capable component. But there’s more. Many DVD players also include multichannel analog outputs (left, center, right, left and right surround, and subwoofer) for their built-in Dolby Digital/DTS decoding. Generally, there’s no advantage to using these unless you have an older receiver or preamp that has multichannel analog inputs but can’t do digital multichannel decoding on its own. In fact, in most cases you get more flexible bass-management options by making the digital connection and using the A/V receiver or preamp’s decoding. Besides, a single digital interconnect cable is a lot less cumbersome than six analog ones.

See Surround Sound for more information.

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