DVD Players and Blu-ray Buying Guide

The next generation of home entertainment is here. Crystal clear high definition sound and HDTVs have swept the market. Make sure you're prepared with the latest in DVD and Blu-ray players. Blu-ray offers the highest quality audio and video, giving you full 1080P HD. Blu-ray players have come down in price, but if you're looking for an inexpensive alternative, DVD players still offer a high resolution widescreen viewing experience. To better understand the difference between DVD and Blu-ray players, Abt has put together this guide to help you sort through all the features.

DVD Players - With 480 lines of horizontal picture resolution, DVD video quality is twice as good as VHS tape. What's more, the format also allows for both dual-sided and dual-layer discs, so you can get both widescreen (letterboxed) and pan and scan ("reformatted to fit your screen") versions of a film on a single disc.

When it comes to audio, DVD offers two channels of CD-quality sound and several configurations of Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound. Most DVDs offer multiple language and subtitle options and a host of other interactive features.

Blu-ray Players - The newest format is Blu-ray, which is a true HD (high definition) DVD player. Blu-ray provides true HD resolution at a higher quality than cable or satellite HD because it does not have a compressed signal. Blu-ray players deliver nearly six times the bit-processing (video information on screen) of standard DVD players, for a picture that's superior to anything on the market. HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable will provide a true 1080i/1080p signal. A 1080p signal is the best high-definition signal currently produced.

Blu-ray players also deliver 7.1 channels of lossless audio. This high definition surround sound offers superior quality and makes for an amazing audio experience. Blu-ray brings all of your favorite movies and concerts to life in the comfort of your own home.

Blu-ray players offer many interactive features, and Blu-ray discs have 5 times the capacity of DVDs, giving you more room for extra content. With 50GB of capacity you can experience interactivity and bonus features like never before.

As for your existing DVDs, Blu-ray players use the standard 12cm and 8cm disc sizes to support backward compatibility. That means your current collection of DVDs will still work with your Blu-ray player.

User Interface:
DVD and Blu-ray players come in single-play formats, five-disc changers, and 300 disc storage players. Regardless of price and format, a DVD or Blu-ray player should be almost effortless to use. The panel controls should be clearly labeled and neatly presented. The remote should be ergonomically pleasing; the buttons should be well-marked and easy to distinguish in the dark. The better remote controls should also be backlit. More expensive players will offer "jog/shuttle" controls on their remotes, which let you move around the disc more easily. Player set-up and configuration using the on-screen display should be easy to figure out. You should also note how quickly and easily the player navigates the menus and features programmed on discs. The manufacturer's manual should be provided in plain language, free of jargon and stilted translations.

Video Performance:
DVD Players - When examining a DVD player's performance, it's important to look at the overall picture quality and pertinent features. While only the most expensive first-generation players offered 12-bit video processing--for better picture quality during action or other high-motion sequences--today, even modestly priced DVD players offer it. Picture-quality differences tend to be subtle on all but the largest screens, but players do show variations in color balance, brightness, portrayal of black level, color saturation, and other visual parameters.
Blu-ray Players - In order to understand Blu-ray video performance you must first learn about high definition. In short, high definition offers 6x better resolution than standard definition. Older box sets are what we call standard definition televisions. New TVs offer 720P, 1080i, and 1080P and are all high definition. HDTVs offer a noticeable difference in sharpness and resolution, making videos look more realistic. Blu-ray delivers video in 1080P, which is the highest picture quality available right now. If your HDTV does not provide 1080P video it will still display the best image possible. In all, if you're looking to obtain the next generation video quality and you want to stay ahead of the curve, a Blu-ray player is a great investment.

Video Connections:
DVD Players - Some newer model DVD players now offer HDMI connections. HDMI is the newest and most advanced connection type. However, the most common higher end connection for DVD players is called component video. This method of video transmission, which requires a TV or monitor with component-video inputs, delivers the next best quality. Make sure you have a TV or projection system with component-video inputs if your DVD player offers this. S-Video transmission offers the next-highest quality after component video; composite transmission is the next notch down on the quality scale after S-Video. Most DVD players have both composite and S-Video outputs.
Blu-ray Players - HDMI cables are the newest and most advanced connection type. Most new HDTVs come equipped with HDMI but always make sure before purchasing. HDMI cables are the new standard in high definition, delivering uncompressed 1080P video and 7.1 channels of surround sound all through one cable. The next best connection is DVI, which is often used on older HDTVs. DVI, like HDMI, gives you 1080P high definition video but without the audio channels. Component Video is another connection possibility for use with a Blu-ray player. While still providing outstanding quality, component cables can only produce 720P and 1080i video.

Widescreen Playback:
Many DVDs and Blu-ray DVDs come "widescreen-enhanced" or "anamorphically squeezed," which means the actual picture is squeezed into a horizontally narrower frame (making the image taller and thinner than normal). A widescreen television with a 16:9 aspect ratio can un-squeeze the picture so it fills the screen. While being able to view anamorphically squeezed DVD video on a widescreen TV provides the ultimate in DVD picture quality, older sets offer conventional 4:3 aspect-ratio (square) screens, in which case the DVD or Blu-ray player itself has to do the un-squeezing and create a letterboxed version to fit the screen.

Surround Sound:
DVD Players - One of the best features of the DVD format is that it can play back surround-sound audio. A surround-sound format like Dolby Digital delivers excellent surround audio from 5.1 up to 7.1 channels.
Many DVD discs are now available with DTS (Digital Theater Systems) surround sound as well; DTS is another 5.1 up to 7.1-channel format that uses lower compression rates than Dolby Digital (and thus tends to sound a little better) but uses more disc space for audio.
Blu-ray Players - Blu-ray players provide up to 7.1 channels of lossless high definition audio. With 5.1 channels you sometimes lose sound quality from the original source. With 7.1 channels you will never lose any sound, allowing you to feel like you're in the action.

Audio Connections:
DVD Players - All DVD players offer some form of digital output for Dolby Digital, DTS, or conventional 2-channel PCM sound. Some players have both optical and coaxial digital outs; others may use one or the other. If you've already purchased an AV receiver, check to see whether it has optical or digital inputs and plan on buying a DVD player that uses that output format.

Blu-ray Players - Again, using an HDMI cable will offer both superior video and audio quality reaching up to 7.1 channels of high definition surround sound. Most Blu-ray players will also offer optical audio output, coaxial audio digital output, and analog audio output.

Progressive Scan DVD Player:
The most popular type of DVD player is Progressive scan (480 lines of resolution). Progressive scan displays all horizontal lines of the image at one time as a whole picture. Interlaced scan, found in most standard televisions, displays only odd-numbered lines of the broadcast image first, followed by even-numbered lines, which can cause some motion blur in fast-moving scenes.

Upscaling DVD Player
The 2nd type DVD player is called an upscaling DVD player, which will do all the above but will also enhance picture quality even further than progressive scan. It will take those 480 lines of resolution and up convert the signal to 720P/1080i resolution, taking advantage of your TV's high-definition picture quality. If you plan on purchasing an Upscaling DVD player it is required that you use HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) to up convert to 720P/1080I.

To view all DVD and Blu-ray Players available at Abt, click here.