DVD player features to look for while buying

[thecoolguy11]

I am planning to buy a DVD player. Right now I am at next to no knowledge of what I should look at while buying DVD players?

Are there any good buying guides that I can find?

Also if I were to hook it up with a A/V receiver, will one digitial (Coaxial/output) be enough?

Should the DVD player support Dolby Digital and DTS or will my receiver having these decoders suffice? If a DVD player supports Dolby digital, does it automatically support DTS?
Are there Audio features that I should be looking at?
I plan to hook it up with a Yamaha HTR 5760.

 

[JohnA]

look for

s-video (min), Component video out, digital audio out (optical and coax), progressive scan, 5.1 audio outs, did I forget anything "important?" (important being key). Most of the new "mid-price" DVD players will fit everyone's needs. I picked one (www.yamakawa.de) that has selectable region codes because I watch a lot of import DVD's that you can't play on region 1 DVD players. Hope that helps some. Also look for one that supports the latest audio formats.

 

[Unregistered]

If you spend at least $100 for a DVD player it will have progressive scan, analog audio outs, optical and coaxial digital outs and built-in DD and DTS decoders. Very hard to find one that doesn't have those features.

Other features, such as the ability to play cd-r/rw, dvd-r/rw, jpeg or mp3/wma discs might also factor into your decision if you want to be able to play any of those kinds of discs. Again nearly all decent players have those features. Where they differ is in build quality and user-interface (some are easy to operate and some are a nightmare).

An excellent cheap player that has all those features is the Onkyo SP-301, but there are many others.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Other people will say different things, but what matters more at this point is what type of television you will be hooking it up to.

There are tons of DVD players on the market and most support digital audio directly off the disc to your receiver for processing through both toslink (digital optical) and spdif (digital coax). Your receiver has both of these inputs so you should be rock solid on all your audio processing up to any limitations of your receiver.

But, that leaves you the entire video side of the system which is really important.

Also, you will want to consider whether you just want to use the DVD player for movies, or do you want a universal player that can play SACDs and DVD-A discs as well. Unfortunately I don't use my DVD player for audio, so I'm no expert.

But, you may want to consider, if audio is important, being able to run direct 6 analog feeds from your DVD player to the A/V receiver. That will go into the 6 channel direct inputs on the 5760 and provide a separate channel of audio for each speaker directly. Does it sound better than digital? ... well, that's what I don't know.

Video output to your TV can be composite, s-video, component, or more often now you can find some with DVI output. The ones with HD DVI output have gotten some really good reviews for quality as everything is upconverted to 720p or 1080i format before going to your monitor. The connection is digital and should look really good.

Personally though, I went with price and got a Sony DVP-NS725P. Just a regular, run of the mill, progressive scan, component out, digital audio DVD player. About $125 or so and it looks great hooked up to my 50" plasma or 96" projector.

 

[thecoolguy11]

Dolby Digital and DTS

One more question. I know my receiver can handle DTS and Dolby digital 5.1, and if I have a digital coax cable then the receiver can handle either sound format. But does my DVD player need to have support for both formats or having support for one format implies that the other one is supported as well.

 

[Unregistered]

You don't need DD or DTS decoding in the DVD player if you are going to hook it up to a receiver using a digital audio cable. Despite that, you will not be able to find a dvd player that doesn't have a DD and/or DTS decoder built-in.

 

[thecoolguy11]

What about SACD and DVD audio?

Does this hold true for DVD audio and SACD as well? If I intend to play one such disc, does my DVD player need to support these formats or just the digital out from this onto my receiver provides me the ability to play such a disc? In essence, what I am asking is that can I buy an inexpnsive DVD player that just has one coaxial and one optical out, and one analog out and still be able to listen to SACD and DVD audio discs?

 

[Unregistered]

SACD and DVD-A

SACD and DVD-A are a different ball game than regular DVD. SACD discs usually contain a 2-channel Redbook cd layer that can be played in a regular cd player or dvd player. DVD-A discs usually have a 2 channel mix as well that can be played in a regular DVD player (not cd player though).

However, to get multi-channel or play the hi resolution formats of tracks on SACD or DVD-A you need a player that can read the SACD and/or DVD-A formats. These players have 5.1 analog outs and your receiver must have 5.1 analog inputs to be able to hook it up (to play the multi-channel/hi-res). Except for a few proprietary solutions (Denon d-link, Pioneer) you cannot play the multi-channel mixes when connected to a receiver using only a digital audio cable (either optical or coaxial). You can still play the 2 channel mixes using only a digital audio cable.

If you think you might ever want to try SACD or DVD-A, you should look into a universal player from Pioneer or Denon. They both have relatively inexpensive universal players (around $300).

 

[thecoolguy11]

Panasonic or Pioneer

Thanks for the input. I am considering the following options.

Pioneer DV - 578A. This plays DVD-A and SACD and costs $180 CDN.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10044950&catid=10561&atab=2&spviewed=&logon=&langid=EN&dept=11&WLBS=fsweb22

Panasonic DVD-F87: This plays DVD-A and costs $170 CDN
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&dept=11&WLBS=fsweb23&sku_id=0665000FS10041571&catid=10561&newdeptid=11

Given the ratings, I am thinking that the pansonic is a better option eventhough it lacks the ability to play SACD. Any suggestions of which one is the better player?