Dvda?

[Methost]

Can someone explain DVDA or DVD Audio to me? Are they decoded in my DVD player, or my Receiver? If I have a good progressive scan DVD player, what are the odds I can play a DVDA? Can I Dload DVDA files and make my own audio disks?

Lots of questions I know, but if I am spending the money on the system, I might as well have some good tunes to go with my good movies.

 

[shokhead]

Can someone explain DVDA or DVD Audio to me? Are they decoded in my DVD player, or my Receiver? If I have a good progressive scan DVD player, what are the odds I can play a DVDA? Can I Dload DVDA files and make my own audio disks?

Lots of questions I know, but if I am spending the money on the system, I might as well have some good tunes to go with my good movies.

If you type in DVD-A in search,that will get you started.

 

[supervij]

DVD-A is one of the two types of high resolution music (SACD being the other). With a DVD-A, you not only get the hi-res audio, you usually get a DTS (or a Dolby Digital) 5.1 layer as well. Not to mention a regular PCM 2.0 layer. If you have a player that can play DVD-A and a receiver that has the 6 analog inputs, then you can listen to the hi-res portion of the disc. If you have a regular DVD player, then you can listen to the DTS/DD layer. If you don't a 5.1 speaker setup, you can listen to the DTS/DD layer downmixed to 2.0, or you can listen to the 2.0 that is usually provided.

Another nice thing about DVD-A is that the discs usually include video stuff too: promo videos, interviews, concert footage, or even printed lyrics. That's something that SACD can't provide, by the way.

If you're listening to the hi-res portion of the disc, then your player is doing the decoding, and sending that to the receiver through the analog cables, where the receiver simply routes the information to the appropriate speakers.

Apparently, DVD-A can be ripped, but you need a lot of software to do it. You can possibly download it, but they would be monstrously large files. It really doesn't even seem worth it, but if you can find a site, you'll see how big those files are.

Hope I've helped!

cheers,
supervij

 

[Methost]

Hope I've helped!

cheers,
supervij

Yes you have. I have been looking at DVD players and have seen them with 6 analog outputs but some do not say DVD-A. Am I to understand that these players MUST contain a DVD-A decoder to pick that up?

 

[supervij]

Not necessarily. If you look on the front of the player, there's usually a whole list of the formats that the player can support. Check to see if "DVD-Audio/Video" is there. If it isn't, check the manual/box.

I've also seen 6 analog outputs on players that definitely do not support SACD/DVD-A. I'm not entirely sure why these players have them, unless it's to hook up individual speakers directly to each of these outputs, making the player more of a HTIB.

cheers,
supervij

 

[Methost]

Not necessarily. If you look on the front of the player, there's usually a whole list of the formats that the player can support. Check to see if "DVD-Audio/Video" is there. If it isn't, check the manual/box.

I've also seen 6 analog outputs on players that definitely do not support SACD/DVD-A. I'm not entirely sure why these players have them, unless it's to hook up individual speakers directly to each of these outputs, making the player more of a HTIB.

cheers,
supervij

Thanks >heads off to price grabber<

 

[j_garcia]

I've also seen 6 analog outputs on players that definitely do not support SACD/DVD-A. I'm not entirely sure why these players have them, unless it's to hook up individual speakers directly to each of these outputs, making the player more of a HTIB.

You cannot hook speakers directly to ANY player if it does not also include a preamp section (volume control), and without powered speakers, it would also need to have an amplifier section.

Players with built in decoders are for use with older receivers and pre/pros that did not have DD/DTS decoders built in.

To clarify, 2ch, DD/DTS and DVD-A are not "layers" they are simply different areas of the disc that contain that particular data. There are currently a maximum of 2 layers only on a dual layer disc, and the data may be on either of them. Same with hybrid SACDs, which have the 2ch and multichannel SACD tracks on one layer and the regular CD tracks on the other.

While DVD-A has the advantage of including video, hybrid SACDs can be played in any player (though you will be hearing a standard CD in anything other than an SACD player). This is something you cannot do with a DVD-A disc, which requires a player that is DVD-A compatible.

 

[supervij]

Yeah, I know they're not "layers"; that was just me being imprecise for no good reason. And regards to the idea of hooking up the analog outs to speakers -- I read on one of the HT newsgroups about some guy who tried it out. He got extremely low volume out of all his speakers, but it worked. I have no idea how he hooked 'em up, though. Actually, come to think of it, I think his were HTIB-type speakers hooked directly up to a newish player with the six analog outs. Still dunno how, but there you go.

To clarify on one of your points, though, you CAN play a DVD-A on a regular DVD player. You won't get the hi-res portion, but you will get the DTS/DD audio tracks.

cheers,
supervij

 

[j_garcia]

I read on one of the HT newsgroups about some guy who tried it out. He got extremely low volume out of all his speakers, but it worked. I have no idea how he hooked 'em up, though. Actually, come to think of it, I think his were HTIB-type speakers hooked directly up to a newish player with the six analog outs. Still dunno how, but there you go.

Voltage is output by the analog outputs, but it isn't sufficient to drive speakers unless they are powered. You could get sound, depending on the output voltage but you can't adjust it globally (you can't turn it up or down without adjusting each speaker), so in the context of being able to actually sit and listen to a CD or movie, it doesn't work is what I'm getting at.

To clarify on one of your points, though, you CAN play a DVD-A on a regular DVD player. You won't get the hi-res portion, but you will get the DTS/DD audio tracks.

Sorry, yes, DVD-A (the DVD-V portion) will work in any DVD player, but not in any player that is CD only.