DVD Demystified

DVD at Home
Video Hookup
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A DVD player must be connected to a video system: a television, a video projector,
a flat-panel display, a video processor, an audio/visual (A/V) receiver
or video switcher, a VCR, a video capture card, or other equipment capable
of displaying or processing a video signal. If you have a widescreen TV, the
details can be confusing. See Chapter 3 for information about aspect ratios
and wide-screen display modes.
For all but RF video, audio cables are also required, since the video connection
does not carry audio. Things get a bit tricky when there are multiple
devices fighting over a single TV. For example, a DVD player, VCR, cable
box, and video game console may all need to be connected to a TV with only
one video input. In this case, the best option is to use an A/V receiver, which
will switch the video along with the audio. When buying a new A/V receiver,
get as many video inputs as you can afford—you will always end up with
more video sources than you think you will. If an A/V receiver is out of your
price range, get a new TV with more video inputs or get a manual video
switching box. If you have only a DVD player and a VCR (or cable box), you
can hook the VCR or cable box to the antenna input of the TV and hook the
DVD player to the video input. Using the remote control, switch between
channel 3 (or 4) and the auxiliary video input.
Do not connect the DVD player through the VCR. Most movies use
Macrovision protection (see Chapter 4), which affects VCRs and causes
problems such as a repeated darkening and lightening of the picture. You
also may have problems with a TV/VCR combo, since many of them route
the video input through the VCR circuitry. In this case, the only solution
is to get a device that removes Macrovision from the signal.
Most DVD players provide two or three video hookup options, detailed
in the following sections.
Component Video Until digital connections are available, this is the
preferred method of connecting a DVD player to a video system. Component
video output provides three separate video signals in RGB or YP bP r
(Y, B-Y, R-Y) format. These are two different formats that are not directly
interchangeable.
Unlike composite or s-video connections, component signals do not interfere
with each other and are thus not subject to the slight picture degradation
caused by crosstalk. Since the video is stored in three component parts
on the disc, this provides the cleanest path from disc to display.