DVD Demystified

DVD at Home
■ DVD is not better simply because it is digital. MiniDisc and Video CD
are digital, but many people are unhappy with the fidelity of these
formats. The output of first-generation players is not digital—it is
analog. Standard consumer displays have only analog inputs. Even
component video output, although it provides a very clean signal, is not
digital.
■ Laserdisc is not inferior because it is analog. Laserdisc video is analog,
but laserdiscs have both analog and digital sound tracks. Many newer
laserdiscs also include an AC-3 (Dolby Digital) sound track that is
essentially the same as that of DVD. Laserdisc video quality is only
slightly below that of DVD.
DVD Is to Videotape What CD Is to
Cassette Tape
A major disadvantage of standard DVD players is that they cannot record,
but neither can CD players, and that has not stopped customers from buying
over 700 million of them. Of course, it is more common to record from
television than from radio, but most people have both a tape deck and a CD
player, yet they think nothing of it. The same frame of mind should be cultivated
for DVD—it is a companion to the VCR, not a replacement for it.
Unfortunately, the copy protection features of DVD can make it harder to
copy from DVD to videotape than it is to copy from CD to audiotape.
Think of It as a CD Player That Plays Movies
If your CD player is getting old and cranky or you are thinking of donating
it to someone less fortunate than you and replacing it with a new model,
consider a DVD player. As the price of DVD players drops, this makes ever
more sense. Eventually, for less than a hundred dollars more than what you
would pay for a decent CD player, you can get a DVD player that is a decent
CD player and a great movie player to boot.
The Computer Connection
423
Just as many computers can play audio CDs in their CD drives, many new
computers can play DVD-Videos in their DVD-ROM drives. Many DVDs are
enhanced for use in PCs. Even after you watch a movie on your settop