All over the world, home cinema enthusiasts have been demanding a flexible format to watch their films on, and one that is a superior quality to what has gone before. LaserDisc offers superb picture and sound quality but the size and cost of the discs has kept it from reaching mass popularity. VHS has been the dominant world-wide television-based film format for a very long time, but it's very poor picture quality and audio limitations (only Stereo/Dolby Pro-Logic, NO digital discrete surround), have forced companies to come up with a new format. DVD can carry hours of perfect video on a single sided disc with multiple, multi-channel surround sound, multi-language subtitles, and much interactive stuff.
The format is big in America and is taking off in the UK and all over the world. I've compiled a little FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about DVD, so you can find out about this fascinating format for video, music, computer games, and loads more.
What does DVD actually mean?
Digital Versatile Disc. There was a time a few years ago when it
was called Digital Video Disc, but as it also has excellent
applications in music as well as a computer format, video became
versatile.
What is a DVD capable of?
The size of a CD, DVD can carry better than CD quality
audio, as well as multiple soundtracks for movies, including
MPEG-2, DTS, Dolby Pro-Logic and Dolby Digital sound. To
accompany them it can also carry films, pop videos and other
visual entertainment, and it has superior picture quality
compared to LaserDisc and the crappy, poor quality VHS. It has a
huge amount of storage space so the majority of films can fit on
a single side of a disc. However, its way of storing data can be
utilised to actually provide 484 minutes of excellent picture and
sound.
How does this compare to CD and VideoCD?
A CD can carry 74 minutes of stereo audio. A VideoCD can
carry 74 minutes of stereo audio and MPEG-1 video, so DVD far
outshines any other format in terms of storage capacity, picture
and audio quality. A DVD disc holds 4.7GB on a single side, and
it can also have double layers of information, AND it can be
double sided, taking the total capacity of a single disc up to a
mega 17GB (17,000MB!)
What about LaserDisc?
I'll get onto more complex comparisons later, but a LaserDisc has
the storage capacity of 60 minutes of high quality video and
digital sound. That's on a single side, though, material over an
hour long can be split over two sides - so a total amount of two
hours is available.
What will I need to play a DVD?
Naturally what you will need is a DVD player, and they are very
similar to a CD player, but also offer the functions of a video
or LaserDisc player. The player can either be connected to your
TV through a Scart connection, just like a video, to supply both
picture and sound; or like a CD player, to a stereo, Dolby
Pro-Logic or (ideally) a Dolby Digital or MPEG-2 amplifier for
surround sound.
Region One, Region Two. What's that all
about?
To help avoid piracy and protect companies' copyright as well as
respect a film's release dates, the world has been divided up
into six regions. America is Region One, and Europe and Japan are
Region Two.
I understand that America has already got a
lot of titles on DVD. Can I import these discs to play in this
country?
Of course you can. America has over 800 titles on DVD, and
these can be imported on a personal basis like LaserDiscs. Many
dealers offer this service, as do a lot of websites. However, to
play them, you will need a Region One player (which won't play
European/Japanese discs, as these are Region 2.) Or...
Can I open up my DVD player and poke around
in it to change it into an 'Multi-region' or 'Region One' player?
Yes, you can. Not all, but most players can be accessed and made
to play different discs - this can mean throwing a couple of din
switches or cutting a prong off a chip. However, you may void the
warranty, which means that if your player goes wrong, the
manufacturer may refuse to fix it. If you must play All-area
discs (a good thing), I would recommend having the chip set
changed, as there are many shops that will undertake such a task.