the hitchikers guide to a dvd galaxy (DVD Forum)

Member Name: utero

Product:	DVD Forum
Date:	12/05/01 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great quality, extras on dvd's, soundtrack

Disadvantages: inferior R2 products, overpriced R2 dvd's, RCE

DVD as a home video format first came onto the UK market around late 1998. At first not much was known about the format by the general public with only those in the know on home cinema having any real idea of it's benefits.

I was drawn to the format early on, working in a computer shop we were starting to hear about the format and I was enticed through my love of films but also by seeing that some film were available to buy on dvd way before VHS. So I bought my first player when they were still quite pricey. It was a Sony and at £450 it wasn't cheap. I had no clue about multi-region and DTS etc and it wasn't until I picked up a home cinema magazine that I saw what I was missing out on.

Two weeks later I recieved a bitter sweet letter from Empire Magazine informing me that I had won a Pioneer 717 dvd player. This was a time when this player was the dogs bo****ks and I had to wait 4 months to get my hands on it. By that time I knew more about the format and had already started to buy R1 dvd's as my mind was made up to get the player chipped as soon as possible.

SO WHAT'S THE BENEFIT OF DVD ?
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Well there are many. Firstly it provides the opportunity to watch films in their best possible home video presentation. The picture resolution is far greater than VHS and the qauilty doesn't degrade with time. The discs can also store the best possible sound presentation for a normal TV or be improved with the addition of a digital decoder and speakers. Due to the storage capcity on the discs you can also have the opporunity to have extra's on the disc to supplement the film. These can include 'making of' features, directors commentaries, deleted scenes, music videos, interviews etc.

WHAT IS MULTI-REGION ?
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The dvd format is worldwide and due to rights issues etc, the studios want to protect their product. As a result the world is split int
o 6 regions numbered 1-6. The UK is Region 2, USA-Region 1, Australia-Region 4 etc. Not so much of a problem you might think but it is. Most films get a theatrical release first in the USA with other countries getting it months later. As a result films are available months on dvd in the USA months before a UK release. In some cases you can get a film on Region 1 dvd before it's even on a UK cinema screen. Recent examples have been Stuart Little, Stallone's version of Get Carter and The Iron Giant.

Also due to exchange rates you can normally save money by importing dvd's from other regions. The big advantage is that the R1 catalogue is huge and very varied with lots of small independant films being available. In many cases they also have a lot more extras and better presentations. One of my favourite films is Scream and it's sequals. Originally I had a collectors edition of the first film that had some good extras. This was nearly 2 years ago now, it's just came out on R2 ! Then a box set featuring all three films and an extras dvd was available. It has a new version of Scream 2 that was anamorphic which was a real bonus. This boxset arrives in the UK minus the 4th dvd, has worse packaging and Scream 2 isn't anamorphic. Why should we bother with inferior product ?

The australian exchange rate has also made the R4 market a very nice alternative now the US exchange rate has dropped. You can pick up new dvd's for around £10-14 compared with the £20 you'd pay in the UK for the same product.

So my advice is get your player chipped or buy one with multi-region already included.

WHAT IS RCE ?
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Regional Coding Enhancement-some studios are now putting this on their dvd's to stop them playing on multi-region players. If you are able to select you region number manually then you should be ok but some players still have trouble. It's best to check with your retailer. Most of the che
aper multi-region players will have this problem. So far Columbia in the USA use this on all major releases.

DOLBY DIGITAL Vs DTS
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Dolby Digital is the sound standard that most dvd's have. The majority of titles are decoded in 5.1 which means a separate sound signal is sent to 2 front and rear speakers, a centre and a subwoofer. This creates a surround sound effect and really lets you get the best out of dvd. For this however you'll need a suitable amplifier. Some dvd's also contain DTS soundtracks, these work in exactly the same principle as Dolby Digital but have better compression rates. This means that even the most subtle sounds are highlighted in the soundtrack. It's generally makes for a fuller sound experience. Once again though your dvd player has to have the ability to decode this signal as well as a suitable amplifier. Only a handful of UK R2 dvd's have DTS soundtracks while in the USA there are a handful of studios that try to include DTS on all major releases.

WHAT SORT OF PLAYER SHOULD I GET ?
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My advice would be too read through one of the latest home cinema magazines and get some ideas then shop around. You can get players for around £150 or under, these are ok but have been known to have problems with some dvd's. Some also have problems with RCE if they have multi-region. A good solid player will set you back about £250 upwards.

If you love films then dvd is the way to go, the format is really starting to take off in a big way with prices coming down. To be honest whenever I watch a VHS tape now I get frustrated as the quality is so dull and lifeless compared to dvd.

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