Time to catch DVD fever?

The DVD player is the fastest-selling consumer electronics product ever. If you're thinking of joining in the rush, here are some tips on what to shop for.

By DAVE GUSSOW
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 26, 2002

Jim Taylor is such a believer in the virtues of DVD that he once held the job title of DVD evangelist. He argues the technology means more than just a better TV picture: The digital versatile disc (or digital video disc, as it was originally called) will change the way you look at home entertainment.

"The first thing you'll notice is that your speakers don't sound nearly as good as the ones in the store demo, so you'll go out and get surround speakers," said Taylor, who runs the DVD Demystified Web site (www.dvddemystified.com).

"Then you'll realize that to do the speakers justice you need a new 5.1-channel receiver. Then once you're surrounded by theater-quality audio, your TV screen will start looking awfully small."

Taylor caught the DVD fever in 1995, long before most people had heard about the technology. He wrote a book to explain DVD, later became the official DVD evangelist at Microsoft and continued working with it after leaving the software giant.

Push play to reveal DVD extras You don't have to be a film critic to appreciate the special features offered by DVD technology, but I have to admit it helps.

Now millions of consumers share Taylor's enthusiasm, making DVD players the hottest-selling gadgets around. Sales in June rose 75 percent from the same month a year ago, according to figures from the Consumer Electronics Association.

The DVD player, the fastest-selling consumer electronic product ever, has reached 25 percent of U.S. households, and the association predicts it may hit 33 percent by the end of the year. That compares with about 95 percent that have videotape players.

Retailers are taking note. Circuit City doesn't sell movies on videotape at its stores anymore, though it still carries blank tapes. Blockbuster is devoting more shelf space to DVDs than to the tapes that not long ago filled its stores.

All of this means that DVDs are no longer a brand-new technology known only to true believers like Jim Taylor and "early adopters" who rush to try out the latest gadgets. DVDs have become so mainstream that the rest of us are probably feeling enticed, if not pressured, to see what the fuss is about.

If so, the DVD's crisper picture may be the first thing that catches your eye. But another major attraction is the price tag, with some players selling these days for less than $100 everywhere from Best Buy to Wal-Mart.

So it would seem easy just to go out, pick up a cheap player and view away, right? Yes, but a little homework helps.

"Some people are worried about not understanding a new technology like DVD," Taylor said in an e-mail interview. "They're afraid they don't even understand the right questions to ask when buying a player."

Here's a summary of some things to consider when buying a DVD player:

Price

Everyone loves a bargain, and DVD players are definitely in the affordable range. One expert says you can find all you're likely to need in a DVD player for $100 to $150 but you might want to shy away from the $65 no-name specials.

"All but the very bottom-dollar models perform reasonably well," said Ed Perratore, an associate editor at Consumer Reports magazine. "Generally the ones that are better performing have more of the features that people might want to have. Those features affect what you can connect the DVD player to and what you can take advantage" of, such as which extra features on the DVD itself. And if you add features, the price goes up.

In addition, said Taylor, "Some cheap players have problems playing discs, so it's better to stick with brand names."

Connections

DVD players can connect to TVs several ways, but not all will give the same picture quality. Unless you are out to buy a whole new home entertainment center, be sure to check the available connections on the back of your TV before you go shopping for a DVD player.

In particular, older TV sets that have only an RF video connector (for a screw-on antenna) can be a problem.

"If you have an older TV, you're not going to see the improved picture quality of DVD over VHS," Perratore said. In addition, using an RF connector requires an adapter, which can cost from $30 to $80. If the TV is more than 3 or 4 years old, Perratore says, it might be best to buy a new set to go along with that new DVD player.

On his Web site, Taylor gives these ratings to the different connections you can use, although your options depend on what's offered on the DVD player you buy and the TV set you own:

-- Best: Progressive-scan component video hookups. These have three separate output cables and are available on only a few models of DVD players and TVs. Taylor says this "preserves the progressive nature of most movies, providing a film-like, flicker-free image with improved vertical resolution and smoother motion."

-- Second best: Component video inputs, which involve a single cable that branches off into three plugs that are usually red, green and blue. Again, this connection is usually offered only on new, expensive TVs.

-- Third best: S-video, which uses a single plug RCA-type jack, is still very good.

-- Okay: Composite video input, which has a single video connector, usually yellow.

Progressive scan

Low-end players won't have what's known as progressive scan, which provides a sharper, less jittery looking picture.

Because only digital, high-definition TVs can show that quality, it won't make a difference for most DVD buyers. However, if you plan to upgrade to a digital TV at some point, it's probably a feature to consider.

Discs

You can count on any DVD player you buy at a reputable outlet to show any DVDs you buy from the same type of store. The only catch would come if somebody offers you a cut-rate deal on a DVD -- or a DVD player -- they sneaked in from, say, Hong Kong. To reduce international counterfeiting, DVDs and the machines that play them are coded by regions. North America is Region One.

Beyond DVDs, there's the alphabet soup of other discs your new machine might or might not play. Check the box before you buy if you also want to use it for music CDs, CD-Rs that you "burn" yourself or the new DVD-Rs that can be recorded at home (on your computer or expensive new machines that cost $750 and up to buy.)

The DVD Demystified Web site includes a glossary that not only defines the disc formats but explains other terminology as well.

Combo units

Some companies have combined a DVD player with the traditional VCR. That sounds convenient, but it has some drawbacks.

"There's a lot you that you give up in going for a combo unit," Perratore said. "The models we looked at seem to skimp on a lot of features" to make room for two devices in one.

However, if you need to save space or your entertainment center can't handle two devices, a combo unit might make sense.

For those thinking that a combo unit makes it easy to tape on the VCR from a DVD, it's not that simple. DVD players have a circuit that garbles the tape, technology that prevents illegal copying.

Another factor to consider is how the DVD player will be used. If it's part of a home entertainment center, Consumer Reports (www.consumerreports.org) suggests a multidisc player that can handle a number of discs in a row.

Audio

You go to a movie theater not only for the picture quality but also the sound system. DVDs bring that capability home, but it takes more than your TV speakers to work well.

"Playing a DVD through cheap TV speakers is like buying a really nice bottle of wine and then drinking it out of a dirty glass that still has milk in the bottom," Taylor said. "A standard stereo will make a nice difference, and it will work with all DVD players. But a Dolby Digital receiver with five or six speakers will knock your socks off."

On closer inspection

DVD players with the right features let you do a lot more than watch, rewind or fast-forward a movie. You can skip from scene to scene, zoom in, pan, check out slow motion and other neat tricks.

All those functions, naturally, mean the remote control can be complicated. So you might want to check out the design of that vital piece of equipment out beforehand.

Tale of the tape

Even with DVD recorders available, Consumer Reports says people should consider a DVD player an addition to their home entertainment menu, not a replacement for the VCR.

DVD sales are overtaking VCRs, but tape is not dead. "The rumors of the death of the VCR are premature," said Jeff Joseph, a spokesman for the Consumer Electronics Association. "The average household has 10 videotapes and many have a lot more. There's just no incentive for people to disenfranchise that population by suddenly getting rid of VHS technology."

For those who want even more information, check out Taylor's Web site, which covers just about any question. While he tries to be user friendly with the terminology, he also has links to other sites that try to keep it shorter and simpler.

-- Times news researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report, which includes information from Times wires. Dave Gussow can be reached at gussow@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4228.

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