DVD players have revolutionized home entertainment. DVDs produce great image and sound quality and they're also more convenient, space efficient and longer lasting than VHS tapes.
There are many features and options available for DVD players. We've broken them down into five categories depending on what you'll be using your DVD player for. The descriptions below should help you decide what kind of DVD player will be best for you.
Occasional Movie Watcher
If you have an analog TV, and you only watch movies occasionally, there's no need for you to spend a lot of money on an expensive DVD player. Today's basic DVD players produce excellent picture and sound quality and will give you the same results as the more expensive DVD players on your analog TV set. Most of the low end DVD players available will play CDs too, so you can save space by using a combined DVD/CD player for your TV and stereo.
Pros: Great picture and sound quality at a low price. Most can play many different DVD & CD formats.
Cons: Lack features (like Progressive Scan) that you may want if you upgrade your TV to digital in the future.
Price: Starting around $30.
Film Buff
If you want the movies you watch at home to have full theater impact it's important to buy a DVD player that delivers top-of-the-line audio and video quality. Shop for a DVD player with Progressive Scan technology that supports Dolby Digital sound and combine it with a digital TV and a surround sound receiver and speakers. You'll get razor sharp images and clear sound for a fantastic home theater experience.
Pros: Best picture and sound quality available.
Cons: Requires other high end equipment, like TVs and speakers, to deliver the best experience.
Price: $30 to around $900. The more reliable Progressive Scan DVD players cost at least $100.
Traveler
Want to keep yourself (or your kids) entertained on long car and plane rides? Then shop for a portable DVD player. They come with an attached monitor and speaker as a single, easy-to-carry unit. They're great for family trips and if you're a frequent traveler you'll appreciate the compact technology that allows you to watch your favorite movies wherever you go.
Pros: Great entertainment on long trips. Some units can be installed directly into your car. Portable DVD players are compact and lightweight and most come with a headphone jack for private listening.
Cons: Screens are small—usually just 7 inches. Batteries will wear out quickly, so be sure to shop for portable DVD players that use rechargeable batteries or that come with an adapter to plug into your car lighter.
Price: Starting around $55 for portable DVD players with screens.
VHS Watcher
Having a hard time letting go of your favorite VHS tapes? Shop for a DVD/VCR player that combines both technologies into one unit. With a DVD/VCR combo you can still enjoy all of your old movies while keeping up to date with the latest technology.
Pros: Save room by eliminating the need for a separate VCR unit.
Cons: VHS tapes can degrade over time. You may be better off spending a little more money on a DVD recorder and transferring all of your old VHS tapes onto more durable DVDs.
Price: Starting around $70.
Archivist
Want to record your favorite TV shows or convert your old VHS tapes to DVD to clear up shelf space? Then shop for a DVD recorder – it's the perfect new-technology replacement for your VCR. Watch movies and record video to DVD with one unit. High-end DVD recorders come with editing features and a hard disc drive (HDD), which stores the data temporarily until you decide what you want to record to DVD.
Pros: Record TV shows and old VHS tapes permanently onto DVDs.
Cons: Good-quality DVD recorders with editing functions and a hard drive can be pricey.
Price: Starting around $50. DVD recorders with a hard drive start at around $200.
Important Terms
DVD Recorders DVD recorders allow you to watch DVDs as well as record to them. They're great for recording TV shows and movies.
DVD Recorder Formats "Format" refers to the type of media that you can record to. Common DVD formats are "DVD-R" and "DVD-RW". In "DVD-R" the "R" stands for recordable, which means you can record or "burn" information onto a blank DVD-R disc once. In "DVD-RW" the "RW" stands for re-writable, which means you can erase and re-record information onto a DVD-RW disc many times, like a VHS tape but with no loss in quality.
"RW" discs can be a little confusing because there isn't a single standard for recordable DVDs yet. There are currently "+RW" and "-RW" DVD formats available so be sure to buy the right kind of disc for your DVD recorder. Some DVD recorders can handle both "+RW" and "-RW" formats and are often listed like this: "DVD±RW".
DVR/DVD Recorder Combo A combo DVR/DVD recorder is a digital video recorder that will also record to DVDs. So if there's a show or movie on your digital video recorder that you want to keep, simply copy it to a DVD for long-term storage.
DVD Surround Sound Players Better, more expensive DVD players support multi-channel Dolby Digital surround sound which, in conjunction with your multi-speaker home theater system will provide a fantastic sound environment for watching movies.
Multi-disc DVD Players Multi-disc DVD players can hold up to six DVDs at a time.
Mega-changer DVD Players Mega-changer DVD players can store and organize hundreds of DVD's at a time. These machines are much larger than single disc DVD players, so if you're considering buying a mega-changer, be sure you have room for it near your television.
Audio Outputs Audio outputs on your DVD player are where you plug in the cables that carry the sound signal to your TV or home theater receiver. There are two main types of audio output: analog RCA and digital.
Analog:
Analog audio is common and requires two cables - one that carries the left channel sound and one that carries the right. Analog audio is only capable of delivering two-channel stereo sound. Most TVs and old receivers have only analog RCA inputs.
Digital:
Digital audio uses either an optical or coaxial connection. Both are of equal quality and require six cables that correspond to different surround-sound speaker channels. You'll only be able to use the digital audio output from your DVD player if your home theater receiver has a built-in Dolby Digital decoder.
Video Outputs The video outputs on your DVD player are where you plug in the cables that carry the picture signal to your TV. There are three types of video outputs you might find on a DVD player: composite video, S-video and component video. Keep in mind that each type of output requires specific matching cables, which you might need to buy separately.
Composite video:
Composite video sends the complete color picture information to your television with one signal via a single cable (sometimes called an "RCA" cable). Composite video outputs are common - all DVD players will have them and nearly all TVs will accept them.
S-Video:
S-Video provides a better quality picture signal than composite video. Most DVD players will have at least one S-Video output. If you want to run S-Video cables, check to be sure that your TV set has S-Video input.
Component video:
Component video provides the best picture quality signal to your television. TVs with component video inputs are rare, but if you have one take advantage of it and shop for a DVD player that has component video outputs.
Progressive Scan Progressive Scan refers to how the television image is generated - left to right, top to bottom with each row of pixels displayed sequentially (as opposed to "interlacing" in which odd rows are displayed, then even rows are displayed), refreshing the screen 60 times per second. Progressive scan helps to eliminate screen flicker and is great for use with digital TVs but won't make a difference when used with analog TVs.
