Video Asylum TVs, VCRs, DVD players, Home Theater systems and more.

---

[ Follow Ups ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Video Asylum ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ] [ Edit ] [ Delete ]

---

some answers....

152.16.241.155

Posted by RichardH on October 24, 1999 at 18:59:43

In Reply to: Questions on DVD players...help!! posted by DJ Mo on October 24, 1999 at 17:01:36:

hello DJ Mo,

well, let me see if i can tackle some of these....

1) What is 96KHz/24 bit mean for me ? Does this improve the sound of CDs ?

96/24 refers to a higher bit rate and sampling rate used to improve sound quality. however, you can only take advantage of this if you have software that is recorded in 96/24 (like some audio-only dvds). as far as i know, there is nothing inherently better about using a 96/24 DAC when listening to regular 16/44 cd's.

2) Is a DVD player able to play regular CDs ? Will it sound better or worse than my NAD 502 ? What DAC is being used in the DVD player to play audio CDs ?

yes, all dvd players can play regular cds. whether it will sound better than your NAD depends on what dvd player you get, but i would suspect that your NAD would sound better than most (if not all) $300 dvd players. which DAC being used depends on how the dvd player is hooked up. if you hook it up via a digital coax/optical cable, you are using the DACs in your receiver/pre-amp. if you hook it up using analog RCA, you would be using the dvd player's DACs. which you choose would depend what has the better DACs: recevier/pre-amp or dvd player.

3) Can DVD Players play CD-Rs or CD-RWs ? Why can some can and other can't ?

yes, some can and some can't. i think the reason is that some dvd players have two lasers, one optimised for reading dvds and another for cds. other players only have one. either kind of player can read regular cds, but only the dual-laser ones can read cd-r's. this is what i heard; i'm not entirely sure if it's true. however, i have a pioneer 525 (dual-laser) and i have played cd-r's on it. i have heard that toshiba players can't.

4) What is this problems I am hearing with budget DVD players ? Lip Sync ? Not able to play Matrix...why ? Etc...

well, those problems scared me too, and i waited a while longer to get my player. i think a lot of the "lip-synch" problems had to do with bad dvds and weren't the fault of the player. however, some players had a problem, the most complained about one being the pioneer 414 (predecessor to my 525). however, people reported that after getting firmware updates, most if not all problems disappeared. i haven't had any problems at all with my player. (have watched about a dozen movies, including "the matrix", "heat", "super speedway", etc.) if you're worried about it, just buy from some place like crutchfield that has a good return policy.

5) What is DVD Audio ? Is this the 96/24 thing ? Do I need a seperate player to play DVD Audio ? Why ? If so...will current crop of DVD players be extinct ?

dvd audio is a new standard that is competing with sony's new "sacd" standard. no, it is not the same as 96/24 audio-only dvds. (confusing, no?) there are only a handful of dvd players which will play dvd-audio. current budget players will not. a different decoding chip is needed for the dvd audio signal. current dvd players will not be obsolete because they will still play dvd movies fine. that standard is not going anywhere soon. dvd audio is just for music, as it's name would suggest, and i think it'll be quite some time before it reaches critical mass. not to mention sacd could "win."

well, i hope that helps some.
other inmates, if you see anything that i got wrong, please let me know about it.

thanks,
richard h

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

VH Audio

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---