Which Dvd Player Is Right For You

Writen by Robert Barnard

Now that you've decided to purchase that DVD player, you need to determine which DVD player is the best choice for you - which application fits best and what features will be the most useful to you. Let's take a look.

With HD-DVD's and "Blu Ray" technology being the next generation of DVD applications, many consumers are trying to wait until the products on the market match the new technology. The problem is that there are only a few HD-DVD's available at the present time, even though advertisers are blanketing the markets with ads that promise higher-quality, sharper and crisper movie quality. The cheapest HD-DVD player on the market today is the Toshiba HD-A1, which will set you back about $500 at current prices. Should you wait to buy an HD-DVD player? We'd recommend that you do - prices will come down as selection increases.

Probably the best single-disc DVD player is the Sony DVP-NS55P/S - it's a standard DVD player that will run about $70, and is a good, basic player. It has an easy set up, straightforward menus, a small footprint and excellent picture quality, and supports 5-channel surround sound or Dolby Digital sound. This is an all-around good basic DVD player that will serve as the foundation for your system.

A DVD player with HDMI is another way to approach High Def quality in your DVD's. HDMI stands for High Definition Media Interface, which is a fancy way of saying that a player with this capability can transfer uncompressed digital video, and can carry multi-channel audio. Players that have a HDMI output can upgrade or "upconvert" regular DVD video quality to a resolution that approaches HD TV. The Sony DVP-NS75H - coming in at about $130 - has excellent picture quality, supports Dolby Digital sound and surround sound. The downside here is that Sony doesn't include the HDMI cable for connections - that will run you an additional $30 - $80.

Samsung also offers a DVD player with HDMI, and in some respects the Samsung is a better deal. The Samsung can also play DVD-A and SACD audio discs, and the package includes a HDMI interface cable with your purchase. (DVD-A and SACD are both DVD's that are formatted to reproduce superior sound quality and a richer, fuller sound more faithful to the original sound quality of the DVD.) The Samsung model (DVD-HD950) comes in at about $180, making it a comparable purchase to the Sony model.

For those who want to play multi-disc movies or listen to continuous CD's, you might want to invest in a standard 5 disc DVD player, such as the Panasonic DVD-F87S. With a smooth backward and forward scanning feature, plus the ability to listen to one CD or DVD while changing the other four, this simple to operate player - costing about $130 - can be a multifaceted addition to your AV system.

And last but not least - what are you to do with all those VHS tapes you've been collecting over the years? A VCR-DVD combo might just be the answer - at least until you convert your VHS tapes to DVD's. Samsung offers a combo machine with it's model DVD-V5500 for right around $100 - and has excellent picture quality for both VHS tapes and DVD's. The downside of this machine is that it doesn't offer upconversion.

Keep in mind that in all of our discussions here we're talking about upconversions and HD-DVD's - which are the future of this technology. A DVD player that features upconversions won't actually convert regular DVD movies into HD movies - what it does is enhance the video resolution so that your picture quality approaches HD quality. But this technology is the next generation of DVD's, so you're better off learning about it now, so that you can make an informed choice when choosing your next machine.

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