Stunning sounds from DVD dream machine
Gatot Tio, Contributor, Jakarta
Many commoners might frown on the amazing price of a DVD audio player. A Sony player, for instance, at the popular Mangga Dua electronics shopping area in Jakarta is worth US$1,000 or approximately Rp 9.8 million, which is somewhat similar to the price of a large TV set of a top brand.
But for audio buffs, the sound quality of a DVD audio player is worth the price. Its audio resolution is much better than those of CD or DVD video players thanks to the use of a multichannel storing system called MLP, or meridian lossless packing.
Playing the key role in the player, MLP's compression method does not discard any audio data during the encoding and decoding processes. That's why listeners get all the music!
Besides, MLP can store approximately two hours of two-channel 24-bit/192kHz audio, or six channels of 24-bit/96kHz audio - all on one DVD. Both of these configurations are also higher in resolution than the 16-bit word length and 44.1kHz sampling frequency of stereo CDs.
With this capability inside the player, you can imagine how sweet, smooth and natural any sounds coming from the DVD audio player will be. For many, it's a dream machine!
Please remember that DVD audio is not DVD video (DVD-V or DVD film) because it is an audio-only format and is an extension of the DVD format - similar to what S-VHS is to VHS.
A DVD-A disc may contain still pictures and often include menus to navigate through the various tracks on the discs. They may even have limited video footage. However, because of its high-resolution, the audio tracks take much of the storage capacity of the disc, so there is little room left to store high- quality video material.
This is why there are no movies on DVD that have DVD-A soundtracks.
How about DVD audio compatibility? Of course, a DVD-A disc is compatible with a DVD-A-capable player. But these discs are not playable on CD players, laserdisc players or any other optical- disc player that was not specifically designed to play them. A DVD-A player will play standard DVDs (DVD video) and CDs. But, DVD-A discs may or may not playback in a standard DVD-V player, depending on how it has been recorded. Many DVD-A discs include optional Dolby Digital and DTS audio tracks that make them compatible with standard DVD-V players.
For example, a disc called Toy Matinee is a DVD-Audio disc which features both DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 audio tracks in addition to the DVD-A tracks, making it playable on DVD-V players.
And some DVD-A players can play CD-Rs and CD-RWs and sometimes even VCDs, and MP3-encoded CDs. The JVC XV-SA75GD for example - is a similar DVD-A player but plays both DVD-V and DVD-A discs. The other is XV-S65GD which can only play DVD-V discs. Both types can play CDs and CD-Rs.
DVD-A players will only output their multichannel DVD-A tracks via their analog outputs. But, the high-resolution multichannel digital signal is not output by the DVD-A player. Thus, unlike Dolby Digital and DTS, you cannot use a single digital cable and rely on your receiver or processor to decode the DVD-A signal.
Instead, you must rely on the DVD-A player's internal decoding and use six RCA-type cables to connect the DVD-A player to the six-channel analog inputs of your receiver or processor. That's what makes this player very popular nowadays.
Unfortunately, consumers particularly those in Indonesia still face difficulties in purchasing DVD audio software.
It seems that recording companies are reluctant to enter the DVD sector.