These days DVDs have made a huge presence in home entertainment. The ubiquitous presence of DVD players allures us to grab one right away but the sheer variety of them all leaves one flustered. Whether to buy a single disk or multi disk, portable or not, etc. maybe some questions that might run in your mind. Fret not; here are 5 things which one ought to consider before buying a DVD player.
#1: What suits me?
This is the most important question that you should ask yourself for the simple reason you are going to be using it after you buy it. Making a beeline for the nearest DVD shop running a sale? Stop! Think for a moment! Most times we just buy stuff because they are cheap! It is necessary to understand how long or how much we will be using that product. There are times when you buy a cheap product making a mental calculation that you are saving a lot of money and that this product will be of daily use and in most cases if not all, it turns out that you haven’t used it after the first few days. Now, which category do you come under?
a. Watch a movie twice a month or probably less frequently
b. Watch two movies a day!
If you come under the first category, you should first check out the ‘No-frills’ DVD player. Although it sounds less fancy, it’s got pretty good features. You can even play DivX files. A good example of this would be the Philips DVP5960/37. Once you think you come under this category, you should check out for reviews of similar DVD players and their rates before making a call.
You’ve got it all: From ‘Citizen Kane’ to ‘No Country For Old Men’. You’ve watched The Godfather trilogy in a single day. You have more than 500 DVDs piled up at home. You look for the finer details. If this is you, you probably should check out the mammoth Sony DVP-CX995V. This monster is a 400 disc DVD-CD changer. To fine tune your buying, read more reviews on this.
#2: Money Does Matter!
If your using a 27-inch TV or smaller, don’t hesitate to get a less expensive DVD player because there’s really not too much difference. Unless you have a large screen TV, it is not worth shelling out too many dollars on a DVD player. You’ll be surprised, but even budget models provide good quality picture.
If you are buying your DVD from China, producers have to pay US$15-$20 per player in license fees, to the patent holders of the DVD technology in addition to the MPEG-2 license fees. The patent holders are Sony, Philips, Toshiba and Time Warner. To avoid this, The Chinese have come up with Enhanced Versatile Disc. But these are available only in China.
#3: Understand the differences between various types of DVD players.
There are many types of DVD players: the single-disc DVD player and the multi disc capacity ones which have a capacity ranging from 2 discs to around 403-discs (which fall under the DVD mega changers category). One might wonder why a person would need a mega changer, for movie requires only one DVDs worth of space, but then a DVD player can also play music. So this means that one can replace his CD changer with a DVD mega changer and even maybe use it as a jukebox. But that is not all; there are more types of DVD players catering to all your needs from your basic home-based DVD players to advanced travel mate models. Portable DVD players have come a long way and have advanced to such heights that a built in 10 inch LCD screen along with the DVD player is no longer a dream. These models let you watch movies and listen to good music anywhere and anytime. There are also portable players without screens.
If you are the type who would want to take home entertainment to the next level with surround sound and home theater effects, but don’t feel like spending or shopping for those additional speakers and accessories then there are DVD players just complying with your needs. These DVD players come with built-in amplification. Such integrated DVD home theater systems also have surround speakers fitted in one box.
For gamers, the option of DVD-Video playback capability in Microsoft Xbox and the Sony Playstation 2 or higher version for just about an additional $200 would be a good bet.
Some of us might even prefer combinational DVD players, which combine the TV and DVD player as an integral unit or pack a VHS VCR and DVD player into one unit.
#4: Where are you going to use it?
Where do you think you’re mostly going to use your DVD player?
a. Is it going to be at home?
b. You travel a lot?
If you come under the first category, you can ignore this and go to the final section.
Portable DVD players (PDP). Most PDPs have an LCD screen attached to them. The most common PDP screen size is 7 inches, although some are as large as 10-12 inches. Some have swivel-screens that rotate 180 degrees & fold flat. Some PDPs now have iPod docks, USB & SD Card slots built in.
A note of caution before you rush into getting a portable one: the closer you get to a PDP’s screen, the worse the image becomes. Even high end players use 800×480. Future players will have high resolution supporting Blu-ray formats. You probably have to wait a little while if you need that.
#5: Compare models
As I said earlier, once you are sure which category you come under, you should immediately compare prices of various models. And of course, different stores could quote varying prices. So you’ve got to be a little careful on that. Always buy stuff that comes with a warrant period.
Conclusion:
We hope this would help you in choosing what is best suited for you. Go ahead and explore your world of DVD!
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May 20, 2010 at 9:58 am
What’s up, anyway i mearly thought i write and let you be aware your blogs design is most probably largely fabulous
June 18, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Buying online gives you a wider selection from which to choose, usually better prices, and sometimes you don’t have to pay sales tax.