Choosing a player to fit with your existing equipment

Okay, so you've made the decidion that DVD is what you want. Now, lets work with the other components of you home theater and get you a player that is right for you.

I've just got a TV and a video, do I need anything else?

Well, the short answer is no. All you really need to start enjoying DVD is a television set. However, you need to be careful that your TV has the right connection to allow you to plug you DVD player into it.

At the very least, you'll need a composite video-in connection and it's friend, the audio-in connection. These are most commonly RCA-style connectors on the back of your television. If you don't have video and audio in connections it's going to be very hard to plug your DVD player into your TV (more about this soon).
If you do have these connections, your set. All DVD players have video out and audio out connections to allow you to plug them directly into your television and get instant picture and sound. If you've got a stereo TV, you get instant stereo sound too.

Now to the players. If all your looking for is a player to get picture and sound out to your TV, then you need look no further than the budget range of players. The Pioneer 505 has enjoyed immense success and rightly so. Read about it more on our DVD Players page.

Well, I've got a surround stereo and a hi-fi video, will this work with DVD?

Most definately. In fact, this group of people represents that majority of users of DVD players at the moment (despite what some audiophiles would like to beleive).

Dolby Proligic surround sound dominates the world in home-installed units, and it's no surprise why. A simple system which can be had in almost all home receivers/stereos you buy now.

The good news here is that ALL DVD players output surround-encoded audio through their audio-out connections (provided the soundtrack has at least surround encoded or 5 channel sound).

Subject to the same rules for connecting the player to you TV as is Section 1 above, as soon as you plug the DVD player into the TV and the stereo, you see and hear movies better than you ever though possible, even with relatively inexpensive stereo gear.

Again, if you happy with this, you can rest assured that a player in the Budget range will satisfy all your requirements, and then some. There is no need for overkill unless you plan to spend a seriously large amount of money to upgrade your equipment.

I've got a good quality TV and a pretty reasonable amplifier ...

You are a home theatre hobbyist. Trying to get the most "bang-for-buck" from the gear you lay yours hands on and always looking toward the future. You'll have no problems plugging your DVD player into your TV, probably using the extra-quality of it's s-video connection. You'll also probably have a decent pro-logic amp and may be lucky enough to have 6 channel inputs.

I can almost guarantee that a player from the Moderate range will suit you down to the ground. You could probably take advantage of the built-in decoder of one of these models and appreciate the quality of this range of players.

I know what Home Theatre is, I've got a multi-channel amp, 6 speakers and a 104cm TV!

Well, you knew DVD was coming didn't you? You're perfectly situated to take advantage of the high quality audio that DVD is capable of spitting out.

Now it start to get complicated here, but if you knew what I was talking about to get this far, you'll be able to follow this. You'll certainly know if you own an external Dolby Digital or Dolby Surround decoder. You might even be lucky enough to own a DTS decoder which means you probably have a Laserdisc player. So, you must decide this: do you use an external decoder for your audio, or buy a DVD player with an internal decoder and use analogue connections to your amp. If your happy to use an external decoder you can choose a quality player from the Moderate range.

However, if your serious about your video quality you might like to upgrade to a player from the High-End group to get the bonus of ultra-high-quality componentry and all the features you can think of.

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