Technology Overview - Adcom GDV-850 Owner's Manual

5.1 Technology Overview

Disc Structure:
Each type of disc
has its own organization, allowing you
to locate various portions of the pro-
gram recorded on the disc. Depending
on the type of disc, these may be
called Titles, Groups, Chapters, or
Tracks:
DVD-Video:
A DVD-Video disc is comprised of
Titles and each title may be divided
into Chapters. For example, a DVD-
Video disc may contain several mov-
ies, each with its own Title number,
and each movie may be divided into
several Chapters. In a DVD-Video
karaoke disc, each song usually has
its own title number and does not
have Chapters.
DVD-Audio:
A DVD-Audio disc contains Groups,
with each group divided into Tracks.
Some DVD-Audio discs also contain a
Bonus Group that can only be played
back by entering a Key Number pass-
word. Most DVD-Audio discs include
other information in addition to
audio, such as still pictures, movies
and text.
Audio CD:
An Audio CD, Video CD or SVCD simply
contains Tracks.
Progressive Scan:
Most plasma
displays, LCD monitors and projectors
use a feature called progressive scan.
26 | ADCOM GDV-850 Owner's Manual
This displays all the line of a picture at
the same time, in one very fast burst,
which is in contrast to an aging process
called interlacing. Interlacing displays
every other line in two successive scans
of the monitor to complete the pic-
ture. The GDV-850 has a switch on the
rear panel to select progressive scan.
Field-Adaptive Deinterlacing:
The field-adaptive deinterlacing is
an algorithm that enhances progres-
sive scan video outputs by examining
individual pixels across three or more
fields of an image and selectively
interpolates regions of the picture to
form a progressive scan image that is
clear and artifact free.
Dolby
: Dolby Digital can deliver
5.1-channel sound from DVD-Video
and DVD-ROM discs, laser discs, and
digital TV broadcasts, satellite trans-
missions, and cable systems. It dif-
fers from Dolby Surround (Pro Logic)
by providing two separate surround
channels for greater realism, and an
additional ".1" or "LFE" channel for
low-frequency (bass) special sound
effects. The LFE channel is some-
times identified as the "subwoofer"
channel. While a subwoofer can be
helpful in reproducing low bass in
general, it is not necessary to have
one if one or more of the speakers in
the playback system have extended
bass response. Without a subwoofer,
the LFE channel's bass effects can
be directed to those speakers with
extended bass. Furthermore, not all
multichannel soundtracks have the
".1" channel; it is used primarily for
explosions, rumbles, and the like on
movie soundtracks, and is not present
on all programs.
DTS
: This compressed digital data for-
mat is similar to Dolby Digital. DTS also
provides 5.1 channel surround channels
and is available on compact disc, DVD
and laser discs. Audio-only DTS discs
may be used with any CD, LD or DVD
player with a digital audio output.
DVD Audio
: DVD-Audio is an exten-
sion of the highly popular DVD format,
distinguished by its capability for
delivering a new standard of quality
previously unavailable in packaged
audio media. A highly compelling fea-
ture of DVD-Audio is its multichannel
audio capability, which is proving to be
optimal in an automotive environment.
DVD-Audio also includes a host of
value-added multimedia features not
previously available on compact disc.
MLP
: Utilizing Meridian Lossless
Packing technology, DVD-Audio
discs can store up to six channels
of 24-bit/96 kHz audio, including a
separate low-frequency bass chan-
nel. Compare that to two channels
of 16-bit/44.1 kHz sound from CDs.
For stereo buffs, a DVD-Audio disc
can alternatively hold two channels
of 24-bit/192 kHz audio, for stereo
recordings that exceed the quality
of any music audio format previously
available.
HDCD
: High Definition Compatible
Digital, or HDCD, is a patented pro-
cess for delivering 20 bits of musical
information on a standard CD. HDCD
overcomes the standard 16 bit limi-
tation of the CD format by using a
sophisticated system to encode the
additional 4 bits onto the CD while
remaining completely compatible
with the CD format.
:
MP3 CD-R
The GDV-850 will play
MP3 files on a CD-R. A separate menu
will be displayed to navigate the disc.
MP3 format is a compression system
for audio tracks. This format helps
to reduce the number of bytes in a
song and create a file size that is
significantly smaller, allowing faster
transfer and the ability to store more
music on a disc. MP3 tracks, while
more compact, usually do not main-
tain all the fidelity of CD audio.