Dvd Compatibility & Terminology - Harman Kardon DVD 50 Owner's Manual

DVD Compatibility & Terminology
The DVD 50 is more than a DVD player; it will
play the following disc formats:
Both 5-inch (12cm) and 3-inch (8cm) discs
DVD movie discs
CD, CD-R and CD-RW audio discs
DTS audio discs
CD audio discs with HDCD encoding
MP3 discs
VCD (video CD) discs
However, it will NOT play the following:
DVD discs with a Region Code other than
the one the player is set for.
DVD discs with PAL format video
DVD-ROM data discs
DVD-RAM discs
CD-I discs
CD-G discs
SVCD discs
Photo CD discs
NOTE: Due to differences in the formats of
certain discs, it is possible that some discs may
include a mix of features that are not compati-
ble with the DVD 50. Similarly, although the
DVD 50 is capable of a wide range of features,
not all discs include every capability of the DVD
system. For example, although the DVD 50 is
compatible with multi-angle discs, that feature
is only possible when the disc is specially
encoded for multiple-angle play. In addition, the
DVD 50 is compatible with both Dolby Digital
and DTS soundtracks, but the number and types
of tracks available will vary from disc to disc. To
make certain that a specific feature or sound-
track option is available, please check the
options noted on the disc jacket.
Playback of DTS audio discs requires connec-
tion to a processor or receiver with a DTS
decoder.
Playback capability for CD-RW discs may
vary due to variations in the quality of the
CD-RW disc and the recorder used to create
the disc.
Since they share some of the characteristics and
technology of CD players, many of the terms
and operational concepts used in a DVD player
are similar to what you may be familiar with
from CD players and changers, or older video
disc formats such as Laser Disc. However, if this
is your first DVD product, some of the terms
used to describe the features of a DVD player
may be unfamiliar. The following explanations
should solve some of the mysteries of DVD, and
help you to enjoy all the power and flexibility of
the DVD format and the DVD 50.
Aspect Ratio: This is a description of the
width of a video image in relation to its height.
A conventional video screen is four units wide
for every three units of height, making it almost
square. Newer wide-aspect-ratio video displays
are 16 units wide for every nine units of height,
making them more like the screen in a movie
theater. The program material on a DVD may be
recorded in either format and, in addition, you
may configure the DVD 50 to play back in
either format, depending on the features
recorded on a disc.
Chapter: DVD programs are divided into chap-
ters and titles. Chapters are the subsections
programmed into a single title on a disc.
Chapters may be compared to the individual
tracks on an audio CD. Press the Menu button
to see a listing of the chapters on a disc.
Component Video: This is a new form of
video signal that eliminates many of the arti-
facts of traditional composite video signals by
splitting the signal into a separate luminance
channel and two color-difference signals. With a
component video connection, you will see
greater picture resolution and eliminate many
picture imperfections such as the moiré pat-
terns often seen on checked patterned cloths.
However, in order to benefit from component
video you must have a video display with
Y/Pr/Pb component video inputs. Do not
connect the component video outputs of the
DVD 50 to the standard composite or S-Video
inputs of a TV or recorder.
Title: For a DVD, a title is defined as an entire
movie or program. There may be as many chap-
ters within a title as the producers decide to
include. Most discs include only one title, but
some may have more than one, to give you a
"Double Feature" presentation. Press the Title
button to see a listing of the titles on a disc.
When a disc has only one title, pressing the title
button may show a list of the chapters.
Multiple Angle: DVDs have the capability to
show up to four different views of the same
scene in a program. When a disc is encoded
with multiple-angle information, pressing the
Angle button will enable you to switch between
these different views. Note that, at present, few
discs take advantage of this capability and,
when they do, the multiple-angle technology
may only be present for short periods of time
within the disc. Producers will usually insert
some sort of icon or graphic in the picture to
alert you to the availability of multiple-angle
scenes.
Reading: This is a message that you will see
when you first press the Play button. It refers to
the fact that the player must first examine the
contents of the disc to see whether it is a CD or
DVD, and then extract the information about
the type of material on the disc, such as lan-
guages, aspect ratios, subtitles, number of titles
and more. The slight delay while the contents of
the disc are read is normal.
Resume: The operation of the Stop button on
the DVD 50 works differently from what you
are used to on CD players. On a traditional CD
player, when you press the Stop button, the unit
does just that: it stops playback. On a CD player,
when you press the Start button again, the disc
starts from the beginning. With the DVD 50,
however, you have two options when playing
DVD discs. Pressing Stop once will stop the
playback, but it actually puts the unit in the
Resume mode. This means that you can turn
the machine off and, when you press Play the
next time, the disc will resume or continue from
the point on the disc where the Stop button
was pressed. This is helpful if you are watching
a movie and must interrupt your viewing ses-
sion but wish to pick up where you left off.
Pressing the Stop button twice will stop the
machine in a traditional manner and, when
the disc is played again, it will start from the
beginning.
5 DVD COMPATIBILITY & TERMINOLOGY