Harman-Kardon DVD47 owner manual Dvd Terminology

DVD TERMINOLOGY

Since DVD players 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 player, 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 47.

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 47 to play back in either format, depending on the features recorded on a disc.

Chapter: DVD programs are divided into chapters 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 Disc Menu Button Q to see a listing of the chapters

on a disc.

Component Video: This form of video signal eliminates many of the artifacts of traditional composite video signals by splitting the signal into a separate luminance channel (the “Y” signal channel) and two color-difference signals (the Pr and Pb signal channels). With a component video connection, you will see greater picture resolution and eliminate many picture imperfections such as the moiré patterns often seen on check-patterned cloth. 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 47 to the standard composite or S-video inputs of a TV or recorder.

Group: The individual tracks on a DVD-Audio disc may be combined into Groups. There may be more than one Group on a disc. Depending on the way a disc’s producers create the program, the Groups can contain different program material, or they may repeat the disc’s content in different audio formats, such as 5.1 audio or high-resolution stereo.

HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection): HDCP is the specification for protecting digitally encoded content from unauthorized copying when it is transmitted from a DVD player (or other video source) to a video display using HDMI or DVI

connections. In order to take advantage of the high- resolution output of the DVD 47 via its HDMI output, your display must be HDCP-compliant. Virtually all dis- plays with HDMI inputs are HDCP-compliant, but not all DVI-equipped displays are. If you are using the DVD 47 with an optional HDMI-to-DVI cable or adapter, check the owner’s manual for your display to deter- mine whether it is HDCP-compliant.

HDMI™ (High-Definition Multimedia Interface™): HDMI is a serial-bus form of communication between the DVD player and the video display or audio/video receiver. With 5Gbps of bandwidth, it is capable of passing uncompressed digital audio and high- definition digital video using a single cable. With HDMI, the DVD 47 is capable of outputting high-resolution (720p or 1080i) video and 5.1-channel Dolby Digital or DTS digital audio, with the convenience of just a single cable connection.

JPEG Files: JPEG stands for the Joint Photographic Experts Group, which developed a standard for com- pressing still images, such as photographs. JPEG files may be created on a personal computer by importing images from a digital camera, or scanning printed photographs. These files may be burned onto a com- pact disc. The DVD 47 is capable of recognizing JPEG files and enabling you to view them on your video screen.

MP3 Files: MP3 is an audio compression format that was developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group as an adjunct to the MPEG-1 video compression for- mat. A number of encoding software programs are available for transferring CDs and other audio pro- grams into the MP3 format. The main benefit of MP3 is that it reduces the size of audio files considerably, depending on the amount of compression selected during the encoding process, enabling you to store many more songs on one compact disc than in the standard audio CD format. The DVD 47 is capable of playing MP3 files using its advanced graphic interface. See page 33 for more information on MP3 files.

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 C 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 tech- nology 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.

Progressive Scan: Progressive scan playback takes the original video signal on the disc and formats it as a

high-scan-rate output with twice the scan lines of con- ventional video images. Progressive scan outputs must be connected to “digital-ready” or high-definition video displays, regardless of the technology of the specific display (e.g., conventional direct-view television, front or rear projector, plasma display panel or LCD). In some cases, the displays may have special inputs for use with high-scan-rate inputs, and in others you may need to make adjustments to the display’s setup menus to make certain that the inputs used are con- figured for an “HD” signal. Although the progressive scan output uses the component video jacks, it is

not compatible with older conventional analog video displays, even when they have component inputs.

Reading: This is a message that you will see when you first press the Play Button 2M. 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 languages, 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 4O on the DVD 47 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 47, however, you have two options when playing most discs. Pressing the Stop Button 4O 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 the Play Button 2M the next time, the disc will resume playback from the point on the disc where the Stop Button 4O was pressed. This is helpful if you are watching a movie and must interrupt your viewing session but wish to pick up where you left off. Pressing the Stop Button 4O twice will stop the machine in a traditional manner and, when the disc is played again, it will start from the beginning.

In Resume mode, the Harman Kardon screen will appear, and the RESUME message will appear in the Information Display B. The resume function is not available for WMA files. For DVDs, SACDs, CDs, MP3 files, JPEG files, and VCDs with PBC (Playback Control) only, the resume function will be retained even after the DVD 47 has been placed in Standby mode by pressing the Power Off Button 2 , but not after the unit has been unplugged from AC power.

SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc): The SACD format is an improvement upon the original compact disc, and was developed by the same companies that originated the CD. Thanks to its high-density format,

DVD TERMINOLOGY 7