Information Additional

Glossary

Bit rate (page 41)

Value indicating the amount of video data compressed in a DVD per second. The unit is Mbps (Mega bit per second). 1 Mbps indicates that the data per second is 1,000,000 bits. The higher the bit rate is, the larger the amount of data. However, this does not always mean that you can get higher quality pictures.

Chapter (page 5)

Sections of a picture or a music piece on a DVD that are smaller than titles. A title is composed of several chapters. Each chapter is assigned a chapter number enabling you to locate the chapter you want.

Digital Cinema Sound (DCS) (page 34)

The general name of technology that Sony developed to enjoy the surround sound in a home. To enjoy the surround sound of a movie theater in the comfort of your own home, it simulates the sound not in a concert hall as usual but in a movie editing studio. This player adopts VES (Virtual Enhanced Surround) system from various DCS programs. The VES system can create the sound image of virtual rear speakers from the sound of the front speakers (L, R) without using actual rear speakers.

Dolby Digital (page 12, 34)

Digital audio compression technology that the Dolby Laboratories Corporation developed. This technology conforms to 5.1-channel surround sound. The rear channel is stereo and there is discrete subwoofer channel in this format. Dolby Digital provides the same 5.1 discrete channels of high quality digital audio found in Dolby Digital cinema audio systems. The good channel separation is realized because the all channel data is recorded discrete and processed in digital.

Dolby Pro Logic (page 34, 57)

Audio signal processing technology that Dolby Laboratories Corporation developed for surround sound. When the input signal has the surround component, the Pro Logic process outputs the front, center and rear signals. The rear channel is monaural.

DTS (page 11)

Digital audio compression technology that the Digital Theater Systems, Inc. developed. This technology conforms to 5.1-channel surround. The rear channel is stereo and there is discrete subwoofer channel in this format. DTS provides the same 5.1 discrete channels of high quality digital audio found in Dolby Digital cinema audio systems. The good channel separation is realized because the all channel data is recorded discrete and processed in digital.

DVD (page 4)

A disc that contains up to 8 hours of moving pictures even though its diameter is the same as a CD.

The data capacity of a single-layer and single-sided DVD, at 4.7 GB (Giga Byte), is 7 times that of a CD. Furthermore, the data capacity of a dual-layer and single- sided DVD is 8.5 GB, a single-layer and double-sided DVD 9.4 GB, and a dual-layer and double-sided DVD 17 GB.

The picture data uses the MPEG 2 format, one of the worldwide standards of digital compression technology. The picture data is compressed to about 1/40 of its original size. The DVD also uses the variable rate coding technology that changes the data to be allocated according to the status of the picture.

The audio data is recorded in Dolby Digital as well as in PCM, allowing you to enjoy more real audio presence. Furthermore, various advanced functions such as the multi-angle, multilingual, and Parental Control functions are provided with the DVD.

MPEG AUDIO (page 34)

International standard coding system to compress audio digital signals authorized by ISO/IEC. MPEG 1 conforms to up to 2-channel stereo. MPEG 2 used on DVDs conforms to up to 7.1-channel surround.

Multi-angle function (page 33)

Various angles, or viewpoints of the video camera, for a scene are recorded on some DVDs.

Multilingual function (page 14, 32, 50)

Several languages for the sound or sub-titles in a picture are recorded on some DVDs.

Parental Control (page 53)

A function of the DVD to limit playback of the disc by the age of the users according to the limitation level in each country. The limitation varies from disc to disc; when it is activated, playback is completely prohibited, violent scenes are skipped or replaced with other scenes and so on.

Playback Control (PBC) (page 20)

Signals encoded on VIDEO CDs (Version 2.0) to control playback.

By using menu screens recorded on VIDEO CDs with PBC functions, you can enjoy playing simple interactive programs, programs with search functions, and so on.

68