Is it possible to get a more valuable one or make the remote control feel heavy and higher-end? The one we get is very similar to the standard TV remote control.

The original concept for the DVD-200K Remote Control was designed with the usage convenience and the cost consideration; hence, we purchased directly from Panasonic Taiwan Remote-Controller factory without the tooling work by ourselves. We believe it is adequate for the entry-level model and we cannot agree that "heavy" implies better.

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DTS stands for Digital Theater Systems. While Dolby Digital is the standard 5.1 digital surround format on all DVD players, DTS is becoming a possible alternative. DTS, first introduced in the movie Jurassic Park, is now found on many film soundtracks. DTS soundtracks have been available on laserdiscs for the past couple of years, but we're only starting to see DVD titles with a DTS soundtrack. There are only about a dozen DVD movies with DTS now, but you can expect this number to grow. And there are quite a few CD titles that are DTS-encoded, from Mozart to Marvin Gaye. Buying a DVD player that's DTS-compatible shouldn't cost all that much more and could mean higher sound quality down the road.

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"DTS compatible" means that the DVD Player will pass a DTS 5.1 surround sound (audio) signal to a DTS decoder for proper playback of DVDs encoded with a DTS soundtrack.

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No.

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Dolby Digital (AC-3) is a digital sound compression technique developed by the Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. Supporting 5.1-channel surround sound, as well as stereo (2-channel) sound, this technique enables a large quantity of sound data to be efficiently recorded on a disc. However, nowadays, the understanding has become to be Dolby Digital (AC-3) = Dolby Surround = Dolby Digital 5.1.

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Yes, DVD-V200K does have a built-in decoder with Dolby Digital (Surround) (AC-3) processing; however, the output is only 2-channel stereo. No, from the modem day definition/understanding of a so-called built-in AC-3 decoder. Regardless, you can attach the DVD-V200K to a Dolby Digital-ready (i.e., 5.1-ready) A/V receiver/processor/amplifier to enjoy the benefits of 5.1 channel surround sound audio.

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Linear PCM is a signal recording format used in audio CDs. While audio CDs are recorded in 44.1 kHz/16 bit, DVDs are recorded in 48 kHz/16 bit up to 96 kHz/24 bit.

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It is Dolby's analog stereo/surround sound technology.

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Both are decoding systems for home theater sound. Dolby Digital is the successor to Dolby Pro-Logic. Pro-Logic is the more common of the two systems and is found on video tapes, laser disks, even DVD. Pro-Logic is actually four channels of sound that is reproduced through five speakers. The four channels are: left, center, right and surround channels. The surround channel consists of two speakers, and in Pro-Logic the same sound comes from both speakers. Pro-Logic is typically an analog system.
Dolby Digital is a discrete digital system offering six separate channels of sound with a dedicated subwoofer channel for deep bass. The six channels are: left, center, right, left surround, right surround and LFE (low frequency effect) for bass. DD is known as 5.1 channel sound. Dolby Digital has been declared the audio standard for DVD and HDTV. Dolby Digital offers greater dynamic range than Pro-Logic, better frequency response and improved separation between channels.

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All DVD disks are encoded with Dolby Digital as the sound track format. This does not always mean that you will hear 5.1 channels. Some disks are encoded in 5.1 channels, some in Pro-Logic, some in 2-channel, and some in monaural. So, even though the disc says Dolby Digital, it does not necessarily mean 5.1 channels were originally recorded. Some disc jackets identify the number of channels, others do not. Also, some discs offer a menu to select the playback format.

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Some DVDs play back in 5.1 channel surround, some in Dolby Surround, and some in mono or stereo. All DVD discs, however, are labeled DD because DD was selected as the primary encoding system for the DVD standard. But DD and 5.1 do not mean the same thing. In this case, DD is the "carrier" or vehicle that contains the sound track. The sound track can be anything from mono to 5.1 channel sound, but it is always encoded in DD on a DVD disc. Some disc packages identify the sound track contained on the disc, some do not.
DD is capable of downmixing a sound track. For example, if the DVD has a 5.1 channel sound track, it will also be able to play in Dolby Surround, stereo or mono. But if the disc only has Dolby Surround, it cannot "upmix" to 5.1 channels.

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In this mode, data can be recorded to the disc one session at a time. To use this mode, your software must support Session at Once recording. New sessions can be written later. The difference between Session-At-Once (SAO) and Disc-At-Once is SAO can continue writing but not DAO. Both have no gap in tracks.

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They are currently played on two types of DVD players:
* DVD-Video Player.
* DVD-ROM computer drive.

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DIVX was a proprietary version of DVD marketed and sold by certain retail outlets (e.g., Circuit City) until June 1999. According to the marketer, Digital Video Express, the DIVX home video system will be discontinued but existing, registered customers will be able to view discs during a two-year phase-out period. DIVX discs will play only on DIVX machines. As of June 16, 1999 Divx is no longer selling players or adding accounts to their service.

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Don't overlook these two key features when you select a DVD-video player:
1.Video jacks: The better your video outputs, the better your picture quality -- assuming your TV is good enough to display the result. To make the most of DVD, get a new TV with at least 500 lines of resolution. All DVD players have both composite video and S-video output jacks, and many step-up models now include component video outputs. If you've got the choice between composite video and S-video input jacks on your TV, S-video jacks are better.
Good: Composite video jacks
Better: S-video jacks
Best: Component video jacks

2.Audio jacks: The quality of the audio outputs helps determine how much of the top-quality DVD sound you actually hear. All DVD-video players support surround sound. Most lower-end DVD players support analog stereo/surround sound (e.g. Dolby Pro-Logic surround sound) only. High-end players have built-in Dolby Digital decoders that allow you to hook your DVD player up to a Dolby Digital-ready receiver to produce multi-channel surround sound using five or more speakers.
Good: Analog stereo/surround sound (Dolby Pro-Logic)
Better: Digital surround sound (Dolby Digital)

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The basic components of the SVCD technical spec are support for MPEG-2 video, 2/3 D1 video resolution (480 x 576), MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 Audio Layer II, two-channel audio, variable-bit-rate (VBR) encoding, overlay graphics and text, and a 2X speed CD-ROM drive with a multiple tray.
The current VCD format, by contrast, provides for resolution of 352 x 288 based on MPEG-1 video. Under SVCD's overlay-graphics and text technology, text would be multiplexed with audio and video streams. The intent is to improve the quality of subtitles and multiple languages displayed on-screen. In the VCD standard, such subtitles were compressed with video, resulting in a low-quality text display, according to Shmuel Farkash, vice president of video products at Zoran.
Notable differences between SVCD and the DVD format, meanwhile, include the lack of support for Dolby Digital in SVCD, as well as the Chinese format's use of a CD rather than a DVD drive. After that, the specs are virtually identical.

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Yes

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4:3 (also known as 1.33:1) used to be the Academy Aspect Ratio (for movies) until the invention of TV proved to be taking away business. The Academy then decided to allow for "wider" movies. This has lasted to this date, and has allowed for many wider films to be released.
4:3 is the standard aspect ratio in the US as NTSC is the standard by which all stations broadcast their signals. Almost all TV's manufactured in the US for the US have an aspect ratio of 4:3, with the exception of a few widescreen TV's. The same can be said for almost all computer monitors. Widescreen monitors, are now starting to be made.
The widescreen TV's being made have an aspect ratio of 16:9 (also known as 1.78:1). Pioneer used to manufacture tv's with a ratio of 16:10.7 (also known as 1.5:1), but has since abandoned it and gone in favor of 16:9. But why 16:9? This is the standard of HDTV in Japan, and offers a wide picture that compromises between 4:3 and 2.35:1. And sooner or later, HDTV in a digital form (as opposed to Japan's analog), but as to how long that will take... people speculate at least 10 years. However, the agreed aspect ratio for HDTV is 16:9.
As for the other aspect ratios that you see, they are the most common for today's movies. 1.85:1 has been used in such movies as Jurassic Park and Batman Forever. The wider 2.35:1 has been used in Terminator 2 and Stargate. Wider ones have been used (2.7:1), but are a rare occurence nowadays. It also rare to find a big-production movie nowadays with an aspect ratio of less than 1.85:1. 1.85:1, and 2.35:1 are by far the most common.

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Video in which all of the picture information is combined into only one signal as opposed to being separated into unique components of luminance, color and synchronization information.

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Smallest increment of a television picture that can be discerned in the horizontal plane. It is measured in TV lines per height.

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Smallest increment of a television picture that can be discerned in the horizontal plane. It is measured in TV lines per height.

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* DVD Video offers superior picture and sound with digital video and multi-channel surround sound.
* DVD Videos are the same size as a CD, but can store an entire film on one side!
* There are a variety of special features offered on DVD titles, including "behind the scenes" commentary, the ability to control the camera angles, foreign languages and subtitles, trailers and uncut versions.
* Most DVD Video titles are available in Widescreen and Fullscreen. Audio CDs will play in DVD Video players. Enjoy your entire music collection on a DVD Video player.
* DVD Video offers immediate scene access, so there is no rewinding or fast forwarding.

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