This page relates to a hardware device used to play DVDs. Hardware is a general term that refers to the physical artifacts of a Technology. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is For the Apple software program, see DVD Player (Apple). Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics Computer programs (also software programs, or just programs) are instructions for a Computer. DVD Player (formerly Apple DVD Player) is the default DVD player in Mac OS X.

The inside of a DVD player

A DVD player is a device that plays discs produced under both the DVD Video and DVD Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. DVD-Video is a consumer video format used to store digital video on DVD (DVD-ROM discs and is currently the dominant form of consumer video formats in the United DVD-Audio (commonly abbreviated as DVD-A) is a digital format for delivering very High-fidelity audio content on a DVD.

Technical Details

A DVD player has to complete these tasks:

• Read a DVD disc in ISO – UDF version 1. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is The Universal Disk Format ( UDF) is a format specification of a File system for storing files on optical media 2 format
• optionally decrypt the data with either CSS and/or Macrovision
• read and obey the DVD's Regional lockout codes and display a warning if the player is not authorised to play the DVD
• decode the MPEG-2 video stream with a maximum of 10 Mbit/s (peak) or 8 Mbit/s (continuous)
• decode sound in MP2, PCM or AC-3 format and output (with optional AC-3 to stereo downsampling) on stereo connector, optical or electric digital connector
• output a video signal, either an analog one (in NTSC, PAL or SECAM format) on the composite, S-Video, SCART, or component video connectors, or a digital one on the DVI or HDMI connectors

CD playback

Additionally, most DVD players allow users to play audio CDs (CDDA, MP3, etc. Content Scramble System ( CSS) is a Digital Rights Management (DRM scheme used on almost all commercially produced DVD -Video discs Macrovision Corporation is a globally-operating US-based company that develops and markets licensing, Access control, and secure distribution technologies Regional lockout is the programming practice code chip or physical barrier used to prevent the playing of media designed for a device from the country where it is marketed on the MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information" MPEG-1 Audio Layer II ( MP2, sometimes incorrectly called Musicam) is an Audio codec defined by ISO/IEC 11172-3 NTSC ( National Television System Committee) is the Analog television system used in the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is a colour -encoding system used in Broadcast television systems in large parts of the world SECAM, also written SÉCAM ( Séquentiel couleur à mémoire, French for "Sequential Color with Memory" is an analog color television system Composite video is the format of an Analog television (picture only signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF Super Video or Separated Video abbreviated S-Video and also known as Y/C is an analog video signal that carries the video data as two separate SCART (from Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs) This article is about analog component video for the processing of color components in digital video see Digital video, Chroma subsampling and YCbCr The Digital Visual Interface ( DVI) is a Video interface standard designed to maximize the visual quality of digital Display devices such as Flat panel The High-Definition Multimedia Interface ( HDMI) is a compact audio/video connector interface for transmitting uncompressed digital streams A Compact Disc (also known as a CD) is an Optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a Digital audio encoding format using a form of Lossy data compression ) and Video CDs (VCD) and include a home cinema decoder (i. Home cinema, also called home theater, are entertainment systems that seek to reproduce cinema quality video and audio in a private home e. Dolby Digital, Digital Theater Systems (DTS)). Dolby Digital is the marketing name for a series of lossy audio compression technologies developed by Dolby DTS (also known as Digital Theater Systems) owned by DTS Inc ( is a multi-channel digital Surround sound format used for both commercial/theatrical Some newer devices also play videos in the MPEG-4 ASP video compression format (such as DivX) popular on the Internet. MPEG-4 Part 2 is a Video compression technology developed by MPEG. DivX is a brand name of products created by DivX Inc (formerly DivXNetworks Inc

Output

Most hardware DVD players have to be connected to a television set; there are also some small portable devices which have an LCD screen attached. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic

Portable DVD Player

Main article: Portable DVD Player

Portable DVD players that are capable of playing DVDs. Portable DVD Player (commonly abbreviated as PDP is the name given to any Portable device in which its primary function is the playing of DVDs History Most have an LCD screen and stereo speakers and are usually powered by lithium ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries (sometimes abbreviated Li-ion batteries) are a type of Rechargeable battery in which a Lithium ion moves between the Anode Portable DVD players are often used for long road trips and travel.

Prices

As of 2005, retail prices for such a device, depending on its optional features (such as digital sound or video output), start between 30 and 80 USD/Euro. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Please update other articles as well to avoid contradiction within Wikipedia e They are usually cheaper than VCRs. PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT THIS IS A GENERAL ARTICLE ABOUT VCRs/VIDEOCASSETTE RECORDERS

Manufacture

As of 2002 the largest producer of DVD players is China; in 2002 they produced 30 million players, more than 70% of the world output. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. These producers have to pay US$15-$20 per player in license fees, to the patent holders of the DVD technology (Sony, Philips, Toshiba and AOL Time Warner) as well as for MPEG-2 licenses. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato Tokyo, Japan, and one of the world's largest Media conglomerates with Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV ( Royal Philips Electronics Inc. ( is a multinational conglomerate manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Time Warner Inc ( is the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate, headquartered in New York City. MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information" ^[1] To avoid these fees, China has developed the Enhanced Versatile Disc standard as an intended successor of DVD; as of 2004, EVD players were only being sold in China. The Enhanced Versatile Disc (EVD is an optical medium-based digital audio/video format developed to provide a means for playing "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

Software

Software DVD players are programs that allow users to view DVD videos on a computer with a DVD-ROM drive. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Some examples are the VLC media player and MPlayer (both free software), as well as WinDVD, PowerDVD and DVD Player. MPlayer is a free and Open source media player. The program is available for all major Operating systems including Linux Free software or software libre is Software that can be used studied and modified without restriction and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified WinDVD (from Corel Corporation which had bought InterVideo) is a commercial video player and music player software for Microsoft CyberLink PowerDVD is a commercial Media player for Microsoft Windows and Linux. DVD Player (formerly Apple DVD Player) is the default DVD player in Mac OS X. ^[2].

History

The first DVD players were introduced in Japan in November of 1996, and DVD players were first available in the United States in March of 1997. ^[3]

Successors

There are two successors to the DVD player: the HD DVD player and the Blu-ray Disc player. not insert the publicly disclosed HD DVD key into this article for the time being On February 19, 2008, Toshiba announced it would cease production on all HD DVD products ultimately naming Blu-ray players the successor to DVD players.

See also

• CD
• CD-ROM
• DVD Audio
• VCR
• DVD recorder
• HD DVD
• Blu-ray Disc
• Video scaler
• Comparison of media players

References