DVD Player With DVI Output 355
ffierling writes "Why are there no big name DVD Players with digital video outputs? With all the available digital displays (LCD, plasma, DLP, etc) and the obvious benefits of an all-digital connection, it's easy to conclude the threat of litigation from copyright holders is holding up the big name manufacturers. So how is it V Inc. can sell their Bravo D1 DVD Player with DVI output? Are they below the MPAA's radar, or just quicker to market?"
sweet (Score:3, Informative)
Re:sweet (Score:2)
I was under the (incorrect?) impression that the DVI interface on most TVs (like my sony widescreen projection) was not compatible with the DVI interface on most video cards (my Radeon 9700 Pro with DVI and VGA for instance).
I would like to be wrong on this, but I tried everything I could think of and could not get the two to connect.
Re:sweet (Score:2, Interesting)
The MPAA needs to be dragged into the street and shot.
Re:sweet (Score:2)
ATI does sell an adapter for $29 that does convert the DVI conneciton on my video card to and analog HDTV component connection, but the little bastards want $15 to ship a 1 or 2 ounce item via ground shipping.
Screw that. I would love to have it, but I just refuse to pay that much in shipping costs. They're costs to ship that item would probably be $1.51 or something.
Re:sweet (Score:3, Funny)
Re:sweet (Score:3, Funny)
I'm guessing the $13.49 for handling probably entails a lot of tender loving care for the piece before it's shipped off. It's not like they're just trying to skim extra profit right? I mean come on, corporations have ethics. Yep I bet they spend that $13.49 handling fee by paying some minimum wage worker to take a couple hours and read the adapter a bedtime story before putting it in packaging, giving it pointers on its new life on the
Re:sweet (Score:2)
Re:sweet (Score:2)
The DVI output gives you a digital version of the 'analogue hole.' The output is not encrypted so it would be really really easy to capture that video onto another device and you've got a perfect CSS and macrovision free copy of the video (but not the audio. You'd have to use a device that snychs the audio output and remuxes it with the video.)
Re:sweet (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:sweet (Score:2)
For you and me that would be less hassle than DVI to PVR. But the MPAA does not care about whether you or I can 'pirate' in that manner because we actually know something about technology and will always be able to get around lame anti-piracy methods for fair use. It cares about whether or not it's easy for the average joe to do it. The DVI output makes this possible because all you nee
Re:sweet (Score:3, Informative)
That 270 megabit speed is just 33.75 megabytes per second. The latest Seagate SATA 7200 RPM drives are have a sustained write speed of 32 to 58 megabytes per second. See the PDF spec [seagate.com] for more information. These drives are not exactly speed demons and most 7200 RPM IDE drives from t
Forgive (Score:2, Interesting)
My prediction (Score:2, Insightful)
Yup, pure digital signal (Score:2)
Or, you could do a digitally near perfect copy of the DVD to another DVD... which is probably more to the point as the small difference in visible quality would be lost in
Re:Yup, pure digital signal (Score:2)
Which for the record you can already do thanks to DeCSS and its kin. For instance mplayer can do it pretty easily, in fact to me the 3 pass encoding with mencoder looks
DVI has copy protection (Score:3, Informative)
See this PDF for more information:
[ddwg.org]
http://www.ddwg.org/if/data/0830991.pdf
-molo
Re:DVI has copy protection (Score:5, Informative)
Fool! DVI is an all-digital video connection standard, that supports optional encryption! (well mostly all-digital, if you ignore the optional analog compatibility connection)
(though I will agree that most likely any DVD player supporting DVI will be using encryption).
I think it's called HDCP, or High Defintion Copy Protection, or somesuch.
More interesting is a DVD player that up-converts to 1080i -- I've read conflicting reports on whether those are "allowed" by the DVD manufacturer's agreement. But get that, and support for the MS (ugh) HDTV-lite codec (like on the new T2 disc) and you're in busines. Sort of.
Re:DVI has copy protection (Score:5, Insightful)
Kind of like how DVDs support "optional" encryption?
Re:DVI has copy protection (Score:5, Funny)
My PC.
Re:DVI has copy protection (Score:2, Interesting)
One of the Linux documentaries was released with no protection. I can't remember what the name of it was though, but it was mentioned on Slashdot.
Re:DVI has copy protection (Score:2)
Re:DVI has copy protection (Score:5, Informative)
Re:DVI has copy protection (Score:3, Informative)
Re:DVI has copy protection (Score:2)
Macrovision? Pshaw. (Score:5, Interesting)
When this thing is offered in the USA with Macrovision disabled, all regions playable at any time, and no forced chapters, then I'll whip out my VISA and buy one. But not until then.
Re:Macrovision? Pshaw. (Score:2)
If you're worried about Macrovision then this product isn't for you. Macrovision only affects analog outputs. Why would you pay extra for a DVD player with DVI output if your TV doesn't have DVI input capability?
Re:Macrovision? Pshaw. (Score:2)
With Macrovision disabled you can take the composite video out of a DVD player and send it into an AV input on a bog standard VHS machine. If you already have TV RF piped through the house, you can now tune into the video channel and watch DVDs in any room.
Even if you don't plan on using analog outputs on your main set up, it's worthwhile to not have them cripple
Re:Macrovision? Pshaw. (Score:5, Informative)
I have one (Score:5, Funny)
Market Demand (Score:5, Funny)
"I'm a White male, age 18 to 49. Everyone listens to me, no matter how dumb my suggestions are." -Homer eating Nuts 'n' Gum
If the market demands it, the features will be there.
Re:Market Demand (Score:5, Insightful)
No, that's the problem with cartels like the MPAA. People with often accept "good enough" if their preferred features are too hard.
MPAA makes it too hard for consumers to get region free DVD players (yes Geek Boy, your PC will do it just fine with DeCSS), and even out-of-region DVDs are very hard to find off the shelf, due to their strongarm tactics against stores renting them. Most folks will just go and rent something in-zone from their local, and play it on the DVD player they bought locally too.
I think your free-market faith is a little misplaced. Traditional market forces don't really apply when the market is essentially controlled by one supplier.
Re:Market Demand (Score:2)
Re:Market Demand (Score:2)
Are they below the MPAA's radar? (Score:5, Insightful)
Dammit (Score:2)
Re:Are they below the MPAA's radar? (Score:2)
Re:Are they below the MPAA's radar? (Score:2, Funny)
Another Review (Score:5, Informative)
The main problem I have with this DVD player is that it DOESN'T seem to be available in many, if any, retail outlets.
maybe (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:maybe (Score:2)
SDI hacks (Score:5, Informative)
Other DVI Players (Score:5, Informative)
The Bravo D1 is better, but hey.
Expect other large consumer electronics manufacturers to have their models out within a few months.
DVD-HD931 (Score:3, Informative)
More on that unit... [1-877camcorder.com]
Re:Other DVI Players (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh, and if you're out and about, be sure to check out Samsung's DLP rear projection TV. It's head and shoulders above the other rear projection sets out there. It doesn't really have any of the downsides of the normal rear projections TVs (gl
More at Home Theater Forum (Score:5, Informative)
To some of us following the home theater scene, the Bravo D1 may be old news ;), but I can understand that it may not be common knowledge. In any case, the Home Theater Forum [hometheaterforum.com] is a great resource in general and it has a couple [hometheaterforum.com] threads [hometheaterforum.com] on this player as well. Of note from that second link is that the Bravo is not the only DVI player on the market:
Re:More at Home Theater Forum (Score:5, Informative)
Lovely! Those links are referred right back to Slashdot. That's one way to avoid a slashdotting.
Other good home theater sites:
Good for hometheaterforum.com... (Score:2)
Yeah, good for them. If you read the page that you're referred back to it get's more interesting: http://slashdot.org/slashdot-should-cache-article s -its-going-to-slashdot [slashdot.org]. Says it all really.
Of course, if you really want to see the links that the parent article refers to, it can be done. I would tell you how here but it would kind of defeat the reasons for hometheaterforum.com's clever anti-slashdotting defe
Supply and demand... (Score:5, Insightful)
This isn't a fantastic amount to do - after all, this is probably a minor upgrade to most manufacturers - but it is rather pointless if 99.99 percent of your target audience won't even know what the port can be used for, let alone actually use it.
And why spend the time and effort incorporating an $5 (for argument's sake) upgrade if it makes next to no difference on how many units you'll sell? Right now, that $5 pe4r unit is lost profit in what's already a very cut-throat industry.
As DVI is a fairly new development (at least to the average home electronics consumer) it'll be a while before there's a major demand for DVI outputs on DVD players, etc. Gradually though, the major manufacturers will add DVI support, initially at the top of their ranges, then later throughout their catalogues.
In the end, it comes down to supply and demand. Right now, there's very little demand for DVI support. But you can bet the farm that by the time there actually is critical mass demand for DVI support it'll be there across the board.
Re:Supply and demand... (Score:3, Insightful)
You haven't looked. The Toshiba 34HDX82 I just picked up has one. Sony's latest widescreen Wega also has them. Pretty much all of this year's widescreen HDTV models that I looked at a month ago had them.
--Jeremy
Um... (Score:5, Funny)
You mean like a computer?
Re:Um... (Score:2)
Computer software works fine for progressive scan coded DVDs, but the Bravo D1 and Samsung 931 both have far better deinterlacing algorithms.
In short, if you are watching a TV series or a movie where the DVD wasn't progressive encoded, you are bett
Re:Um... NO WRONG BZZZZ. (Score:2, Informative)
The cable I CAN plug into my "box", is DVI. I have a new ATI All In Wonder Radeon. it has DVI OUT. Imagine that.
Also, there is a reason to stay digital as LONG as possible. You want the analog distance to be kept SHORT.
If you do have to have a D->A->D process, keep the A part SHORT. Use lots of long digital wires if you need to, you'll get a better picture in the end.
Take it to the extreme... Send an analog signal around the world on a copper pair.... Look at the result... Now send a digital
Cheap PC imitation? (Score:2)
Why not use your computer? Now if I could find 50' cables, it would be nice...
wrong conclusion (Score:5, Informative)
What's most funny is that no one today would likely think of "ripping" a DVD from a capture card, just because all it takes is a $50 DVD drive and a braindead piece of software. And yet the manufacturers stick by their "no RGB" guns as if it actually means something.
BTW my "DVD player" does have RGB outputs. It also has a macrovision-less s-vid output.
Duh...
Re:wrong conclusion (Score:2)
If I recall correctly, the digital streams have a "do not copy" f
FYI (Score:2)
Re:wrong conclusion (Score:2)
Re:wrong conclusion (Score:2)
I had one of these models as well - the picture quality was horri
Who wants RGB anyway? (Score:2)
Of course, as you point out, DeCSS rather opened the barn door on this one!
Re:wrong conclusion (Score:3, Interesting)
It means a hell of a lot actually.
If you have unencrypted access to the data, you can legally make a copy of the DVD. If you don't, then you cannot legally copy the DVD. The technical ability to make a copy doesn't bother them, only the leg
Re:wrong conclusion (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm sorry but that's complete rubbish - virtually every DVD player ever sold in europe has RGB outs - it's totally standard over here. And all TVs from the last few years have RGB in. You're actually less likely to get s-video outs (although I'd guess 90% have both). Even outside europe I know RGB is common place in Aus, and I've seen it on US players too.
There are others (Score:5, Informative)
The reasoning behind using DVI and upconversion is that many HDTV's will upconvert 480p to 1080i or 720p internally (this is most common on DLP, LCD, Plasma, LCOS and other non-CRT technologies). By converting it internally before the digital stream is converted to analog, you should get a better conversion, or in theory you can add an external scaler (say an iScan or anything from Faroudja) and output a digital 480p signal for it to scale instead of an analog one.
The Bravo D1 is the first, and currently has better quality than Samsung, but it won't be the last for long. Popular rumor has Denon coming out with a universal DVD player (DVD, DVD-A, SACD) with DVI output (with HDCP) by the end of the year, but if the HDCP compatibility issues keep up, I wouldn't be surprised to see it be delayed. Of course, HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is what I can't wait for. One cable the size of a USB connector that can carry an HDTV signal and 8 channels of audio, so long cable mess!
Re:There are others (Score:2, Informative)
Call Samsung they have a firmware upgrade (CDR) that will upgrade the unit to work with Toshiba and Sony DVI sets.
Re:There are others (Score:2)
How many TV's have DVI input? (Score:5, Insightful)
In addition, component optical output is already far and away high enough quality to render the need for DVI moot.
The only TV-class displays that I know of which feature DVI inputs are flatpanel LCD and some flatpanel plasma displays... which are far more expensive than I can justify when compared to a comparably priced rear projection or CRT set.
Re:How many TV's have DVI input? (Score:3, Interesting)
IMO, you would be foolish to buy a new HDTV without DVI-HDCP as most set-top boxes are moving to this format as a method of copy protection (encrypting the signal between the set-top box and your TV in order to eliminate video capture and upload to the net).
Re:How many TV's have DVI input? (Score:2)
DVI is no problem. How about Firewire/Component? (Score:5, Interesting)
The MPAA still does exert some control here, as you can tell from the lack of DVD players with FireWire interfaces. mitsubishi has been talking about them for years, to fit into their cool Havi [mitsubishi-tv.com] system. But, because of the all the MPAA usage restriction hysteria, they can't bring one to market.
Also, they block any analog outputs over 480P (e.g. component video, YPrPb, outputs at 720P or 1080i). These are analog outputs, which are not easily copied (try recording your VGA out). But, they still won't allow them because of the CSS license restrictions and lack of Macrovision.
This is also closely related to why you cannoy buy an HDTV DirecTV receiver with a Firewire output, and thus cannot record HDTV programs off satellite. The technology has been viable for years, D-VHS recorders are available and cheap, but the content providers prevent DirecTV from adding this feature. This slows down the adoption of HDTV, and stifles innovation. Don't you just love the MPAA?
Re:DVI is no problem. How about Firewire/Component (Score:3, Insightful)
That is incredibly understated.
For you to make a DVD player, you have to get permission to use CSS. For you to get permission to use CSS, the MPAA can make you sign any sort of contract they want, or you don't get to use CSS legally. That's all there is to it.
I don't think there is any "threat of litigation" keeping DVD players back, I believe it much more simple and direct than that.
Re:DVI is no problem. How about Firewire/Component (Score:3, Interesting)
Because it's in a consumer player, with no mass storage or connectivity save the A/V outputs, the MPAA would have a damn hard time making the argument that it's piracy. And they wouldn't have to pay the license fee to the DVD-CSS consortium either!
Re:DVI is no problem. How about Firewire/Component (Score:4, Informative)
The difference being: DVI is an uncompressed digital output - for connection to a display device. Since it's uncompressed, it runs at gigabit/second speeds, and is difficult to copy.
Firewire runs at 400Mbps (the new apple PC's have 800Mbps firewire), and is typically used for transferring compressed data streams (usually MPEG2) and for general networking between devices. Some displays have built-in HD tuners, and take firewire as input. For example, the Mitsubishi HDTV's. In this case, DVI is not needed, because the HDTV stream is sent over the firewire, and decoded in the internal tuner. It is then passed internally to the display, so protected DVI is not needed.
If the display does not have an internal tuner, it would have an external HD Set Top Box (STB). The STB is connected to the TV via DVI, and connected to a recorder, or other A/V devices, via firewire.
Well well well (Score:2, Insightful)
Easy if you're a paranoid tin-foil hat wea
Who needs DVI out? (Score:2)
Re:Who needs DVI out? (Score:2)
Slightly offtopic (Score:2)
Re:Slightly offtopic (Score:2)
It sounds like what you want is a smaller-sized CRT set with a built-in HDTV tuner, correct? I don't think this is completely u
Yeah, how did they stay under the radar? (Score:2)
Let's hope they fire off a few units before their mailbox gets DDOS'ed by RIAA lawyers.
raw DVI capture anyone? (Score:2)
The real ques
Q: Why not FireWire? (Score:5, Interesting)
The promise of FireWire is a single cable, and an intelligent system, connecting all of your electronics devices together. Not just final output (like DVI), or tied to a host (like USB), but a peer-to-peer, universal, high speed bus that can carry content as well as control data. Any of your devices can communicate with one another, and, where applicable, control or send information to one another - all the while sending pristine digital content.
DVI is more attractive to some because it's a final output format, with less fundamental chance of being manipulated or captured by anything else. And copy protection can be enforced in the "monitor" or display device, if need be...FireWire could connect all of your equipment, including your computer, appliances, and more. It could even do it wirelessly.
Imagine one single, intelligent cable chain connecting all of your entertainment equipment - no more rat's nest of endless cabling, no more dumb devices unaware of anything but themselves...that is one of the purposes, and the promise, of FireWire.
Re:Q: Why not FireWire? (Score:2)
Re:Q: Why not FireWire? (Score:2)
Re:Q: Why not FireWire? (Score:2)
I have a Firewire/HAVI enabled Mitsubishi rear projection television and would love to find a HAVI compliant DVD player. Unfortunately, I don't know of one yet -- not
below radar? (Score:4, Informative)
Uhm, not anymore.... (that's assuming MPAA reads
Why (Score:5, Insightful)
When DVD's are 720p or 1080i, then it may.
Re:Why (Score:3, Informative)
DVI Output? (Score:4, Funny)
DVI Discussion (Score:2, Interesting)
Also, the other thing I'm wondering. I've heard that the DVI inputs that are now being placed on most "high end" (lets
Check out the DP-500 (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes there are still a few bugs in the software, as someone mentioned above, but they are slowly being worked out with new software releases.
My mac has DVI output already. (Score:5, Informative)
However even if it did I dont expect the result to be much superior than the analog RGB VGA output for the simple reason that the DVD disk doesn't have any more info than that.
for example if you try to play a dvd on an XGA or SXGA system it looks WORSE(!) than on the lower resoultion SVGA. the reason is very simple , the dvd has to interpolate the pixels and does a bad job when the image is changing quickly. SVGA is optimal for DVD , and XGA is optimal for HDTV.
Re:My mac has DVI output already. (Score:2, Informative)
The point of the digital connection is not that it transmits more information, but that it loses less information during the transfer. Analog signals degrade over the length of a cable. In fact, the more information is being sent, the faster it degrades, which may be why XGA looked worse on your projector than SVGA.
Re:My mac has DVI output already. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:My mac has DVI output already. (Score:2, Interesting)
As an example, watching the opening scrolling-text stuff at the beginning of The Matrix caused some heavy aliasing/pixelization on the Mac.
I'm sure a bit of it has to do with the PowerDVD player having some tweaks to take advantage of DirectX but I'm sure much of it has to
always watch at your proj.'s native resolution. (Score:4, Informative)
I have a XVGA DLP and it looks much better @ 1024x768 than at 800x600 because PowerDVD does a very nice job upscaling the image. If I try to send 1600x1200 to the 1024x768 DLP then it looks like ass, not because of the player, but because of the DLP down-conversion.
ALWAYS watch at the NATIVE resolution of your DLP for the best picture quality. Period.
Re:My mac has DVI output already. (Score:3, Informative)
"for example if you try to play a dvd on an XGA or SXGA system it looks WORSE(!) than on the lower resoultion SVGA."
Suuuure buddy. Keep on feeling good about your low res setup. Nothing wrong with it after all. But if you've ever actually seen a truly high end home theatre digital projector, you'd know that they ARE NOT 800x600. And you'd notice that DVDs look pretty fucking good at higher resolutions as long as you aren't usin
Re:Submitter does not understand the subject. (Score:2)
Re:Submitter does not understand the subject. (Score:5, Interesting)
Sorry, go fish.
The DVI standard includes a digital mode and this player is using it.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Lay off it already (Score:2, Funny)
Re:1920x1080??? (Score:2, Informative)
Some of the 525 lines don't carry picture info and are cut off by your TV. They occasionally carry program information, or in some cases, Macrovision stuff designed to fool the auto gain correction on your VCR. In any case, the lines th
Re:1920x1080??? (Score:2, Informative)
Actually, televisions are not like 640x480. Televisions are not digital, at least not completely. The electron gun starts at the top of the frame and paints one line at a time. By the time it hits the bottom, it's painted about 240 lines (in NTSC, that is). While painting a line, it's demodulating an analog signal into analog values of red, green, and blue. The horizontal resolution is NOT in terms of pixels or anything shaped like a dot; it's an analog signal whose resolution simply depends on the bandw