DVD Players

By Lucy Small

What is a DVD Player?

DVD stands for Digital Versatile DiscA DVD player is a device that reads Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs) and reproduces the data in the form of an audio visual presentation on your TV screen. The first DVD player, SD-3000 was created by Toshiba in November 1996It stored both audio and video data in pure digital format. An entire movie fitted onto a 12 cm disk, the same size as an audio CD. It also offered high image and audio quality and many different functions which will be shown later. It was nothing like any other piece of media technology at the time.The next company to release DVD players a few months after Toshiba was Sony.

Who uses DVD players?

DVD players can be used by different audiences in different ways, despite age, gender and social

class. These are some different audiences and what they use DVD players for:

Children under 10’s: it is well known that parents Children under 10’s: it is well known that parents buy DVD players so they can shove their young buy DVD players so they can shove their young kids in front of a film to keep them quiet for a few kids in front of a film to keep them quiet for a few

hours. It is a good form of entertainment as young hours. It is a good form of entertainment as young children can be distracted by watching a DVD.children can be distracted by watching a DVD.Teenagers: DVD players are used in school for

educational purposes, such as in Media Studies or showing documentaries on subjects such as

Science. Outside of school DVD players are very popular with teenagers and adults to watch DVDs and have things like film nights and film clubs. It is very common for people to invite friends round to

watch a DVD.Business men/women: DVD players are used in a Business men/women: DVD players are used in a

similar way to in a school, but instead for similar way to in a school, but instead for educational purposes in a business or office for educational purposes in a business or office for

the employees to learnthe employees to learn

WHY DO PEOPLE USE DVD PLAYERS?

They are simple to use and it is the only way of watching a film that comes out.

As technology has improved, more and more people are embracing it into their life, and having a DVD player is very ordinary now to

having one 10 years ago when they were not that common or easy to buy.

DVD players can be very sociable pieces of equipment, bringing DVD players can be very sociable pieces of equipment, bringing people together to watch a film.people together to watch a film.

They can also be very helpful in schools and businesses as it is very

easy and helpful to show students or employees a DVD.

They have replaced video players and They have replaced video players and films are not even released on video as films are not even released on video as

DVD has taken over due to its sleek DVD has taken over due to its sleek look and huge popularity.look and huge popularity.

HOW DO YOU USE A DVD PLAYER?

It is very easy to use a DVD player. If your lucky, someone will come and install and connect it to your television for you, so all you have to worry about is using it.

All DVD players have the same functions and ‘buttons’ to press.

PLAY BUTTON: the most important, starts the DVD

PAUSE BUTTON: stops the film until you wish to play again, where

it will start from the same position that you paused it at

FAST FORWARD BUTTON: this allows you to move forward

through the film

REWIND BUTTON: opposite to fast forward, you can move back

through the film

STOP BUTTON: stops the film and takes you back to the beginning

of the film

HOW DO YOU USE A DVD PLAYER?

These buttons are the main instructions you use to control a DVD player. You are always given a remote control with these buttons on, and various others such as…

Volume – this controls how loud or quiet the sound isMain Menu – this takes you back to the main menu of

the DVD, which only the most recent DVDs have. The main menu is the page which will have all the options that the DVD offers, and is the equivalent to a home page of a website.

Enter – when you want to press an option you use this button

Return – if you are on various options or different pages which you have got on to via the Main Menu, to go back one page you use this button

Next/Back – if you want to change scene, so go to the next or previous scene, you do so by using these buttons

MAIN MENU

This is the main menu of the Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets DVD. Here you can see it gives you various options. You can simply just play the movie, or if you want to start at a specific

point in the movie, you find it in scene selections. You can change the language and have subtitles. Every movie has different special

features, they can be documentaries on how the film is made, interviews with the cast and crew or the film trailers, and much more.

THE PEOPLES OPINIONI asked 4 people questions on DVD players. This is the general response I got…

Male 17 year old: I just bought a Sony DVD player and its great, I didn’t have to bring in someone to install it for me, I could do it myself in about 10 minutes. The only bad thing about it is that some of my pirate copies don’t work on it.

Female 16 year old: I’ve had my DVD player for a few years and it hasn’t broken once. When my mates come round we usually watch a DVD because it’s a nice way to relax and pass the time. My dad hardly uses it even though he bought it. We used one in my English class as well, we watched Pride & Prejudice as we were studying it for GCSE.

Male 39 years old: DVD players are very good pieces of equipment, however I don’t have one. I have a laptop and a computer which I can watch DVD’s on so I do not see the point of buying a separate DVD player. However I bought my son the latest Toshiba model for his room, but it was quite complicated to set up as I’m not too good with gadgets.

Female 12 years old: I could not LIVE without my DVD player, I am always watching them as we have a massive TV and a TV room for when friends come round and stuff. My mum is always trying to get me out from in front of the TV but its so easy to spend ages watching it. When I watch a DVD time goes really quick.

MAIN REACTION: A WHOLE BUNDLE OF FUN PACKED INTO MAIN REACTION: A WHOLE BUNDLE OF FUN PACKED INTO A SMALL EXPENSIVE BOX.A SMALL EXPENSIVE BOX.

PORTABLE DVD PLAYERS

This is exactly what its name is, a small, compact DVD player with a screen attached so you can carry it around with you like a laptop and watch DVDs. Sony was the first company to produce one in June 2001.The screens are on average 8 inches and are LCD. Some screens can flip round and fold down.Nowadays, some can play audio CDs, and include iPod docks and USB ports.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A DVD PLAYER

ADVANTAGESADVANTAGESMany DVD players have progressive scan feature, which provides

a better picture quality by increasing the picture sharpness.

DVDs include loads of extras like interviews, galleries and commentaries. It gives you more than just the film.

DVD players have controls built in which allow you to navigate through all the options that they offer.

DISADVANTAGESDISADVANTAGESYou can’t record with DVD players, the only feature it allows you

to do is play DVD’s.

Some DVDs don’t function fully or play at all on a DVD player, as they are not compatible, due to inadequate testing of DVDs.

They are more expensive than video players.

DIVERGENCESome companies that produce DVD players are Sony, Phillips, Hyundai, Samsung, Toshiba, Shinco and Panasonic.Most of these companies also produce other media technology. These include televisions, mobile phones, cameras, camcorders, computers, printers, projectors, video consoles and mp3 players.All of these products are fairly recent forms of media technology. Companies create similar products which can work together, such as computers and printers, hoping that people will buy all from the same company.

CONVERGENCE

The most obvious thing that DVD players work with, are television sets. A DVD player has to be connected to a TV so the DVD can be watched on the TV screen.

Another obvious thing are the DVDs themselves, which are inserted into the DVD player

DVD PLAYERS IN THE FUTURE

HDThis stands for high definition, and it is happening already. HD televisions can be bought for a much larger price than

normal televisions, and now DVD players are being produced as HD. This basically means the picture will be

extremely sharp and defined, like in a cinema. This works by the primary colours; red, green and blue, being

submitted through separate wires, making each three signals stronger.

Blu-Ray Disc

A form of HD technology, it is the latest development in the world of DVDs. It was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video, as well as storing large amounts of data. It offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc. DVDs now rely on a red laser to read and write data, but the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. Blu-ray is currently supported by more than 180 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies, including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony.

THE

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