dvds

Don't let your children catch DVD

Digital Living With toddlers it's all about focus, yet DVDs force them to wade through an interminable series of trailers. Your children can now be exposed to DVDs at the homes of their friends, in supermarkets and shopping centres -- even public libraries are no...

24 April 2006, 11:09

What HD disc player should I buy? review

Digital Living Many will upscale DVDs to 1080p too, and those that don't will pump out a 1080i signal. It's very hard to get an HD DVD or Blu-ray player that can play DVDs from all regions. We are looking at buying a new DVD player for our new LCD 1080p TV and...

Tags: generation, hd, dvds, samsung

16 November 2007, 12:52

Blu-ray and HD DVD: The facts

Digital Living HD DVDs almost exclusively use the more advanced VC-1 and AVC codecs, while the first generation of Blu-ray movies uses the ageing MPEG-2 codec. It's not as if you're going to have to spread single movies over multiple HD DVDs, but more a case of...

1 June 2007, 16:40

Spam TV, You TV, Global TV

Digital Living The pictures keep getting smaller: with sound, with colour, with television, with videos and DVDs, with portable DVD players and video players like those from Archos, Creative, and Thomson, video images become more unremarkable, more ubiquitous...

4 October 2005, 16:57

Get more from Sony's PSP

Digital Living You can convert DVD movies if you look for decryption software online, but as the legality of such action is a very grey area (even if you've paid for the DVDs), we can't point you in the exact direction.

1 September 2005, 14:54

Which 40-inch Sony LCD TV should I buy?

Digital Living The better picture processing on the X2000 improves the quality of Freeview pictures and standard-definition DVDs. I'm a bit confused by the difference between the Sony Bravia KDL-40W2000 and the KDL-40X2000.

2 August 2007, 9:20

Is it worth bringing a PS3 back from the US?

Digital Living The same is true of standard DVDs. I see the PS3's launching in the UK soon, but I'm flying to the US and was wondering if buying one there and bringing it back would work out cheaper? And would UK games and movies work on it?

21 March 2007, 16:39

Is the PS3 any good as a Blu-ray player?

Digital Living The only drawback we can think of is that the PS3 doesn't upscale standard DVDs, but Sony has hinted this functionality will be included in a future firmware update. I really want a Blu-ray player, but it is worth getting a dedicated player rather...

28 March 2007, 16:24

Do I need a TV with 1080i or 1080p?

Digital Living If you watch a lot of normal TV and want to watch DVDs and possibly some high-definition TV via satellite or cable, then you can easily manage with a 720p set, especially if you are looking to buy a TV under 37 inches.

6 June 2007, 11:14

Why isn't Freeview on LCD and plasmas as good as on my old TV?

Digital Living This is why DVDs look much better on your TV than Freeview ever will. I keep looking to make the jump to a new TV, yet every time I look at them the standard Freeview picture is poor in comparison to my five-year-old Toshiba 32ZP18 TV.

25 April 2007, 11:42

Why is my best TV in my shed?

Digital Living Unfortunately, the picture on the model I have is rubbish for most of the TV we watch, although it looks great with DVDs. I bought it on a credit card with the sweaty panic of someone who knows they'll be in a world of trouble when they get their...

6 May 2006, 7:00

Is a 46-inch TV too big for my living room?

Digital Living Upscaling models will convert standard-definition DVDs to close to high-definition quality and they're not as expensive as you might think -- try Samsung's HD860, which can be found for as little as £60.

15 November 2006, 16:02

What is Dolby TrueHD?

Digital Living DVDs contain full 5.1 surround sound, which gave full stereo rear effects, as well as dedicated centre, left and right channels, and a channel for bass known as LFE, or 'low frequency effects'. I've heard a lot about Dolby TrueHD recently.

11 July 2007, 14:15

Living with infinite digital choice

Digital Living Many children are now growing up in homes that have slightly fewer books, as their limited shelf space has to accomodate hundreds of CDs, DVDs and videos. You spend a third of your day working, a third of the day sleeping, and you have another...

26 October 2005, 11:48