There are 6 DVD discs Region Codes, detailed as below:
Region Code 1: USA, Canada, East Pacific Islands
Region Code 2: Japan, Western Europe, Northern Europe, Egypt, South Africa, Middle East
Region Code 3: Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, South-East Asia
Region Code 4: Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America, South Pacific Islands
Region Code 5: Russia, Mongolia, India, Middle Asia, Eastern Europe, North Korea, North Africa, North-West Asia
Region Code 6: China
Dolby Pro-Logic Surround is Dolby’s analog stereo/surround sound technology.
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.
DTS refers to 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 laser discs 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.
For Blu-ray Discs, there are three regions, designated as follows:
Region A: U.S., Japan, Latin America, East Asia (except China).
Region B: Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand
Region C: China, Russia, Remaining countries.
HD-DVD had indicated the possibility of, but never announced a specific Region Coding for its format. As a result, HD-DVD disc titles were never region coded.
An HD-compatible DVD player is a unit that is equipped with either a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) or HDMI (High Definition Multi-media Interface) connection. This connection can transfer the video signal from the DVD player to an HDTV that has the same type of video connections in pure digital form. In addition, this type of DVD player also has an what is referred to as “upscaling capability”.
Although sharing some basic similarities, such as the size of the discs, and the the fact that they are both digitally encoded formats, CDs and DVDs are very different. CDs have different focusing requirements than DVDs, so, in order for a DVD player to play CDs they need one of two things: A laser that has the ability change its focusing accurately based on DVD or CD detection or, more commonly, a DVD player will have two lasers, one for reading DVDs and one for reading CDs. This is often referred to a Twin-Laser Assembly as is usually listed in the spec sheet for DVD players that have them.
The reason that DVD players can also play CDs is not so much technical, but is a conscious marketing strategy. When DVD was first introduced to the market in 1996-1997, it was decided that one of the best ways to increase sales of DVD players and make them more appealing to consumers was to also include the ability for DVD players to also be able to play CDs. As a result, the DVD player actually became two units in one, a DVD player and a CD player. Although some audio processing circuitry is shared, the basic requirements of both CD and DVD compatibility are accommodated separately within the same chassis.
Now, as to whether ALL DVD players are better CD players, not all are. You have to compare them unit-by-unit. However, a great many of them are, especially DVD/SACD/DVD-Audio Universal Players, due their higher-end audio processing. Also, as a result of the popularity of DVD and CD, it is becoming harder to find CD-only players. In fact, most CD-only players available these days are either the Jukebox type that hold 50 or more CDs, or very high-end single tray units.
Yes, all DVD players can play standard music CDs. If you insert a CD in a DVD player, it will automatically recognize the disc as a CD and let you access CD playback functions.
In addition, many DVD players can also play CD-R/RWs, MP3-CDs and JPEG PhotoCDs. Also, some DVD players can also play SACD (Super Audio CDs) and DVD-Audio Discs.
Since the dualdisc has a slightly different thickness than either a standard DVD or standard CD, it may not have complete playback compatibility on some DVD players. DualDiscs are not officially recognized as meeting CD specifications. As a result, Philips, developers of the CD and holders of most CD patents, do not authorize the use of the official CD label on DualDiscs.
DualDisc is a controversial new format that is a disc with a DVD layer on one side and a CD-type layer on the other
