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4 Getting Started
19
En
English
This system will play DVD, Video CD and audio CD discs. Look
for one of the logos shown below on the disc box or on the disc
itself to check that it’s compatible.
Other disc formats, including DVD-RAM, DVD-ROM, CD-RW,
CDV and CD-ROM, are not playable on this system.
Most of the information on these pages relates to DVD and
Video CD. If you’re new to either of these formats we strongly
recommend reading this section before proceeding since it
introduces terms and concepts used throughout the manual.
Surround sound modes
Many DVD discs are recorded with mutichannel surround
sound. There are two formats, Dolby Digital and DTS—this
system is compatible with both. Look for the logos shown below
on the disc box or the disc itself to check whether that disc
features surround sound.
This system plays all sound through the front speakers.
However, using Dolby Virtual you can get the impression of
surround sound—see page 27 for more on using Dolby Virtual.
For true surround sound, connect to a Dolby Digital/DTS
compatible AV amplifier (see page 12) with surround speakers.
TV screen formats
At present there are two television screen formats in use:
conventional and widescreen. They are often known by their
aspect ratio (the width of the screen relative to the height). A
conventional screen is 4:3 (i.e., almost a square), a widescreen
is 16:9 (i.e., nearly twice as wide as it is high). Movies on DVD
are often recorded in widescreen format (since that's how
they're presented in movie theaters). If you watch these discs on
a 4:3 set, you have two options: you can either watch in
1
Dolby Digital logo
DTS logo
A Disc Primer
letterbox format—in which case you'll see black bars at the
top and bottom of the screen—or you can switch to pan & scan
format. Pan & scan chops the sides off the picture to make it fit
onto a 4:3 screen. Even though the picture looks larger on the
screen (because it uses the whole height of the screen), you're
actually seeing less of the movie (because the sides are lost).
Titles, chapters and tracks
Ordinary music CDs and Video CDs are divided into tracks to
make finding a particular piece on the disc easier. The same
things on DVDs are called chapters (as in chapters of a book).
Because of the huge capacity available, DVD discs collect
together groups of chapters into titles (again, as in book titles).
Multilingual discs
As well as audio and video, DVD discs can carry subtitles. Unlike
a video tape, where the subtitles are simply recorded on top of
the picture, DVD subtitles are separate from the main video, so
you can switch them on or off as you like. Not only that, but
some discs will let you choose between several different subtitle
languages—it just depends what the disc maker has included
on the disc.
DVD is not limited to a single audio language either. So, a French-
language film could include the original dialog in French, a
local language (say, Mandarin), and an English soundtrack.
You can mix and match these audio and subtitle languages at
will, selecting the original soundtrack with local language
subtitles, or a dubbed version with no subtitles. Exactly what's
available depends entirely on the disc, though.
Menu language
Finding your way around the contents of a DVD disc is aided by
the use of on-screen displays, which appear on your TV. Some
discs have their own specific menus, while others rely on
standard menus in the player (some discs use a combination of
the two). The player lets you choose between several different
menu languages, but this only applies to the player menus—
disc dependent menus may only be available in one language.
DVD disc logo
Audio CD disc logo
Video CD disc logo
∞ CD
3
Track 1
3
Track 2
3
Track 3
3
Track 4
etc.
∞ DVD
∞ Title 1
3
Chapter 1
3
Chapter 2
etc.
∞ Title 2
3
Chapter 1
3
Chapter 2
etc.
etc.
∞ Video CD
3
Track 1
3
Track 2
3
Track 3
3
Track 4
etc.