This is a short but interesting post.

Image courtesy : designspongeonline.com

It is also based on a real life experience. My grandfather listens to a dozen of slokas and devotional songs everyday. He has a routine which he follows. The tracks that he listens to are:

1. Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam
2. Shri Hanuman Chalisaa (the whole album)
3. Lalitha Sahasranamam
4. Aaditya Hrudayam
5. Vishnu Sahasranamam (evenings)

The same songs are played everyday in the same order. So far he was using cassettes and a Philips tape recorder/player. The problem with this setup is that the tapes get worn out soon due to repeated usage and also get weak. So once in two weeks or so, one tape of another would snap. I would have to open them up and stick the ends with cello tape and put the tape back together. Occasionally the tape would get wound up inside the player due to some error.

And then we have speed playback issues, constant rewinding/fast forwarding and ofcourse, changing tapes problem.

So I decided to simplify the issue for him. I had an old unused MP3 player lying around. It had a defective ear phone socket. With some local supplies I managed to change the socket and replaced it with an external one. Then I copied the MP3 tracks for these songs onto the MP3 player. We had a spare set of speakers lying around. I connected these to the player and viola! – We had a digital system with all these songs stored in the order in which it would be required to play back.

All my grandfather has to do is press the play/pause button and change the single AAA battery once in week or so. I could have simplified it further by hooking up a power supply to the MP3 player, but perhaps I save it for another day.

I will try and post some pictures of the same soon. In case you want more details, leave your comments behind.

Sony has released four models of Home Theatre systems. Some of the features available across these models are:

• Record and Play via USB
• Bravia Sync – Use the same remote to control the TV and the home theatre
• Free HDMI Cable
• Free Home Installation to avoid shabby wiring

The model details are as follows. (All images courtesy sony.co.in. Click on images to enlarge)

DAV-DZ270

• 850W Total Power Output
• S-Master Digital Amplifier
• FM/AM Tuner with 30 Presets
• BRAVIA Sync
• Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (D.C.A.C)
• Dolby Pro Logic II
• Bass Boost Function
• USB Connectivity
• HDMI Output 

MRP Rs. 14,990 /-*

DAV-DZ570

• 850W Total Power Output
• S-Master Digital Amplifier
• FM/AM Tuner with 30 Presets
• BRAVIA Sync
• Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (D.C.A.C)
• Dolby Pro Logic II
• Bass Boost Function
• USB Connectivity
• HDMI Output
• S-AIR Ready
• DIGITAL MEDIA PORT

MRP Rs. 19,990 /-*  

DAV-DZ777

• 1000W Total Power Output
• S-Master Digital Amplifier
• FM/AM Tuner with 30 Presets
• BRAVIA Sync
• Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (D.C.A.C)
• Dolby Pro Logic II
• Bass Boost Function
• USB Connectivity
• HDMI Output
• S-AIR Ready
• DIGITAL MEDIA PORT
• Movie / Music Mode
• Night Mode / Dialogue Enhancer

MRP Rs. 24,990 /-*

DAV-DZ870W

• 1000W Total Power Output
• S-Master Digital Amplifier
• FM/AM Tuner with 30 Presets
• BRAVIA Sync
• Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (D.C.A.C)
• Dolby Pro Logic II
• Bass Boost Function
• USB Connectivity
• HDMI Output
• S-AIR Wireless
• DIGITAL MEDIA PORT
• Movie / Music Mode
• Night Mode / Dialogue Enhancer
• Digital Cinema Sound

MRP Rs. 39,990 /-*

For in-depth details please visit : http://www.sony.co.in/productcategory/hts-dvd-home-theatre-system

Thanks to Pradeep for this comment posted in our earlier article “Philips DVD Players – DVP 3126,5986,3146,3166,5150 | Prices – India” on Jan 15 2008.

Over to Pradeep:

When I was in Kerala during the last week of December 2007, i decided to purchase a DVD player for my parents. We already have a Sony TV there and no other Hi-Fi component Deck / Music systems or home theater setup.

I was sampling the market there (Ernakulam / Kottayam). Please note that I did not go into any fancy showrooms. Just plain multi-brand dealers, ‘cos they seem to have better[more affordable ] pricing !!

The most commonly displayed DVD players were from LG/Samsung/Philips/Sony among others.

I am not a fan of LG or Samsung. And was specifically looking for Sony or otherwise Philips. The DVD player that I was looking for need not have HDMI or in-built Amplifier, but i did want DivX Certified and an USB port.

Having a USB port is so useful. Just pop-in any USB storage device (mp3 players, flash drives, etc.) and you can browse through the folders to view photos, play mp3s and other audio(if supported) and mainly play Hi quality DivX-encoded content.

Sony does have a model (the model number escapes me now!), but is apparently not yet available in India.

Then I had to switch to a Philips make. There are 2 models here which provide USB (3166 and 5490). The 5490 also has HDMI and Ultra-DivX (Menus,Extra, etc.) and was available for INR 4,290. Since the DVD player was meant only for my parents and to use it along with the Sony TV(no HDMI), I decided to go in with the 3166 model. The price mentioned on the box is INR 4,490, the dealer (QRS -Kottayam) was giving it at INR 3,300. that seemed to be a reasonable price and so purchased it.

I then immediately tested it with all sorts of formats, and so far it has played everything I threw at it.

After coming back to Chennai, i was discussing this with my colleague and he informed me that he enquired on the same model, few weeks before me in either Viveks or S.S. Annamalai Enterprises (in Chennai), and they were selling it for around INR 2.800 !!!

We got this query from our contact page. This post will look at addressing this query and also invite comments and suggestions from our readers.

My apartment is in the construction stage. Is is possible to have internal speaker wiring of the hometheater . I dont want wires running under the carpet or to go for another cabling which will be visible on the wall.

A home theatre can comprise of many components. Of these, speakers are the most important and ironically most difficult to place items. The query above is looking at getting the wiring part of it covered, so that people don’t trip over them, the expensive equipment is not ruined and above all, aesthetics of the home is maintained.

Let us get into some details. A typical home theatre equipment could either be a 5.1 system of a 7.1 system. The former contains 6 speakers while the later contains 8. If you have already chosen your system then you know how many speakers are in for installation and how many wires you need to handle.

Now, one of the best things you can you at your home at the time of construction is that you could lay PVC pipes within your wall and bring the other end at strategic places in your hall. Please see the picture below:

Click Image to enlarge

At the time of laying them out, you could have nylon chords inserted into PVC pipes so that the loose ends are visible at both the ends of the pipes. Once the construction is completed and the walls are ready, you would only see the nylon chords at the wall and on the floor/side walls where you have wanted them.

Once you move into your home, you could have the home theatre positioned the way you want and simply tie the wires to the nylon chords and pull gently from the other end. This way you can draw your cables at exactly the same spot (+/- few inches) where your speakers are going to be positioned.

This is one aesthetic way of setting up your home theatre especially if you are building your home right now and the final wall/floor has not yet been completed.

The other way is to have a reaper installed on the wall and lead the wire upto the speaker. This is not a very good looking solution but it is practical if you already live in a home and do not want to conceal your wires so badly.

Do let us know if this works for you.

Cheers – Team Aavaas.

Hello. We are giving you some details about the DVD players released during this festive season by the multinational giant – Philips.

First the DVP 3126

This player MRP is Rs. 3499/- but some shops are offering it for as low as Rs. 2699/-

Features include:

• 5.1 channel audio output
• Plays CD, SVCD, VCD, DVD, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW
• Plays MP3, WMA and JPG camera photos from disc
• Progressive Scan

Second model offered is DVP 5986

MRP of this model is Rs. 5490/-

 Features include:

• HDMI digital video and audio
• Karoake
• Plays DivX Ultra
• Multi-format playability
• True High-def 1080p
• USB Direct
• Progressive scan 5.1 channel audio output

Some other models are:

DVP 3146 – Plays DivX

MRP : Rs. 3999/- . Offer price is Rs. 2999/-

DVP 3166 : Plays from USB , directly

DVP5150 : Offers 7.1 Channel Output

MRP : Rs. 4999/- . Offer Price : 3399/-.

Update : All Images, courtesy of Philips India website.

Yesterday we gave you a brief list of brands that sell DVD players in India. We promised you that the next post would have a list of features which would help you choose a player appropriately. So let us go right into it.

Video output

The first and the foremost quality that is associated with a DVD player is “Picture” quality.  This is directly related to the type of video output that you are using from your DVD player.

There are about 4 types of video output signals that exist. Atleast one of these would be present in any player. Some models may have two, three or all four of them. They are:

(in the order of clarity – least to most)

• Composite output – denoted by a yellow color socket (see picture below)
• S-Video Output
• Component Output – denoted by three sockets , blue red and green (see picture)
• HDMI Output

What is the most important aspect here is that your television should also support the type of output that your DVD player is sending out.

Please check this before purchasing the player.

Image Courtesy : about.com

Most common CRT televisions have only “composite video input”. Slightly higher end versions have “s-video” inputs and the larger CRT televisions like 29″ models even have “component” video inputs.

Latest plasma and LCD televisions will have the HDMI ports as well. If you have all of these present in your system, choose the one which is the best to appreciate smooth, rich and vivid picture quality.

Audio output

The next important aspect is the audio quality that is produced by your player. Just like video output, there are some formats available in DVD players by which you can connect your television or home theatre to the DVD player.

• Stereo sound – Denoted as “L” and “R” (white and red sockets) at the rear of the player
• Surround sound – Here you can see 6 sockets with markings. 
  • Front Left
  • Front Right
  • Center Channel
  • Rear Left
  • Rear Right
  • Sub Woofer
• Coaxial digital output
• Optical digital output

Image Courtesy : barrel-of-monkeys.com

If you are having just a television to be connected to the DVD player, only the stereo connection should be used. Just connect the left and right sockets to the appropriate colored sockets in your television set. In case your TV has more than one pair, make sure it is connected to the same channel source as is your video output. Some televisions have AV1 and AV2 channels.

If you plan to use a 5.1 channel amplifier, then you can connect all channel outputs individually to the respective sockets on the amplifier and use the supplied speakers to enjoy your movies/music.

If you amplifier/home theatre supports coaxial cable input or optical cable inputs , use them instead as they prevent cable mess. The audio signal is transferred in an encoded manner and the receiving home theatre equipment has the intelligence to decode it.

Region Code Setting

Every DVD player has a region code setting. Make sure you are aware of what your player’s code is. You have to purchase DVD which have the same region coding. Else the disc will fail to play back on your player.

Images Courtesy : kfccinema.com

Playback Options

Most players in the market are designed only to play VCD and DVD discs.

Advance players can play MP3 and WMA discs. If you would like to  have these audio playback features, make sure you check for them.

Divx Support

Divx is a popular format for video compression. It is based on MPEG-4 like standards and promises high compression rates. This means you can store more movies on a single DVD disk without compromise on quality. If you have such content and would like to play the same on your player, make sure it can support Divx playback.

You can check some of the players here – - > http://www.divx.com/products/

Other features to look for

Some of the other things you may want to check before buying a player are:

Image Courtesy : Overstock.com

• Support for remote control – 90% of the players have a remote control
• Display – Most players have a digital display to show time elapsed and other such details
• Karaoke – If you have karaoke ready tracks, you may want this option. Here you can plug in your microphone and sing along with the video !

Advanced Options

• Some players allow you to playback CDs with pictures on them. You can watch a slideshow with MP3 music playing in the background.
• Advanced modern players have USB connectivity. This would help you to connect your digital camera or flash drive on the dvd player and listen to music, watch pictures or even movies on your TV screen.
• Memory card slot – This is similar to the USB option, only that you can insert a  specified memory card into the player.

 We hope you found this article informative and make the right choice for your player.

Continuing our brand series where we covered televisions and mattresses before, today we touch upon DVD players.

Image Courtesy : msu.edu

Japanese DVD player brands

Chinese DVD player brands

Korean DVD player brands

Other DVD player brands

Indian DVD player brands

Wow, that is quite a long list isnt it? How to know which brand to choose from this? Stay tuned for our next article on features of DVD to look out for. Hopefully this would get some clarity and shortlist your choices.

We will end this article with some trivia on DVD players :

> DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc and not digital video disc as perceived!

> A single layer DVD can hold 4.7GB of data and a dual layer disc can hold twice as much.

> All commercially available DVD titles would contain only one movie to maintain picture quality.

> DVD have region coding to prevent piracy.

> DVD audio is usually encoded with multi channel support for surround sound effect.

> One of the primary feature of DVD is to have multiple audio tracks (languages) and various subtitle support.

> Additionally, some DVD have various camera angles for the same sequence.

> Blue-ray and HD-DVD are the successors for DVD technology.

You can find the first part of this article here. This is the second part.

Choosing one:

 Some of the factors you should consider while going in for a home theatre system are: The budget and the room in which you want it installed. Remember it’s ok to have mind blowing sound as long as it doesn’t blow your neighbors brain away. So either soundproof the room or go in for less wattage. If you are brand conscious, then you may go with the brand of your choice. If you just want to experiment with the concept of home theatres, my suggestion (to people living in India) would be Philips as they are cheap and perform pretty well too.

 For people who own a projector, a home theatre is a natural choice as the projectors support only the visuals. For someone owning a TV and isn’t really bothered about the sound quality and clarity, home theatre wouldn’t be a necessity. But then do note that most TVs support stereo at the most. So even if you are to buy an authentic disk, chances are you can’t experience the movie the way the disk manufacturer meant for you to with the TV speakers.

Setting Up The system:

 Once you have bought the system, setting up is the next thing you want to do. Wireless models are available, but you may want to check with the band of frequencies in which they operate as this may interfere with some other appliances. As for the wired ones, the connection itself should be easy as most manufacturers take the pain to even color code the wires to different channels so that people like me and you can set it up. However the acoustics of the room needs to be worked out, and you may want to consult a sound engineer for it. Else just set it up and if it works fine, forget it.

Image Courtesy : www.national-tech.com

Just the other day I was having a real bad headache. So bad that I wasn’t even in a mood to appreciate a good movie. And here I was in my living room experiencing or rather hearing Die Hard 4.0 that my neighbor was watching. That’s when I realized how commonplace the “5.1” has become and how incredibly affordable too. (Not to mention how noisy!!) Here’s a take on home theatre sound systems.

Home theatre systems weren’t all that common say 5 to 10 years back. But all of a sudden middle class homes are inundated with 5.1 surround systems. (Often kept on one table!!) Even my friends PC boasts of a 5.1 surround. So what’s a home theatre system anyway and what’s all the fuss really?

Image Courtesy : onkyo.com

  
 We shall discuss the acoustic side of the home theatre system. (Remember that the article was inspired by a headache in the first place.)  Home theatre systems are supposed to recreate the movie experience at home. Of course you need disks supporting surround sound. (This means multichannel sound). So the mp3 you ripped off the net or the divx movie that you just finished downloading or that DVD you bought near the pavement wont work the same way a authentic DVD (or a proper copy of that) works.

Popular Channel Profiles:

 5.1 is not the only format, but definitely the most popular of the lot with two front, two rear speakers, one central speaker and one sub-woofer. 6.1 is available which has a rear central speaker as well. 2.1 systems are also prevalent. The ones from BOSE claim to be better than most 5.1s (and expensive too.) Each has its own way of decoding the sound and sending them to the different speakers. This needs what we commonly refer to as the amplifier system, No need to bother, it comes packaged with the speakers. 2.1s are also popularly available for PCs from manufacturers like Logitech, though these lack the associated electronics (amplifier).

Sound Formats:

Some of the popular sound formats include mono, stereo (I suggest the song “bang bang” by ‘Nancy Sinatra’ to fully appreciate the effect of stereo format), Dolby, Dolby Digital DTS…Etc. In the multichannel format, the sound for each channel is recorded separately and based on the band of the frequencies is played back by the appropriate speaker.