Dvd War Leads To Solo Flights
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday November 4, 1997
DVD is the new digital storage format that is supposed to change our lives - but only if we can get the makers to agree to bring it home.
The introduction of the successor to the compact disc has been set back by constant infighting over standards and copyright by the very people who are supposed to be marketing it to us. The confusion and delays have led many to break away from the pack, going it alone to bring the next generation of viewing entertainment to the home.
Creative Labs is one of those not content to wait. The innovative Singaporean company that almost single-handedly defined the PC multimedia standard in the 1980s is already onto its second iteration of DVD technology.
The Creative Encore DXR2 2x speed DVD-ROM kit is a huge improvement over the first-generation kits that were released late last year, its maker says. And, on paper, it certainly seems that it is right. Apart from the obvious advantages of laser disc-quality video, the Encore maintains compatibility with the increasingly popular CD-Recordable format - something not possible with most other makers' kits.
Backwards compatibility is Encore's forte. It supports a huge range of data formats, including Red Book CD audio, CD-Extra, CD-RW, Video CD, CD-I, Enhanced Music CD and Kodak Photo CD. Encore also runs CD-ROMs at up to 24x speed, or 2.7MB a second.
Video at a full 30 frames per second (25 for PAL) can be routed simultaneously to PC monitor and television - perfect if you want to pipe the action into the living room or home theatre from the study.
To enhance the home theatre experience, Creative has added an output to Dolby Digital (previously known as AC-3). Most DVDs will be encoded with this new audio format, also known generically as 5.1. Unlike normal Dolby Prologic, where the rear speakers offer only a limited dynamic range and mono output, the new digital audio formats pump out true 20-20,000Hz stereo sound. The addition of a Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel, which is essentially a subwoofer, enhances the lower range - especially useful for explosions in action movies.
The DXR2 component acts like a line-doubler to enhance picture quality. Most PAL and NTSC displays have significantly fewer horizontal lines than a standard monitor, spread over a wider area. The result is jaggies, or stepping of diagonal lines onscreen, caused by black spaces between the horizontal lines. A line doubler literally doubles the number of horizontal lines, filling the spaces between and so enhancing picture quality. The DXR2 interpolates the regions between, to arrive at a better picture. Composite and S-Video outputs further enhance the picture quality.
To round out the package, Encore adds a couple of DVD movie titles - a good idea considering software will be scarce until the official launch next April. Contact Creative Pacific at www.cppl.com.au
© 1997 Sydney Morning Herald