OTHER TECH

component-video jacks A trio of RCA connectors that carry video in a high-quality analog format, consisting of a black-and-white signal (Y) and two color-difference signals (blue - Y and red - Y).

DVI output Digital Visual Interface, a connection scheme that keeps the video from a DVD in the digital domain all the way to the TV.

flash-media slot Lets a DVD player display digital photos and other images stored on removable flash-memory cards like SD/MMC, CompactFlash, and Memory Stick.

HDMI output High Definition Multimedia Interface, a connection scheme that keeps both the video and audio from a DVD in the digital domain all the way to the TV.

multichannel analog audio output jacks A set of six RCA jacks that separately carry each channel from an SACD or DVD-Audio disc or the soundtrack of a DVD movie. Surround music recordings don't necessarily use all six available channels.

progressive-scan output A special output with circuitry that processes the DVD signal so that when it's sent to a digital TV, all of the scan lines in a frame will be shown sequentially, as on a computer monitor, instead of in two alternate "interlaced" fields of odd and even lines. Progressive-scan images are smoother-looking than standard interlaced images.

720p and 1080i The most common HDTV formats; 720p (the "p" is for progressive-scan) uses 720 horizontal scan lines, or rows of pixels, per frame, displayed progressively, while 1080i ("i" for interlaced) uses 1,080 lines displayed in two alternating fields of 540 lines each.

upconversion When a player upgrades the standard-definition digital video on a DVD to progressive-scan or one of the high-definition formats by multiplying the existing scan lines to create smoother, more densely textured images. Upconversion can't create detail that doesn't exist in the original.

universal player A DVD player that can handle DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs, CDs and CD-R/RW discs, SACDs, Video CDs, and several recordable-DVD formats. Universal models typically play MP3 files and display JPEG images; some also play WMA files, Picture CDs, and various other music, video, and photo formats.

"universal" recorder There really isn't one, since no recorder handles all three "families" of recordable DVD formats. But a number of recorders handle two of them, plus various play-only formats.

WMA files Windows Media Audio, Microsoft's alternative to MP3.