Totally Digital Interface for DVD-Video & Audio announced

For those that care, a very important announcenment to HT freaks around the world is buzzing all over the internet.  The DVD forum (not a website but a collection of the owners of the DVD medium and the top electronics giants they get played on) just recently announced an available IEEE 1394 connection will be allowed for plugging in your DVD player to your receiver AND to your TV.

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=402660

What this means is:

1) When you get Firewire compatible equipment, you will finally be able to watch much better quality video.  Quality has always suffered since all DVD players (with a small expensive handful being the exception) were required to pass the DVD\'s Video feed through an analog output (ie- component, svideo, composite). Not anymore with Firewire, you will get a pure digital connection to your TV, bypassing any Digital-to-Analog Conversions (DAC) which mess with the original image.  Having your DVD player pass an all digital stream will make your player a DVD transport, transporting all the data as is with no conversions, this is good. :nerd:

Also, since the feed is digital you won\'t have to worry about picutre degredation through the many downfalls of analog connections.  No more buying expensive Monster cables with triple shielding, twisted pair wiring, gold plated connectors, etc...  But I bet the cable companies will find some way to market themselves into this new IEEE 1394 frenzy.

NOTE: The only way to watch a truly 100% digital picture though is to have a digital RPTV or FPTV (LCD, DLP, or D-ILA) with a digital video input.  I hear this combination looks absolutely stunning.  All CRTs, even HDTV CRTs are shooting out an analog picture and has to DAC the digital video within the television, but there are advantages with each mind you.

2) DVD-Audio will finally have one digital cable going to your receiver.  Due to piracy worries, studios only allowed for analog output on there high-resolution audio sources (DVD-A & SACD).  For multi-channel 5.1 play, you had to run 6 RCA cables to your receiver\'s 5.1 inputs.  Not only is this frustrating, but just about all receivers don\'t have bass controls on their 5.1 inputs.  This means that if the player itself didn\'t have a bass management knob, you\'d have to control the bass with the subwoofer\'s loudness setting which is just dumb.

3) Still with me?  Cool.  As mentioned above, this eliminates the need for having your HT riddled with cables behind your components.  Having one or two wires from each compnent will reduce costs, make things neater, and most importantly will be easier for Joe and Jane Average to hook up their first Home Theater system.  I think everyone will benefit from this new announcement.

4) The best part is:  WE ALL HAVE TO BUY NEW EQUIPMENT WITH IEEE 1394 CONNECTIONS!!!!  YAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!  Wait a min...  Ok so that\'s not the best part.  I just bought a receiver and televison myself, and many early adopters plunked down mucho dinero on HD-ready sets & projectors.  But as with technology, things change and you inevitably have to upgrade.  Though it\'s not crucial you do it as soon as possible, but look out for it the next time you buy a TV.

Sorry if I bored you, but I know there are many HT enthusiasts on this board. :nerd: :nerd: :nerd:

I thought the main thing preventing this for years was the MPAA\'s fear that a digital cable carrying video from the DVD player to the television would make DVD piracy too easy.  Has something changed?  Are they planning yet another lame encryption scheme that will be hacked 3 months after it\'s introduced?  

[videoholic]

I wrote about his a couple weeks ago.  You can look at Mitsubishi\'s website and they are pushing it.  It is awesome!!!

I really think the entertainment industry is going to hold this back as long as they can.  I really want to hold off on a TIVO as long as I can for this reason.  I\'m not buying any more stereo equipment for q while until this becomes big.  From what I have read, there should be quite an increase in products this year.

Could you imagine one cable daisy chained between your components......????  Oh my.  That would be freaking awesome.

Yeah I read Videoholics post on this a week or 2 ago

but its still awesome

too bad it won\'t be semi-mainstream for 3 - 5 years yet

This sounds just awesome!  I love the part where a tiny take up less space call I Links 1394 can transfer true RGB-HV (horizontal and verticle sync and everything that it has to offer) picture without any loss in the signal.  Not only that, this thin cable can transfer both digital video and surround sound uncompress audio.  Amazing!  Component video cable took up 3 RCA cable and HD component took up 5 RCA cable for analog HD signal, and not to mention another 2 RCA cable for left and right sound channels.  That\'s a total of 7 seperate cables where you need to hook up and its analog (not to mention that it doesn\'t transfer true RGB signals).  That took up too much space and too much connection.  It can gets really messy.   Then, I start thinking.  Wait a minute, what about the digital optical input that my rather expensive receiver have?  Don\'t tell me it going to become obsolete because I don\'t want to buy another $450 receiver that support I Link 1394 input!

Also, did you people notice that actually there are some HDTV (CRT type) that support digital interface?

Look at this pic and specs:

34" Wide FD Trinitron® Picture Tube

Integrated DTV Tuner (ATSC)

i.LinkTM(2) Interfaces

Component Video (Y/PB/PR) Inputs(2)

Fine Pitch Aperture Grill and High Focus Electron Gun

3D Digital Comb Filter

Color Temperature Adjustment (Cool/Neutral/Warm)

Dolby DigitalTM Optical Output

MTS Decoder with DBX® Noise Reduction

All DTV (ATSC) Format Reception

Seamless NTSC/ATSC Tuning

Auto Mute (TV Tuner)

3-Rear Audio/Video Inputs

Variable/Fixed Audio Output

1-Front/3-Rear S-Video Inputs

2-RF Inputs

Optical Dolby DigitalTM Out

2-i.LINK® Interfaces

2-Component Video Inputs (Y/PB/PR), HD Capable (1080i, 480p, 480i)

and the site:
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/ss5/office/hdtv/hdtv/kd-34xbr2.shtml[/quote]

I am not sure if this is true digital HDTV tuning.  It said integrated DTV tuner built in.  integrated means analog.  DTV is somewhat misleading.  DTV can be in HDTV form (720p, 1080i) or EDTV form (480p).  So, what do you people think.  It has true digital interface, though, that I am pretty.

Never mind, the 34" is true HDTV, i guess.

integrated DTV tuner (ATSC)

it said ATSC.  So it must be.

But it still analog built in tuner.  I guess sony just took whatever the market offer and since there hasn\'t been a digital hdtv tuner (yet), Sony just put the analog hdtv tuner and since there is i Links interface, sony just throw it in the tv.  The cost is kinda expensive, $4100.  But considering it have optical digital output (most  hdtv doesn\'t), built in hdtv tuner (most hdtv doesn\'t), and digital i Links interface, it is well worth the price.

w00t w00t w00t!

That\'s awesome.

*thinks about all the stuff he\'d love to own but cannot afford*

Yeah, I wanted an HDTV.  But I have no money.  I am probably going to wait maybe until 2006 to get one (that is probably when HDTV get mainstream).  By then, price will be cheaper and HDTV will be improve with true stuff like digital tuner.........................