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Q I heard about some type of RCA plug called a Bullet Plug. Do you
know anything about it?
A Yes, it is a product made by Eichmann Technologies in Australia. A
picture of one is shown below (BetterCables puts these on the Silver Serpent
interconnects that we have here in the lab). It has the usual center hot pin,
but the ground connector is a single pin along the side. Polymers are used in
the rest of the collar. The idea is that the polymer clamps the ground pin to
the RCA jack collar, and the ground return is better this way than through
multiple contact points (which can produce eddy currents) along the more usual metal collar. It seems to work very
nice.
T
Q I would like to know what is the best
interlaced DVD player (past or present) that plays DVD-R. I have a Sony
KV32XBR100. As you know, it only has a S-Video input and therefore is not able
to accept a 480p signal.
A All DVD players will output
interlaced video, and most seem to do progressive scan these days, even the
really inexpensive ones, so your question is basically about which player will
do DVD-R. The ability to handle MP3, DVD+R, DVD+R/W, DVD-R, and DVD-R/W is
something we need to add to the Benchmark tests. From what I understand, it is
the rewritable DVDs (DVD+R/W and DVD-R/W) that cause the most problems. I have
DVD+R/W in my system, but not DVD-R/W. All the players coming through our lab
have handled DVD+R and DVD+R/W, but we have not tested them for DVD-R or DVD-R/W
yet. The best bet would be to go into the newsgroups and post a question about
it there, since readers can answer back on the groups about which players they
have that handle DVD-R.
T
Q A reader wrote in asking if
DTS laserdiscs would play in his Pioneer CLD-D501 with an optical digital
output, even though the literature nor labeling referred to DTS capabilities.
Your short answer was "no," indicating that the needed to be technological
compatibility. And you couldn't have been more wrong.
One of DTS's main perks in the laserdisc
realm is that the signal was output through standard digital outputs because the
DTS data were stored where the laserdisc's PCM Digital Audio information would
normally be housed, thus eliminating the need for a special player. My CLD-D406
has an optical digital output and makes no reference to DTS in the literature,
yet plays DTS laserdiscs and CDs with the greatest of ease.
A Thanks for the input. Seems
so long ago now. Laserdisc had two soundtracks: One "Digital", one "Analog". The
digital one was good old two channel PCM, identical to CD audio, the other was
FM stereo audio. If a player had a digital audio jack, all that would come out
of it was the PCM bitsteam from that track. With the "trick" DTS pulled on CD
audio, essentially slapping their bitstream in a PCM format, putting DTS on
laserdisc was a snap and required only that the player have a PCM digital
output.
It is Dolby Digital which needed specific support on the player. The AC-3
bitstream was modulated and put into one of the two analog channels. The
players needed to be able to deal with it and serve up the "AC-3 RF" output (on
a separate coax jack).
The optical digital output will just spit out whatever is on the one and only
digital audio track. If that is stereo PCM, an SSP would treat it as such. If it
were DTS, then you had better have a DTS decoder or you will hear that
incredibly annoying squelching sound! I had forgotten that unlike DVD where DD
and DTS reside together, but are separated out by the decoder, laserdisc had
only DTS in the digital track when it was present. DD was in one of the analog
tracks.
T
Q Since my new Samsung
HLN507W DLP set up-converts all signals to 720p, does that mean I do not need a
progressive scan DVD player?
A You don't "need" one,
but it may be that you would get a better picture by doing the deinterlacing in
the DVD player, since that is performed in the digital domain.
T
Q Do you know any manufacturer who makes a DVI
switcher the can be controlled by IR and go to a specific input ? I currently
have a RPTV with only one DVI input and DVD player and SAT Reciever with a DVI
output. The units that I have seen are Auto Sensing but can not be controlled by
remote to a specific input.
A Here is an example of DVI
switchers that have remote control (http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/DVI_switch.html).
The remote is model RMT-2.
T
Q I have a pair of
Dahlquist DQM-5 speakers that have "speaker rot". Would it be worth reconditioning these and getting a crossover upgrade? The speakers were great
when I purchased them back in 1982, but would I be better off buying something
new?
A The problem you are referring to is the
deterioration of the rubber surround along the outside edges of the cone. There
are companies that recone speaker drivers, such as
http://www.speakerreconing.com/
and
http://www.simplyspeakers.com/16reconing.htm. Whether or not the cost is
worth it to you depends on how much you like those old speakers.
T
Q I have planar speakers, Magneplanar, bottom
of the line - $700 in 1984 or so - they are certainly not new to the market. I
bought them for the sound quality overall and for the vibrant midrange
reproduction of the human singing voice. Add a good subwoofer, which I did, and
they were perfect and beautiful in my old active solar house, surrounded
by live plants. They were partly against windows that I needed for direct solar
gain. Have I got a tin ear that I like these so much? How do they compare to
any newer planar?
A Planar speakers have been around for a long time,
and the technology has made small improvements, but not dramatic. It is likely
that your old Maggies are just fine. And you don't have a tin ear. Planars are
wonderful. I have a pair of Maggies myself, and love them. They do tend to roll
off at the top and don't have deep bass, but as you said, a subwoofer helps a
lot.
T
Q Will I experience a great loss in picture quality
if I purchase a non-progressive scan TV to go with my progressive scan DVD
player?
A Well, if you want to use the DVD player in
progressive mode, yes you will experience a problem. It is called no picture at
all. A non-progressive scan TV won't display a progressive signal. Get a nice
DTV that has it all. I saw a 16:9 direct view 30" HDTV (Philips) at CostCo for
$799 that does 1080i. The wait is over. There is no reason to by an NTSC-only TV anymore.
(The digital formats, including HDTV's 720p and 1080i, are called ATSC.)
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