Q&A # 39 - November 25, 1997
Staff
Q I have been reading news about the forthcoming DIVX digital video format.
Official information about the concept discusses the supposed convenience of
the format, lower cost to the consumer, and increased availability of
software titles, in addition to the very real technological improvements of
the DVD format as a whole. The rosy spin put on the DIVX announcement,
however, ignores some very important underlying concerns. One significant
concern is invasion of privacy. Use of DIVX-encoded discs would give away
all kinds of information about the programs that we watch, when and how
often we watch them, how much money we spend, and more. It can certainly be
argued that such information can provide valuable "market research," helping
studios to better gauge what the public wants to see. However, it is also a
very real possibility in the mind of the consumer that such information can
be sold to other businesses, which might target us with all kinds of
specialized junk mail.
Government agencies will want to know everything
about the private habits of the American public. With computer users
disgruntled by floods of computer advertising and the general public
increasingly distrustful of the federal government, this is a very real
issue. We consumers would have nothing more reliable than the word of the
DIVX corporate leadership that this information would be kept
confidential--not really very assuring. Another issue involves some very
practical matters. What if we don't have phone lines in our living rooms?
What if we rely solely on cellular and don't use a wire-based phone service?
Perhaps more realistic, what if we don't have or use credit card accounts?
Any of these possibilities would preclude us from viewing DIVX discs. What
would happen if we bought large (or even small) DIVX libraries, and then the
concept failed? Some manufacturers and several movie studios have seen the
DVD format as risky; certainly the DIVX concept is at least as shaky. Should
DIVX not succeed, and our DIVX players no longer can connect us to our
central billing accounts, will our stacks of discs become no viewable? What
if they are "gold" discs that we have bought outright? Do we end up with
nothing? (Even our old Betamax videocassette players will still play the
Beta titles we have on our shelves--can the same be said for DIVX players?)
Americans love renting movies. Though millions of us rent from Blockbuster
and other large chains, many more of us rent from smaller, independently-
and locally owned rental stores. The owners of these stores are our friends,
our neighbors, and the coaches of our little-league teams. But if DIVX
becomes the standard, and we can "rent" our movies at Circuit City and
Wal-Mart, you can bet our local video stores won't be able to compete. Their
market would disappear, and their jobs with it. Probably the single most
disturbing issue is environmental responsibility. You are quite right in
stating that Americans like renting movies much more than we like purchasing
them. Every day, millions of Americans rent videotapes at video,
grocery, and convenience stores. We watch them for a day or two, then we
take them back--"recycling" them by letting someone else rent and watch the
same cassettes the next day. The "convenience" of DIVX, however, changes the
whole scheme. We "rent" our movies, watch them for a day or two, and then
drop them in the trash can--along with the included packaging (hard plastic
CD-style jewel boxes?) and even cellophane wrapping. Plastic-and-metal
bonded discs can't be recycled at a recycling plant, and we won't be
"recycling" these discs by letting someone else watch them, either. The idea
of millions of five-inch plastic discs being carried off to our landfills
every day worries all of us, and it seems to be a critical issue that you
have ignored.
Finally, we Americans like owning things. We like to fork over
our hard-earned cash and take something new home with us. Then, we like to
be able to do whatever we want with it. When we buy a book, we like to read
it, then lend it to a friend or family member for them to read. Or we choose
to trade it in for another book at a used bookstore. Or we decide to donate
it to Goodwill. We're the same way with our movies. When we buy a really
great movie, we want to take it and watch it at our relatives' houses. We
want to watch it parties. We want to take it to youth activities at our
churches. Since we've paid for it, we feel the right to do any of these
things. This won't work with DIVX discs, however. Even when I pay the full
purchase price for a DIVX "gold" disc, I won't be able to play it anywhere
but my own home. I can't take it to a family get-together, or to a "girl's
night" gathering, or on a business trip--without paying for it all over
again.
We Americans don't like the idea of being charged over and over for
something we already "own." Circuit City stores across the country have been
selling (non-DIVX) DVD players for several months now. Their weekly
newspaper ads and in-store displays proclaim that DVD is the home video
format of the future, and that even first- and second-generation players are
fully ready to take advantage of all the planned capabilities of forthcoming
DVD software. I have no doubt that those stores will be selling those same
players for all they're worth all through the holiday shopping season, with
little mention of the fact that those $500+ players will be unable to play
the discs arriving two months later. In my mind, this is a deceptive,
dishonest, and unethical business practice on the part of Circuit City, and
consumers should think twice about their ability to rely on the support and
good faith of their local Circuit City store. I imagine some thought must
have been made to market research before developing the DIVX concept, but
certainly that research failed to bring these and many other concerns to the
surface. For DVD enthusiast reaction to the DIVX announcement, one need only
look to such videophile websites as E/Town (www.e-town.com), the DVD
Resource Page (www.dvdresource.com), and the Digital Theater Page
(www.digitaltheater.com). Initial response has been overwhelmingly negative.
The (real or perceived) advantages of DIVX have not won over the consumer
thus far. Even fairly impartial reports on the USA Today, MSNBC, and Yahoo!
News websites have, intentionally or unintentionally, pointed out some very
obviously flaws in the concept. And on the whole, this "modified" DVD format
is bound to cause consumer confusion. We all know that American consumers
don't buy high-tech (and very expensive) new products when they are confused
about them. They simply wait until their friends buy them, then ask for a
more informed opinion. And whose opinions will they seek? Those of the early
adopters and home theater enthusiasts, who already hate the concept before
it has even hit shelves. It must be admitted that the salesperson (even at
Circuit City) is quite often not so well informed about the new products
they sell. Imagine this scenario: A customer walks into the local
electronics store, because he's heard of this new "DVD thing." In the store,
he sees some $500 (non-DIVX) players, and he sees some $600 DIVX-capable
players. So he asks the salesperson, "What's the difference between these
two players?" The not-necessarily-so-knowledgeable salesperson explains,
"The more expensive player will play DIVX discs." The potential customer
asks, "What's a DIVX disc?" to which the salesperson replies, "It's a disc
that you pay for and can only watch for 48 hours. After that, you don't get
to watch it anymore." Which player do you think our confused customer will
buy? Obviously, he'll buy the cheaper machine, which won't play the
worthless discs he doesn't want anyway.
How likely is this format to catch
on? All these concerns and several others are circulating the Internet right
now, and DIVX has made no attempt to address any of these issues. We all
know that DVD will not survive without favorable word-of-mouth, and
word-of-mouth begins with the early adopter. Circuit City's position that
the early adopter takes a risk and is now out of luck is certainly not going
to generate kind word-of-mouth. Thus far, it has only served to alienate
them, making them cynical and vocal in expressing their outrage and disgust
over the DIVX concept. I think the DIVX corporate leadership, as well as the
hardware manufacturers and studios supporting the format, need to take a
step back, think through some of these issues, and make an attempt to allay
the concerns of the videophile community. Without their support of the
concept, the at-best-questionable viability of the DIVX format is doomed to
failure
A I decided to publish your letter in whole, rather than condense it, because it covers all the points we are concerned about from the readers' standpoint. Well done! I dislike the Divx concept, and am particularly outraged at their recent comments as to "early adopters taking a risk", and that "it's regrettable". Early adopters drive the success of new technology. If they want to see regrettable, we'll show them regrettable . . . right, early adopters? They seem to have forgotten that the early adopters would be the ones who first buy Divx too. Any early adopters out there feel like signing Divx' paychecks?
Q I tried looking for information about the Krell intergrated amp KAV 300i, but I was not successful. Can you do a detailed review of the Amp (sound quality, how the piece was made up, ....)? One more question, can it
drive either a Martin Logan SL3 or an Aerius i?
A Krell's home page (http://www.krellonline.com/~krell/) is under construction at this point. Their products have such big power supplies, I am sure they can drive the ML electrostatic speakers just fine. We have requested several Krell amplifiers for review but don't have them yet.
Q After reading your recommendations, I've purchased a new DD receiver, the Yamaha RX-V992 (for $1200 CAN.). After few weeks with it, I found that it is hard to select the speaker "OHMS" switches on the receiver.
My mains (FL/FR) are Paradigm 7se-MK3 with 4 Ohm Min/ 6 Ohm Norm. and 175w Max.
Center is Paradigm CC-300-MK3 with 4 Ohm Min/ 6 Ohm Norm and 175w
Max.
Surrounds (SR/SL) are Paradigm Atom with 4 Ohm Min/ 8 Ohm Norm and 65w
Max.
Can you please tell me whether I should select 4 Ohm or 8 Ohm on my
receiver? And if I want to replace my SR/SL by the Mini-MK3, what setting should I have on the receiver?
A The impedance selectors are a bit confusing on the receiver. The combination of a push button and slider switch lets you select 8 Ohm or 4 Ohm loads, and whether or not you have two speakers connected to the same amplifier channel. For your speakers (less than 8 Ohm loads), leave the push button out and the slider switch in the up position. Leave the settings this way regardless of what new surround speakers you get, because the mains are still less than 8 Ohms, and the switches are to be set for the lowest impedance on any of the speakers.
Q In order to add Dolby Digital to my modest HT system, I recently replaced my laserdisc player with a Pioneer DVL-700 (also includes DVD
player), and my receiver with a Pioneer VSX-D906S. I am also using Cambridge
Soundworks Ensemble II as fronts, Center Channel Plus, and Surround dipoles
as rear. My subwoofer is a Velodyne F-1200 B (1992), which has speaker-level input
(L/R), speaker-level output (L/R), line-level input (L/R), and line-level output (L/R).
My question is how to best connect the subwoofer with the rest of my
system. The D906S has a single subwoofer pre out, which I assume
contains the LFE channel on Dolby Digital, but I'm not sure if it
contains any bass in Pro Logic mode. Currently, I'm not using this pre
out at all, and have configured the D906S as having full range front
speakers, and small range center and surround speakers, and no
subwoofer. I have the receiver front speaker wires connected to the
Velodyne speaker in, and the speaker out connected to the Ensemble IIs.
Is this the best setup for this configuration? Am I missing bass from
the LFE channel? If I used the subwoofer out from the receiver to feed
one of the line-in jacks on the Velodyne, would I be missing bass in the Pro
Logic mode; i.e., would all the bass go to the front speakers and bypass the
subwoofer?
A One of the benefits of having DD built-in to the receiver is that the subwoofer output jack contains Pro Logic bass as well as DD bass. So, connect the line-level subwoofer output jack from the receiver to the line-level input jack on the Velodyne, and reconfigure your DD receiver so that the subwoofer output is "on". Connect the speaker outputs of the front L/R binding posts on your receiver directly to the front L/R speakers rather than going through the subwoofer speaker-level crossover. Using the speaker-level connections of a subwoofer are for situations where the front L/R speakers have really tiny enclosures. The speaker-level crossovers in the subwoofer absorb the amplifier energy in the low frequencies, so you are not saving anything in terms of amplifier power, but it keeps low frequencies from breaking up the drivers in the tiny front L/R speakers. The best sound will be had from using line-level connections and at least bookshelf-sized speakers.
Q I was thinking about upgrading the cables in my system. Here is what I have:
Amp: Parasound HCA-806 80x6 amp
pre-amp: Rotel RSP-960 (surround too....)
CD transport: Parasound C/DC 1500 changer
anti-jitter: Audio Alchemy DTI (orignial)
DAC: Audio Alchemy XDP
Speakers: B&W P5
I have a StraightWire Digital II cable from the transport to the DTI, a
stock AA I2S cable from the DTI to the XDP-DAC, and Kimber PBJ from the DAC
to the pre-amp, and also PBJ from the Pre-amp to amp. I use regular
12-gauge speaker cables to the B&W.
I basically am looking to upgrade the Kimber PBJ. I was inquiring about the D
Lin Audio Silver Bullets, but have just recently come upon the opportunity
to get some used Cardas Quadlink at $70 for 1 meter pairs. I was thinking
about getting 2 pairs, 1 pare for the DAC->preamp, the other pair for pre-amp->amp.
Do you think I'm better off going the "silver route", or will the
Quadlinks improve the sound even more (they retail for much more then I
would normally pay for cables)? I am looking for a warmer sound overall,
slightly tighter bass, and more detail in the highs. What do you think?
A In my experience, silver conductors tend to have a warmer sound than copper, so that might be a good choice for you. However, you should
also think of upgrading your speaker cables. That might be a better
choice right now than changing your Kimber PPJs. Then you would have
high performance cables all around. A good set of speaker cables would improve the detail. The sound is really a matter of
perception. What sounds good to one person might not sound so good to
another. For example, Kimber 8TC speaker cables are extremely popular, but they sound too soft to me. It is important to audition cables before you buy, or at
least be assured (in writing) of a return/exchange policy. My experiences with silver are just my own. Not everyone would necessarily agree with that perception. Price is not always an assured indicator of better sound in cables. The Kimber PBJs are very, very good for the money, but that again, is my perception of the way they sound.
Q Recently I bought a Marantz 66 SE KI
amplifier and a Marantz 67 SE CD-player. In the near future I plan to buy a pair of
good floor-standing speakers and I'm thinking of Klipsch KLF 20. Is it a "good" combination or are Klipsch too "cool" for my amp? A guy in a Hi-FI shop said that TANNOY is a better choice especially for Marantz, but the TANNOY speakers aren't all high efficiency, and I love
the sound of Klipsch. My amp is only 50 W/ch 8 Ohms. Also I plan to use them as front speakers in a home theater. What would you recommend?
A Your comment that you love the sound of Klipsch says it all. Buy the Klipsch. Getting the sound quality that you like has priority over all other considerations. Klipsch is generally quite efficient anyway, so they should work fine with the Marantz amp. They do sound a bit forward, but that should not be affected by your amplifier.
Q The television I just purchased has one S-Video input. However, I am planning on utilizing mutiple components with S-Video outputs (e.g., DSS &
DVD). Does anyone manufacture a switchbox capable of handling multiple S-Video
inputs?
A Yes, you can get a video switcher. In the meantime if you have both DSS and DVD, you should use the S-Video for DVD and the composite for DSS. But
get a switcher to get the best from both.
We have mentioned in the past that not all S-Video switchers are created
equal. Sony and JVC both offer some video switchers with wide bandwidth.
The new line from Monster Cable called Entec will also have an A/V switcher
with 4 inputs.
Q I just bought a Sony
KP53XBR45 big screen TV. This amazing TV has Dolby Pro Logic built in. It
came with rear left and right speakers and has the front left/center/right
speakers built in. I hooked up the rear speakers and hung them over my
couch. I turned on some action film or another and WOW!! Helicopters flew
from behind me onto my TV screen!! (At this point you may have guessed
that I am very new to home theater as I am so easily amused.) My question
is: Since I already have the front L/C/R and rear L/R speakers happening,
is there a way that I can connect a subwoofer to my TV to complete the
home theater experience?
A Yes. Most new TVs have a set of line-level audio output jacks (RCA) on the back. Get a pair of coaxial audio cables (make sure they are long enough to reach to your subwoofer), and connect them from the TV audio output jacks to the line-level input jacks on the subwoofer (both the left and right channels). Set the volume control on the subwoofer to low level, and turn on the TV. If there is a significant "thump", you will probably have to turn the TV on first, then the subwoofer, in the future. Turn up the volume of the TV to where you might be watching movies, and then adjust the volume control on the subwoofer to balance with the rest of your system. This will also include setting the low-pass frequency on the subwoofer. Try somewhere around 60 Hz at first, and go from there. If you like a high volume of deep bass, you may have to set the low-pass at a lower frequency and then turn up the volume. Otherwise, it may sound boomy. Star Trek (and similar programs) usually have deep bass engine room sounds, and will serve as a good source for subwoofer setup, along with action movies from your VCR, LD, or DVD player.
Q Why are S-Video cables much more prone to signal loss than composite cables? I've read that S-Video signal transmission is prone to
significant signal loss when run over 2 meters. Composite cables do
not
seem to have this problem.
A This happens because an S-Video cable is actually two smaller cables (4 conductors) in one cable (2 conductors carry chroma and 2 carry luminance), while composite has only 2 conductors (carrying chroma and luminance combined). Over a long S-Video cable, the timing of the two signals (chroma and luminance) can get out of phase with one another. There are some S-Video cables out there that can go the distance. Both
Monster Video 3 and M1000SV can go long distances with no loss. I currently
have a 6 meter run of M1000SV and have no problems.
� Copyright 1997
Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
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