DVD player w or w/out decoders?

[goho]

I'm buying a DVD player for my parents for christmas. Currently they have a DPL set-up, 4 speakers, nothing fancy. They're not looking to upgrade anything right now sooooooo......

Is it worth buying a DVD player with built in DD and DTS decoders? Will it make a difference based on their current set-up.

thanks
Jeff from Canada

[Quagmire]

First of all, if your parents DPL receiver isn't equiped with a "six channel discrete input" then buying a DVD player with onboard decoders will be absolutely useless. You have to have a way of getting the decoded information for each seperate channel from the DVD player to the receiver via these six analog inputs. Early DPL receivers which had this input were referred to as "Dolby Digital Ready" receivers.

However, if your parents receiver is DD ready, then the world is truly their oyster because there has probably never been a better time to purchase a DVD player with decoders. Progressive scan DVD players with onboard decoders for DD & DTS are a dime a dozen, and what's more, if there is any chance that your parents might be interested the new Hi Rez music formats of DVD-Audio or SACD, these are very resonably priced too. So in one step your parents can go from rudimentary Pro Logic surround to Hi Rez audio surround.

The kicker is... you have to find out if their receiver is equiped with these analog inputs (DD ready) without making them suspicious. Good luck!

Q