I need a sub $100 basic player w/ progressive and optical out... (1 Viewer)

[zane]

My toshiba has begun to skip on discs. I read some reviews on the Sony DVP-NS50P and they were pretty good, much better than the Phillips DVP642/37 which apparently has a short lifespan. I ended up picking up the Sony at walmart tonight for $75 and get it unpacked and there's no optical out, WTF is this about. My 4 yr old Playstation 2 has optical out and this doesn't??? So I'm thinking of just getting the Phillips but I'm not really exited about it.

Anyone know of a good under $100 player. All I need is progressive and optical out. HDMI and upconversion is a waste of my $$$ as my HDTV only goes to 480P if I remember correctly. I have a good audio system but don't have the $$$ for a super duper DVD player at the time. Besides I'd hope the new player would be at least as good as my 3 yr old Toshiba player.

 

[David Norman]

Well, it does have a digital coax out. Most lower price DVD will have one or the other. I was going to suggest the Panasonic 29s, but it is in the same situation. I'm hazarding a guess that dig coax is cheaper than a TOSLink. The Sony 70 has both dig outs, but will push you over the $100 mark.

If you otherwise like the Sony, the other option to a different player is to get a Coax to Optical converter for $20-25 .


Converter

Converter 1

 

[zane]

I was under the impression that optical was the best method of delivering the audio. Also I thought coax was the kinda cable used for cable TV. I thought the plugs used for L/R audio is called RCA cables?

 

[David Norman]

No, a digital audio signal should be pretty much the same whether it is coax (usually RCA connector) or Toslink optical output. You should use a 75 ohm cable to get the best results, but if you have a decent spare composite video cable that will work fine. You don't need a $100 special digital cable. Standard audio cables I think are 50ohm so you might get some dropouts particularly on longer runs.

The term coaxial cable is a general term for many cables and is pretty much used in all your typical A/V cables mixed with different connectors (RCA, BNC, F-connector). The type coaxial cable used for your cable TV is a different composition than used for audio and video cables, but all of them are technically coaxial.

There are some minor differences in digital outputs. Arguably the optical output might be slightly better under some circumstances (less prone to RF Interference and possibly some high/low frequency non-linearity), but I personally have never heard much difference in my system. I have had problems with Toslink connectors pulling out of the socket so given the choice, I'd just as soon use the coax out. In my currect system, I have 3 optical and 3 coax connections and when I've changed them up I can't hear any change in character.

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General Wire Articles

 

[NickSI]

the term coaxial is any wire that has a center wire surrounded by insulation and then another wire around it. RCA and TV cable are both Coaxial. Why TV cable is so commonly reffered to as coax and no other cables are is a mystery.