Low cost HU that plays DVD Audio

headers · 16th April 2009, 21:04

Hi,

Am on the lookout for a budget HU that plays DVD audio. Any available?

Thanks

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 16th April 2009, 21:11

I guess you are meaning read MP3s from DVD discs, right?

JVC has a model. Approx 4 K w/o b&w when I was shopping for it, more than a year back. Forgot the model number. And it had an offer of free ovals at that time.

abhayshanu · 16th April 2009, 22:03

Yes, but if you mean play movies, like with screen, i will say pioneer.They are 2-DIN HUs which have a touch screen, come for around 30k

tsk1979 · 16th April 2009, 23:55

30K is low cost??
Stick with JVC, I think the model is 7403 or something. Scour the nearest audio market. Cost shoud be 5-6K in grey market

headers · 17th April 2009, 08:10

I want to play DVD audio files not MP3s on a DVD.

ImmortalZ · 17th April 2009, 08:37

DVD-Audio playback on the cheap will be very difficult. In Alpine's range, only the IVA-D100E and above in the Mobile Media Station range have DVD-A playback, that too only in stereo down-mix mode, even in the highest end headunit in that range. In the Pioneer range, only the AVH-P7800DVD and AVH-P4100DVD have DVD-A playback. I can't find anything in the Kenwood range that has the feature.

Proper DVD-A requires a 24 bit DAC and high sampling rates (96/192Khz), so getting such processing power on the cheap is near impossible. DTS decode compatible HUs are easier to find if you are satisfied with that.

Sam Kapasi · 17th April 2009, 08:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by headers

Hi,

Am on the lookout for a budget HU that plays DVD audio. Any available?

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by headers

I want to play DVD audio files not MP3s on a DVD.

Come on, you've got to be kidding, right? In any case, DVD-audio is not a madly popular format, so getting a low-cost unit is difficult.

headers · 17th April 2009, 09:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Come on, you've got to be kidding, right? In any case, DVD-audio is not a madly popular format, so getting a low-cost unit is difficult.

@Sam: Thanks for your input.. Now, why is the DVD audio not a popular format?

Also, is not the fidelity of the acoustics in the DVD-audio format much superior to the regular ones? or am i mistaken here?

frankmehta · 17th April 2009, 10:02

That's exactly the reason why there's nothing low cost about any unit that plays dvd audio. If i'm not wrong the upsampling in dvd audio units has to be much higher than that of normal mp3 playing hus. Yes, you might find a unit that does mp3 on dvd but finding something that does dvd a, and cheap is difficult. You could get a cheap car pc. Thats the only solution. And sorry for asking, when you say cheap. HOW cheap?

janitha · 17th April 2009, 10:02

What about low cost DVD video ones? Sorry if OT.

speedzak · 17th April 2009, 10:25

Dvd audio is in many ways superior in sound quality. True!

But for some reason, the format wasn't much of a commercial success. Many labels came out with A cd, SA cd and dvd audio formats of many popular albums at a time and dvd audio just didn't catch up anybody's eyes or ears. Even enthusiasts didn't bother much it seems. There were instances when loads of dvd audio discs had to be pulled off the shelves and given out free etc...
As Sam said, it ain't a popular format.

The prime reason I assume is the very high hardware requirements. Even after so many years of it's introduction, there ain't many mainstream dvd players capable of handling full scale dvd audio.
Another reason is that many purists regard stereo as the penultimate medium to listen to music and doesn't favour multi channel setups for the same. So, a great positive aspect of dvd audio became void and nullified.

Enough of OT,
Regarding header's query. Well, what exactly is the limit of BUDGET?
I think most of dvd audio capable HUs do it by downmixing it. There are some dvd media stations (ie.. Full blown dvd units) which handles dvd audio in full scale, but then it will not be considered as budget HUs!

ImmortalZ · 17th April 2009, 10:28

Yes frank, sampling rates have to be higher, upto 192Khz to play the highest quality DVD-A recordings. That and 24bit resolution requirements make the DAC sections of such units themselves more expensive than your average budget HU. A cheap car PC will still need a good soundcard which handles DVD-A. You'll need the highest end Creative cards to get true 24/192 playback and even then, I do not consider their cards the best SQ.

There are other options, like audio boards which aren't geared as a sound card, but simply to function in an entertainment console environment. You even get software for such boards which support time alignment, filtering et al. Quite expensive though.

@zakko : The highest fidelity DVD-A audio is stereo only. The 24 bit/192Khz uncompressed variety. Six channels of such processing power will take cost to the stratosphere. Not to mention to the storage requirements.

headers · 17th April 2009, 10:28

hey thanks guys, guess i just cant get a budget HU that plays DVD audio. Thanks so much for helping out.

Guess I ought to learn to be happy with MP3s on normal HUs.

panky12345 · 17th April 2009, 10:48

Dry JVC.. retails around 6-7K

BaCkSeAtDrIVeR · 17th April 2009, 11:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by headers

Guess I ought to learn to be happy with MP3s on normal HUs.

How about WAV on USB hard disk drive???

16th April 2009, 21:04	#1
headers Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Greater Chennai Posts: 4,667 Thanked: 559 Times	Low cost HU that plays DVD Audio Hi, Am on the lookout for a budget HU that plays DVD audio. Any available? Thanks
	() Thanks

16th April 2009, 21:11	#2
BaCkSeAtDrIVeR BANNED Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Kochi Posts: 2,522 Thanked: 752 Times	I guess you are meaning read MP3s from DVD discs, right? JVC has a model. Approx 4 K w/o b&w when I was shopping for it, more than a year back. Forgot the model number. And it had an offer of free ovals at that time.
	() Thanks

16th April 2009, 22:03	#3
abhayshanu BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 708 Thanked: 324 Times View My Garage	Yes, but if you mean play movies, like with screen, i will say pioneer.They are 2-DIN HUs which have a touch screen, come for around 30k
	() Thanks

16th April 2009, 23:55	#4
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	30K is low cost?? Stick with JVC, I think the model is 7403 or something. Scour the nearest audio market. Cost shoud be 5-6K in grey market
	() Thanks

17th April 2009, 08:10	#5
headers Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Greater Chennai Posts: 4,667 Thanked: 559 Times	I want to play DVD audio files not MP3s on a DVD.
	() Thanks

17th April 2009, 08:37	#6
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	DVD-Audio playback on the cheap will be very difficult. In Alpine's range, only the IVA-D100E and above in the Mobile Media Station range have DVD-A playback, that too only in stereo down-mix mode, even in the highest end headunit in that range. In the Pioneer range, only the AVH-P7800DVD and AVH-P4100DVD have DVD-A playback. I can't find anything in the Kenwood range that has the feature. Proper DVD-A requires a 24 bit DAC and high sampling rates (96/192Khz), so getting such processing power on the cheap is near impossible. DTS decode compatible HUs are easier to find if you are satisfied with that.
	() Thanks

17th April 2009, 10:02	#9
frankmehta Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,000 Thanked: 3,577 Times View My Garage	That's exactly the reason why there's nothing low cost about any unit that plays dvd audio. If i'm not wrong the upsampling in dvd audio units has to be much higher than that of normal mp3 playing hus. Yes, you might find a unit that does mp3 on dvd but finding something that does dvd a, and cheap is difficult. You could get a cheap car pc. Thats the only solution. And sorry for asking, when you say cheap. HOW cheap?
	() Thanks

17th April 2009, 10:02	#10
janitha BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Kollam, Kerala Posts: 368 Thanked: 2 Times	What about low cost DVD video ones? Sorry if OT.
	() Thanks

17th April 2009, 10:25	#11
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	Dvd audio is in many ways superior in sound quality. True! But for some reason, the format wasn't much of a commercial success. Many labels came out with A cd, SA cd and dvd audio formats of many popular albums at a time and dvd audio just didn't catch up anybody's eyes or ears. Even enthusiasts didn't bother much it seems. There were instances when loads of dvd audio discs had to be pulled off the shelves and given out free etc... As Sam said, it ain't a popular format. The prime reason I assume is the very high hardware requirements. Even after so many years of it's introduction, there ain't many mainstream dvd players capable of handling full scale dvd audio. Another reason is that many purists regard stereo as the penultimate medium to listen to music and doesn't favour multi channel setups for the same. So, a great positive aspect of dvd audio became void and nullified. Enough of OT, Regarding header's query. Well, what exactly is the limit of BUDGET? I think most of dvd audio capable HUs do it by downmixing it. There are some dvd media stations (ie.. Full blown dvd units) which handles dvd audio in full scale, but then it will not be considered as budget HUs!
	() Thanks

17th April 2009, 10:28	#12
ImmortalZ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 2,179 Thanked: 488 Times View My Garage	Yes frank, sampling rates have to be higher, upto 192Khz to play the highest quality DVD-A recordings. That and 24bit resolution requirements make the DAC sections of such units themselves more expensive than your average budget HU. A cheap car PC will still need a good soundcard which handles DVD-A. You'll need the highest end Creative cards to get true 24/192 playback and even then, I do not consider their cards the best SQ. There are other options, like audio boards which aren't geared as a sound card, but simply to function in an entertainment console environment. You even get software for such boards which support time alignment, filtering et al. Quite expensive though. @zakko : The highest fidelity DVD-A audio is stereo only. The 24 bit/192Khz uncompressed variety. Six channels of such processing power will take cost to the stratosphere. Not to mention to the storage requirements. Last edited by ImmortalZ : 17th April 2009 at 10:30.
	() Thanks

17th April 2009, 10:48	#14
panky12345 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 2,697 Thanked: 171 Times	Dry JVC.. retails around 6-7K
	() Thanks