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DAC: see digital-to-analog converter.
D/A converter: see digital-to-analog converter.
Digital Light Processing® (DLP): is a proprietary Texas Instruments technology that uses micro-mirrors to reflect light and is used in front multimedia/video projectors. This is a competing technology for LCD-based projectors. To learn more about DLP technology, visit the Texas Instruments' Digital Light Processing web site.
digital-to-analog converter (DAC): is an integrated circuit (IC) or chip that coverts digital signals to analog signals. The signal that is being converted may be video or audio, depending on the DAC chip. Video uses a video DAC chip, while audio uses an audio DAC chip. Audio DACs are used in DVD players and audio/video receivers to convert the digital audio information into an analog audio output signal that is ready for amplification to drive the loudspeakers. Video DACs are used in DVD players to convert the digital video information to an analog video signal.
Digital TV (DTV): refers to the new U.S. standard for digital television, as defined by the ATSC. Digital TV consists of no less than 18 different picture formats, including standard definition formats and high definition formats. Also see High Definition TV.
Digital Theater Sound® (DTS®): is the company that developed the DTS Digital Surround® (DTS®®) sound format. Also see this page.
discrete: refers to the audio channel or signal that is independent from any of the other channels. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 are examples of discrete multi-channel sound systems.
DLP®: see Digital Light Processing.
Dolby Digital: read this page.
Dolby Digital EX: is a "6.1"-channel matrix extended surround sound format for movie theaters. Only movie theaters equipped with Dolby Digital EX playback equipment is able to reproduce the "6.1"-channel extended surround. The home theater version of Dolby Digital EX is also known as Dolby Digital EX or THX Surround EX. Note, we put quotes around the "6.1" because the back surround channel is matrixed, and not fully discrete.
Dolby Digital 5-1 channel: read this page.
Dolby Surround Pro-Logic: read this page.
double-sided: refers to a DVD disc that has data on both sides of the disc. To play the other side of the DVD, you usually have to manually "flip" the disc manually. Also see DVD-10 or DVD-18.
DTS® (dts®): see this page.
DTS®-ES: short for DTS Extended Surround. This is Digital Theater Sound's version of a 6.1-channel surround sound format. Read more on this page.
DTS®- ES 6.1 Discrete: short for DTS Extended Surround 6.1 Discrete, where the back surround channel is fully discrete and earns the real 6.1-channel surround sound designation. Read more on the surround sound formats page.
DTS®-ES Matrix: short for DTS Extended Surround Matrix, where the back surround channel is matrixed into the left and right surround sound channels. Although sometimes referred to as a "6.1"-channel surround sound, it is not a true "6.1" format. See DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete. Read more on the surround sound formats page.
DTV: see Digital TV.
dual-layered: refers to a DVD disc that has two layers on a side. DVD players can read video and audio data from both layers by simply re-focusing its laser, and therefore manually "flipping" of the DVD disc is not required. A single-sided, dual-layered DVD can hold nearly four hours of video and audio, and is known as a DVD-9. A double-sided, dual-layered DVD can hold nearly eight hours of video and audio, and is known as a DVD-18. DVD-18s requires you to manually "flip" the disc when you want to see materials encoded on the other side of the disc, although some DVD players can do this automatically.
DVD: stands for Digital Versatile Disc (it once stood for Digital Video Disc). DVDs can be one sided or two sided, and each side can have a single layer or two layers of data. Depending on the construction of the DVD disc, DVDs have different capacity for video and audio information. Their are several DVD formats: DVD-Video for movies and other video titles, DVD-Audio for audiophile quality audio and multi-channel music, and DVD-ROM for computer data storage. For a tutorial, read this page. Also see DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-10, DVD-18.
DVD-5: refers a DVD that is single-sided and single-layered, which holds up to two hours of video and audio (i.e., 4.7 GBytes of data). Also see DVD-9, DVD-10, DVD-14, DVD-18.
DVD-9: refers a DVD that is single-sided and dual-layered, which holds up to four hours of video and audio (i.e., 8.5 GBytes of data), without having to manually "flip" the disc. Also see DVD-5, DVD-10, DVD-14, DVD-18.
DVD-10: refers a DVD that is double-sided and single-layered, which holds up to four hours of video and audio (i.e., 9.4 GBytes of data). However, since there are two sides, you have to manually "flip" the disc with most DVD players. This construction is usually used to put a 16x9 widescreen version on one side and a full-frame version on the opposite side. So depending on which aspect ratio you want to view, you put the disc in with that aspect ratio's label facing up (and in this case you don't have to "flip" the disc). Also see DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-14, DVD-18
DVD-14: refers a DVD that is double-sided. The first side is dual-layered, while the second side is single-layered. This disc holds up to six hours of video and audio (i.e., 13.2 GBytes of data). This format can hold the 16x9 widescreen version of a movie and its bonus materials on the first side, and a full-frame version of the movie on the second side. So depending on which aspect ratio you want to view, you put the disc in with that aspect ratio's label facing up. To view the bonus materials, you would have to "flip" the disc if you were watching the full screen version of the movie. Also see DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-10, DVD-14, DVD-18
DVD-18: refers a DVD that is double-sided and dual-layered, which holds up to eight hours of video and audio (i.e., 17.0 GBytes of data). If there is different material on each side of the disc, you will have to manually "flip" the disc with most DVD players. To date, DVD-18 are still rare since few DVD production lines are able to accommodate this type of DVD. Some DVD-18 were produced for the "Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Ultimate Edition)" DVD. (To meet the tremendous demand for this title, some packages feature two DVD-9 discs.) Also see DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-10, DVD-14.
DVD-Audio: is a new emerging format for high-resolution, audiophile quality audio and multi-channel music. It is based on the DVD medium, but contains only audio information. DVD-Audio/Video players emerged since Summer 2000 and can play back both DVD-Audio and DVD-Video, and were once called DVD-Universal players (that is until the introduction of the Super Audio CD format). For additional information, read our DVD-Audio Tutorial. Also see DVD, DVD-Video, and DVD-ROM, and Super Audio CD.
DVD-R: is one of the competing DVD recordable formats. We will have more information on this later.
DVD-RAM: is one of the competing DVD recordable formats. This format is supported by Panasonic, which makes the Panasonic DMR-E10 DVD recorder.
DVD-ROM: is a computer data storage format, similar to CD-ROM. Also see DVD, DVD-Video, and DVD-Audio.
DVD+RW: is one of the competing DVD recordable formats. We will have more information on this later.
DVD-RW: is one of the competing DVD recordable formats. We will have more information on this later.
DVD-Universal: refers to the DVD players that are capable of playing back both DVD-Audio and DVD-Video discs.
DVD-Video: is the DVD format used for movies and other video titles. It features information for both video and audio. Video is stored and compressed using MPEG-2 compression, while audio can be PCM, Dolby Digital, or DTS. For a tutorial, read this page. Also see DVD, DVD-Audio, DVD-ROM.
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