What are the benefits of having a DVD player with S-video and/or component video outputs?
Laserdiscs and videotapes are encoded as composite video, which combines the color and brightness information into one signal, while DVDs are encoded as component video, which keeps the color information separate, like the RGB signal of your computer. By keeping the color separate, it allows your DVD player to deliver a purer signal to your TV, resulting in richer color definition and a sharper picture. Although some of the latest TVs to hit stores feature component inputs, if your TV is a few years old, you’ll still get a good picture by using the S-video inputs on your TV and DVD player. (S-video features separate color and brightness.) If you’re planning to upgrade to HDTV, make sure your DVD player has component-video outputs.
