Chapter 1

data rate; in many cases, the video will look better if carefully encoded at a
lower bit rate.
A lack of dual-layer production capability is also a lame excuse; in 1997,
very few DVD plants could make dual-layer discs, but this is no longer the
case. Very few players can automatically switch sides, but it’s not needed
because movies less than four hours long can easily fit on one dual-layer
(RSDL) side.
The Film Vault at DVD Review includes a list of flipper discs. Note that a
flipper is not the same as a disc with a widescreen version on one side and
a pan and scan version or supplements on the other.
Why Is the Picture Squished, Making
Things Look Too Skinny?
Answer: RTFM. You are watching an anamorphic picture intended for display
only on a widescreen TV. (See “What’s Widescreen? How Do the
Aspect Ratios Work?” in Chapter 3 for technical details). You need to go
into the player’s setup menu and tell it your TV is standard 4:3 TV, not
widescreen 16:9. It will then automatically letterbox the picture so you can
see the full width at the proper proportions.
In some cases, you can change the aspect ratio as the disc is playing (by
pressing the “aspect” button on the remote control). On most players you
have to stop the disc before you can change the aspect. Some discs are
labeled with widescreen on one side and standard on the other. In order to
watch the full-screen version, you must flip the disc over. (See “How Do I
Get Rid of the Black Bars at the Top and Bottom?” for more information on
letterboxing.)
Apparently, most players that convert from NTSC to PAL or vice versa
can’t simultaneously letterbox (or pan and scan) an anamorphic picture (see
“Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work with NTSC, PAL, and
SECAM?”). The solutions would be to use a widescreen TV, a multistandard
TV, or an external converter. Or get a better player.
Do All Videos Use Dolby Digital (AC-3)?
Do They All Have 5.1 Channels?
General DVD 35
Most DVD-Video discs contain Dolby Digital soundtracks, but some discs,
especially those containing only audio, have PCM tracks. It’s also possible
for a 625/50 (PAL) disc to contain only MPEG audio, which is not widely
used. Discs with DTS audio are required to also include a Dolby Digital