Five Reasons to Buy a Multidisc DVD Player

If you're shopping for a home DVD player, you'd do well to ask yourself, "Should I buy a single-disc or a multidisc model?" Here are some points to consider in favor of gracing your living room, bedroom, or office with a multidisc DVD player.

The Case for Multidisc

1. DVD players make great CD players. All the conveniences of CD players--including play exchange (the ability to swap four CDs while a fifth one plays), program and random play, and A-B repeat (which loops a user-defined program segment)--can be found in most multidisc DVD changers. The only warning we'll give is that the changing time between discs tends to be a little longer with DVD players than with CD changers.
Also, with so much focus on the incredible video capabilities of DVD players, it's easy to forget that the audio chips found in most DVD machines perform higher-quality digital-to-analog conversion than the chips in similarly priced CD-only players do. Players from JVC, Panasonic, Sony, and other brands offer multidisc convenience and compatibility with new high-resolution formats like DVD-Audio and SACD, which boast significantly higher fidelity than CDs offer under any circumstances.

2. Mixing media is fun. You can get creative with loading a mix of concert videos and music CDs by a given musical performer: the movie Pink Floyd: The Wall, say, together with concert videos from Floyd members Roger Waters and David Gilmour, in addition to both CDs of The Wall. Or you may find it convenient to simply load the two movies you might watch this week, leaving three slots open for juggling your week's music choices. You choose.

3. Multidisc changers offer the same features as single-disc players. If you're worried about compromising on features or quality when buying a five-disc or seven-disc DVD player, you needn't be. Whether you're after progressive-scan video outputs for getting the best possible picture on a high-definition or HD-ready TV, or you're merely interested in watching family slide shows from JPEG or Kodak Picture CDs from digital camera shots, there's a multidisc DVD player in our listings with your name on it. Many new models offer the handy "top menu" feature, which zips past the FBI warnings, previews, and other pre-menu annoyances written into many commercial DVDs.

4. We're all couch potatoes at heart. Even the most athletic among us turn couch potato in the face of a few good films, and a multidisc DVD player frees your inner movie fan to gorge on consecutive movies, from your favorite Jimmy Stewart pictures to all five discs in the deluxe edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. And you'll be fully equipped to spin all five Star Wars episodes, in order, once the remaining three become available.

5. These days, changers cost about the same as single-disc players. Used to be, you had to shell out extra bucks for multidisc players, which are larger and require more complex disc drawers than single-disc models. Advances in manufacturing technology and consumers' overwhelming support for the DVD format have minimized the price differential, however, reducing the single vs. multi issue to a simple matter of preference.