How to buy / choose a DVD Player?

I am writing this article to answer your question 'How to Buy a DVD player'.  This article will help you in understanding many terminologies related to consumer electronics and what's available in the market. This article is intended for those who are buying DVD player for the first time and also for those who are planning to replace old one.
          Today DVD players are more than just for watching movies. Latest model DVD player's provide us with crisp clear high definition images and sound quality. They can handle recordable CD's , rewritable CD's, MP3 discs, SACD.
       The DVD player of your choice must be the one that best meets your needs. Obviously it should have the features that matter most to you. For Example, if you are still a fan of VHS tapes, then the perfect choice is a DVD/VCR Combo Player. Thus it will provide you high quality VCR player as well. Simultaneously you can record TV shows, watch movies on DVD and listen mp3 music CD's. You can archive your VHS tapes using a DVD player which has DVD recorder offering Tape-free recording functionality. You have to choose the right disc for right purpose as there are a variety of writeable and rewriteable CD's.
       If your preferring portability, Portable DVD is your pick. They are compact and lightweighted, thus a good companion during travels. Some Players offer dual headphone jacks enabling more persons to listen at same time. Many of these players come with rechargeable batteries and additional features like cigarette lighter power adapters and car mounting kits.
        If you have a High Definition TV, an option is DVD Player with Video Upconversion which will covert the video into higher resolution to match the HDTV. Also HD DVD is high definition disc format designed to maximise viewing experience in HDTV.
        If your TV is Enhanced Definition (EDTV), High Definition or HDTV-ready a Progressive Scan DVD Player is a pick. Then Whats Progressive Scan? Progressive Scan displays the entire frame in one sweep (whereas in Interlaced Scan it splits each video frame into two fields) and since the whole picture is displayed together it has less flickering and crisper details.  You need a progressive capable TV to view the progressive scan signals. At the moment if you don’t have progressive capable tv choose a DVD Player that allows you to select either 480i interlaced scan for use with a conventional TV or 480p progressive-scan output for compatible TV’s. which means you would get a great picture now and an even better one when you upgrade your tv.
         Most important part of choosing a DVD player is ensuring it has all essential ports and connections to perform with other utility audio visual equipments. Necessarily all DVD players have atleast three video jacks - composite, S-video and component. Component inputs are typically found only on mid-priced to high end TV’s made in the recent times. The component connection helps in providing the best picture quality. Check if your tv has an antenna style RF input. If yes, an RF modulator should be installed between the television and player. As some DVD/VCR Combo can pass DVD signals through their RF output, they might be worth considering.
       Recent model players have digital audio output – coaxial, optical or both. This enables for multichannel surround sound by sending Dolby digital or DTS signals to the receiver. To connect DVD Players to stereo receivers and stereo TV’s almost all Players come with standard stereo audio jacks . Also to connect directly to 5.1 ready receivers some players have builtin decoding with 5.1 channel analog outputs . Usually these models will play multichannel DVD Audio or SACD discs. Some high end players have IEEE1394 jacks (known as FireWire or i.LINK); these single cord connections carry 5.1 channel music to a compatible receiver.