There was a post by rick earlier about D to A conversion in DVD players. He is correct in that the raw MPEG data stream that comes off of the DVD contains the component signals in digital form. This data is passed to a transport chip which buffers the data, seperates the audio and the video, handles error correction etc. The transport delivers the video in the form of three digital component video signals. For component outputs these are routed to three 24 bit DACs (actualy a triple 24 bit DAC) for output to the TV. These three digital signals are also routed to a video encoder IC such as the Conexant (formerly BrookTree) Bt867 which produces composite video and the Y and C signals that make up the S-Video. The encoder contains three DACs one for Y, one for C and one for the composite output. This scheme is pretty much consistant across all DVD players regardless of the cost.

If anyone wants to have a more in-depth look at the type of devices that are used in the output of DVD players, look in the multimedia section of www.conexant.com under video encoders. Phillips makes a fine line of encoders as well. I believe that Sony makes their own.

Yes, I work for Conexant, but not on encoders.