You've heard a lot about the wonderful picture quality of movies in DVD format. What you may not have realized is that DVD players could revolutionize home workouts. Many Video Fitness readers love to combine different segments of their fitness videos for a customized workout, but that can mean a significant amount of time spent fast-forwarding and cuing up multiple titles. With DVD workouts such combinations are a breeze.
Is is time to take the plunge? Many Video Fitness readers say YES! Though some fitness DVDs offer only a few bonus features and superior video quality, many fitness video producers are adding in functionality that makes a DVD player an attractive option for home workouts.
Advantages of DVD over VHS
The DVD format allows for far more information to be stored on a disc than on an average video cassette. In addition to improving sound and picture quality, that extra space allows fitness DVD producers to include on a single disc several titles normally sold separately on VHS. DVD's format also allows producers to add additional information such as instructional segments, alternate audio tracks, or workout modifications for different fitness levels if they wish.
By putting workouts on DVD, a producer can also divide the workouts into segments called chapters. By doing this, you can almost instantly jump around in a DVD workout, selecting only the chapter(s) you wish to do in the order you wish to do them, all without having to fast forward or rewind.
See the programming map for Cathe Friedrich's Cross Train Express series for an example of how her series, which takes up 6 VHS cassettes but is contained on two DVD discs, is divided into titles and chapters. You could, for example, do an ab workout first, then an upper body section, then follow it up with a step segment and a kickboxing segment. With a programmable DVD player, you can pre-program segments in whatever order you desire for a truly customized workout and not have to bother with the remote during your workout.
Issues to consider:
Many buying guides such as Consumer Reports and
AudioReview.com have information on what to look for in a DVD player. That basic information is useful for all buyers, but assumes that you will primarily be using your DVD player to play movies, audio CDs, and possibly video games. The suggestions below are meant as supplementary criteria for those who will be using their DVD players for workouts.
Is the DVD model fully programmable?
This not a simple question for those interested in buying a DVD player for fitness titles. Even DVD players without programming features will make it easier to combine parts of workouts than with a VCR. Think of how much speedier and easier it is to jump to the 6th track of an audio CD than it is to fast forward an audio cassette to the 6th song--DVD players offer a similar advantage. However, when we refer to a fully programmable DVD player in this article, we mean a single disc DVD player that can program across multiple titles on one DVD disc or a multi-disc player that can program across both titles and discs.
Unfortunately, if you want a fully programmable DVD player, you are unlikely to get much help from sales clerks at electronics stores. Some DVD manuals don't even give you all the information you need about programmability. The problem seems to be that the fitness DVD consumer's needs are different from those of your average DVD buyer, who most likely will be using the player to either watch a DVD movie in its entirety or to program audio CDs. Though a critical feature for those who want to mix and match workouts, programmability is not something most consumers care about.
It's not enough to know that a DVD player is "programmable." Some models that claim to be programmable only allow you to program chapters within each title, so for fitness DVDs that contain more than one workout on a single disc, you could not program it to play a chapter from one of the titles followed by a chapter from another title.
Other DVD players are fully programmable across multiple discs, but only with audio CDs. So if you owned such a player plus Cathe Friedrich's Cross Train Express DVD set, you couldn't program a segment of Kickboxing followed by a segment of Leaner Legs, because they're on different DVD discs.
On the other hand, programming has its limits. It can be time consuming to program a DVD player. Many DVD players can only hold one program at a time, or erase the program when they are turned off, in which case you would need to reprogram your customized workout each time. Some individual DVDs, such as the Tae Bo Live DVD, reportedly are programmed to play the opening credits before anything else, so if you try to program your DVD player to play part of one DVD followed by a section of the Tae Bo DVD, your Tae Bo DVD will always start with the credits and jump to the main menu instead of playing the programmed section. The ability to program your DVD player is also becoming less important as some fitness DVD producers offer great "pre-mix" combinations that are pre-programmed. Many people find using the pre-mixed much more convenient than trying to program something on their own.
If the ability to program a custom workout is important to you, bring a fitness DVD or two with multiple titles and test them out in the store. At the very least, make sure you will be able to return your DVD player if it doesn't meet your requirements. Check out our list of DVD models tested by VFers to see how they stack up.
How many DVD discs will it hold?
For many people, a 5-disc player might seem like overkill, but if you want to be able to mix and match parts of many workouts without having to reload the DVD player, choose a 3 or 5-disc model. Such models make it easier to combine types of workouts or different instructors, allowing you to follow up Tae Bo with Billy Blanks with a serene Living Arts yoga workout, all without opening the DVD player. Since DVD players also function as CD players, you could even add some audio CDs for a little solo yoga practice or treadmill time at the end of your workout.
What's available in DVD format?
Though the number of fitness DVD titles is growing every day, here is a
partial list. At the present time, the more widely available a fitness title, the more likely it is to be offered in DVD format, and that trend is likely to continue. DVD titles take up less shelf space than VHS tapes, so retailers prefer stocking DVDs, which allow them to display more titles at once.
Most smaller, independent video producers have been slow to jump on the DVD bandwagon for economic reasons. One notable exception to that rule is Cathe Friedrich, who has released all her new titles since last year in DVD format and is re-releasing older material in DVD format at the request of her fans. The FIRM also has talked about releasing some of their catalog on DVD in the future, and Creative Instructors Aerobics (CIA) has announced the first series of 2002 will be released in DVD format.
Another thing to consider is how the increased functionality of a DVD player might offer you more workout options. One VF reader recently remarked that once she got a DVD player, she suddenly got more use out of workouts she had neglected in VHS format. She had only enjoyed parts of those workouts, and fast forwarding and rewinding got to be tedious, so she rarely used them, but once she purchased them in DVD format, they were much more convenient to fit into her schedule.
The bottom line
Only you can decide if you're ready to take the plunge and add a DVD player to your workout room. If you decide to buy, read about VFer-recommended models and tips for buying and using a DVD player for your workouts. Remember that you can always sell your VHS versions of your favorite workouts on eBay or Half.com to help pay for the DVD versions. It may not be time to throw out that VCR just yet, but the world of DVD is a promising one for fans of home workouts.
