Stand-alone DVD players are just starting to come on the market. They will be the most successful consumer product launch since the CD, IMHO. DVD compared to VHS is like a CD to a cassette tape, digital quality and superior performance, but you can't record on it yet. A recordable version of DVD will be available by next year, they say, but the copyright infringement issues will have to be worked out. Hollywood held up the introduction of the players here in the U.S. by about 6 months until a copy-protection scheme was hammered out. DVD is positioned to replace VHS, but it won't do so completely until a recordable DVD version comes out.
All computers will eventually offer DVD players instead of CD-ROM players. DVD can hold something like 25 times as much digital data over CD-ROM, enough to put full-length feature movies, whole libraries of books, video intensive games, etc. on one disc. Apple was on the forefront of the CD-ROM introduction, and no doubt the same will apply here. The Mac has historically been an easier, more capable multi-media platform for 3rd party manufacturers to interface with.
D. Kuspa |
