DVD gaining momentum
USA TODAY - 08/12/98- Updated 04:13 PM ET
The DVD format is gathering momentum toward what could be a
breakthrough Christmas season.
With this week's announcement that the two studio holdouts, Paramount
and Fox, would have DVD movies out this fall, "there is a bandwagon
and everybody's on it," says Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer
Electronics Manufacturers Association. His group forecasts that by
year's end, 1 million DVD players will have been sold to retailers in the
USA.
"This is a sign that the DVD format is going to be around for a while,"
says Ted Pine of InfoTech, a Woodstock, Vt.-based market research
and consulting firm.
InfoTech estimates that more than 1.2 million players will be sold
worldwide this year. There are more than three dozen DVD players on
the market ranging from $299 to $2,000. More than 4.7 million DVD
movies have been sold.
More video stores such as Blockbuster Video and Hollywood Video are
renting DVD players and movies, too.
"More and more of our members are looking at bringing in DVD," says
Cathy Scott of the Video Software Distributors Association. An
association survey found that DVD awareness grew from 18% in
November 1997 to 38% in April 1998.
New DVDs due this fall include Godzilla (Columbia/TriStar $24.95),
HBO's From the Earth to the Moon ($119.98, four discs) and Top Gun
(Paramount, $29.99).
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