WILL DVDS LAST?
That is, are the discs durable? Don't use them
as Frisbees or teething rings for the kids, but if they want to
watch The Little Princess (Lumivision) for the hundredth time,
don't sweat it.
WILL DVD PLAYERS REPLACE THE VCR?
Not any time soon. Despite
speculation that recordable DVDs will be on shelves for the '99
holiday season, they're still probably years away. Keep your
VCR, just as you kept the audiotape deck to make copies for the
car or party tapes. But you can get rid of that old CD player
that skips: DVD players play all CDs.
SHOULD I WAIT FOR DVD-AUDIO TO DEBUT?
No. Technical
specifications for audio-only DVDs, which promise even better
sound than current music CDs, have yet to be hashed out, and the
discs, along with compatible audio-video players, probably won't
come out until late next year.. So unless you're nuts for highly
detailed sound, don't wait.
WILL PLAYER PRICES KEEP DROPPING?
Probably, but you can
already buy DVD players for as low as $300, and there should be
more at that price by Christmas. That's a bargain compared with
the $750 to $1,000 they started at.
WHAT ABOUT DISC PRICES?
Most new DVDs cost $20 to $30; Warner
Home Video is readying a budget line as low as $9.95. That means
the pressure on the major studios is to keep prices down. (By
and large, renting a DVD costs the same as a tape rental.)
What's more, every DVD is priced to sell — even when the same
title on tape is offered ''for rental only'' (that is, priced at
about $100). That means even if you're the only person on your
block dying to own The Postman, you won't have to wait six
months to a year to afford it.
IS SOMETHING GOING TO REPLACE DVD?
The next step after that is
expected to be a super-DVD with a picture as detailed as HDTV
(thanks to new laser technology), but that seems at least five
years away. And those players will definitely be backward
compatible, so you'll still be able to play all your current
DVDs and CDs. Those bulky tape cassettes you have now? I predict
whole cities in Arizona built from recycled VHS bricks.
