Move Over, VCR

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.