No Stopping DVD

The DVD format continues to gain momentum. Earlier this year, DVD rentals exceeded VHS in units and dollar business for the first time, sure signs that videotape is headed for extinction.

Hardware sales have also been brisk, with the market driven by new generations of players with advanced features and crazy-low prices. According to figures released at the end of June by the Digital Entertainment Group (formerly known as the DVD Entertainment Group) more than 10 million DVD players were sold to consumers during the first half of the year.

That's a whopping 44% increase over the same period last year. Consumers have scooped up more than 66 million DVD players in the six years of the format's existence. Approximately 50 million American households are now DVD-equipped, many with more than one machine. And more people are making the move to DVD than ever before — according to a recent survey by the Consumer Electronics Association, one out of three non-DVD households will make the switch this year.

Hollywood studios can't supply product fast enough to keep up with the demand. By mid-year, 427 million DVDs had gone out to dealers — a fraction of the 1.8 billion shipped since April 1997, date of the format's official debut.

X