DVD Demystified

The World Before DVD
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authoring tools that were affordable to just about anyone interested in
doing professional DVD production.
JVC announced a consumer version of D-VHS. The digital tape format,
originally designed only to record data, had been reworked with a standard
way of recording and playing back digital video, along with now requisite
copy protection. JVC had high hopes that movies would be released on prerecorded
tapes. In a surprise move, Apple bought Astarte, an up-and-coming
developer of DVD authoring software for Macintosh computers. Sonic, the
main developer of Macintosh DVD authoring systems, announced hDVD,
an unofficial variation of DVD-Video that incorporated high-definition
video. The target market was high-end computers with fast DVD-ROM drives
and powerful processors to decode the HD video. Ravisent, Sonic’s partner
in the initiative, was providing the software decoder.
In May, Circuit City recalled the Apex DVD player, one of its best-selling
items. The recall and the high sales had the same cause—loopholes in the
player that allowed it to be easily modified to play discs from any region and
to disable Macrovision copy protection. The recall occurred primarily
because of pressure from Macrovision.
Also in May, Sony announced plans for a third release of SACD player
models, dropping the price from over $3,000 to just over $700, and shifting
focus from audiophiles to mainstream audio buyers. Philips moved in the
opposite direction, releasing a $7,500 SACD player. Less than a hundred
SACD titles were available by this time. Pioneer announced that its DVD
video recorder had sold 25,000 units in seven months, since its release in
Japan.
Macrovision was back in the news in June with the announcement that
it had implemented copy protection technology for 525-line progressivescan
output. Constellation 3D, the company that had been busy for months
issuing press releases about its fluorescent multilayer disc (FMD) technology,
announced that it had adapted the design to be readable with standard
red laser technology. This raised the interesting possibility that DVD players
with minor modifications would be able to read 25 gigabyte FMDs. On
the other hand, C3D, a relative newcomer to the field, did not explain how
discs with six or ten or more layers could be reliably mass-produced, given
how hard it had been just to get two-layer DVD-9s to work. Nevertheless,
C3D confidently predicted that the new players would be available by summer
of 2001.
On June 12, Hollywood Entertainment announced that it was closing the
e-commerce portion of its Web site, Reel.com. The company had experienced
losses in 1999, and Reel.com was blamed for much of the continuing losses