DVD Demystified

FOREWORD
It may seem hard to believe, but more than three years have passed since
the first edition of Jim Taylor’s DVD Demystified was written. In those
dark, early days, few people knew much about DVD, and its future was
by no means assured. At industry conferences, somber war stories about
the challenges and high cost of producing theatrical DVD titles were presented.
Promises of 17-GB DVD-18 discs seemed more like science fiction
than reality. Predictions of home video DVD recorders entering the market
seemed preposterous, since the equivalent technology required to
author and record DVD programs cost more than $200,000 at the time.
Several well-publicized compatibility problems existed between early
players and titles, and there were real concerns about whether all of the
major motion picture studios would ever commit to the format and release
titles on DVD.
These were shaky times for the format, and some cynics joked that
DVD stood for “doubtful, very doubtful”. In early 1997, I stood in my company’s
booth at an industry trade show trying to provide a simple description
of DVD to groups of skeptical video producers and engineers. After
my attempts to explain the format’s many complexities were greeted with
quizzical looks, I began using a more succinct description: “DVD is movies
on little discs.” Although many people, even the technical ones, were surprisingly
satisfied with this desperate explanation, I remember worrying
that if it was so difficult just to explain what DVD is, how would we ever
sell it to actual users?
Obviously, there was nothing to worry about.
Today, chances are excellent that most of your neighbors know what
DVD is. Everywhere you look, evidence can be found of DVD’s astounding
success: discount stores prominently display racks of video titles; brand
name DVD players sell at low prices that were unthinkable not long ago;
and some industry analysts now believe that home DVD video recorders
will replace VCRs within a few years. Countless thousands of titles are
available worldwide—some on 17-GB DVD-18 discs—and many more
arrive every day. The format has in fact become so synonymous with high
quality and value that many people happily buy movies on DVD that they
already own on tape or laserdisc.
In addition to its success in the consumer video business, a promising
industrial market for DVD has also formed. Corporations, schools, hospitals,
the military, and other government agencies have all put DVD to use
for a variety of applications. That cool video you see playing on a videowall
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