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Sakura Con - Saturday - DVD's
 Every attempt
to distribute video on discs has been a technical success and a commercial
failure, but DVD's have a good chance to break that pattern. Two years
ago, anime fans complained about the end of 12-inch laser discs, but now
they look forward to each new DVD release. Pete MacKenzie (left) and Leroy
Radford (right) have been part of the growing number of DVD releases through
their work on AnimEigo discs for Multimedia 2000. |
 DVD's have
several advantages that previous video discs did not, the two men noted.
There's only one DVD format (with the demise of the Divx sub-format in
1999), while there were several competing video discs in previous years
(remember the RCA capacitance system that used a stylus?); people are used
to small discs for playback because of years of CD's and prefer the 12-cm
format; and DVD's are being sold for far less than laser discs ($25 for
a DVD as compared to $50-$70 for a laser disc). "The DVD's not for the
male geek in the family," said MacKenzie. |
 Unfortunately,
DVD's resemble CD-ROM's in more than size and shape. Just like the first
data CD's, not all DVD's will play properly in all DVD players. That's
because of problems with the complex authoring programs used to make the
discs and in the way the discs are pressed. MacKenzie and Radford noted
that there were problems with an early release of Bubble Gum Crisis DVD's.
If anyone has problems, the two urges users to make sure the drive manufacturers
and disc production companies know, so everyone can solve the problem and
avoid it in the future. |
 The two said
that DVD's won't replace VHS recorders in the way that audio CD's killed
long-playing vinyl records (when was the last time you bought a stylus
for your turntable?). However, VHS could take a hit if and when recordable
home DVD drives are available, which could happen in the next few years. |
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