Invasion of the DVDs: Discs offer higher quality than dated VHS

Kirk Baird

Monday, Oct. 29, 2001 | 8:22 a.m.

It was early 1997 when the DVD first made its way from Japan to U.S. shores.

Identical to a compact disc in appearance and size, the DVD (an abbreviation for digital versatile disc or digital video disc, depending on preference) was to be to the videocassette what CDs were to cassettes and albums, and cassettes were to 8-tracks:

Superior.

In the DVD's case, this meant a significantly sharper video image as well as improved sound quality.

In other words, the birth of the DVD meant the beginning of the end for VHS.

For many households, however, there's only one problem with that notion: What about the videotape library?

It's a dilemma Las Vegan Wayne Hatley is familiar with.

Since purchasing his first VCR in 1976 ("It was an RCA, and it was huge and heavy"), he has collected movies on video.

Fifteen years later Hatley has several wall-sized shelves in his home filled with videotapes more than a thousand in all ranging from the obscure "Sting of Death"(about a half-man, half-jellyfish) to the more mainstream "Platoon."

So the prospect of replacing his entire VHS collection with DVDs makes him laugh.

"No. That would take another lifetime, and I'm already 53," Hatley said.

Nevertheless, each Sunday he can't help but notice the ads for DVD players on sale. He has watched how prices for the players have dropped significantly since their introduction, from more than $1,000 to less than $100.

Despite the cost, Hatley knows it's just a matter of time before he breaks down and buys a DVD unit himself.

"The same thing happened when they came out with cassette tapes to CDs," he said. "I replaced a lot of the stuff that I liked, since I had that on album. Now I have a ton of CDs."

Hatley said part of his lure to the DVD is the fact so many titles are being made available in the format, including rare B-grade sci-fi flicks from the '50s.

"I just didn't think anybody would ever put out Astounding She Monster' or Mesa of Lost Women' on DVD," both titles he has on VHS, he said. "But, it's coming."

Introduced in 1974, VCRs have gone from an overpriced luxury item to an inexpensive near-necessity.

During that time the VCR has survived its own format war VHS versus Betamax and an early attempt at digital movies with the LP-sized LaserDiscs.

It was the emergence of the video-retail industry in the early '80s, however, that gave the VCR its foothold in American homes, as annual sales of the units jumped from 100,000 in 1976 to 1 million in 1981.

Now 95 percent of all U.S. households have a VCR, said Sean Wargo, senior analyst of market research with the Consumer Electronics Association, based in Arlington, Va.

This compared to the 20-25 percent of all U.S. homes that have DVD players, he said.

But the upstart DVD is catching up. September marked the first time monthly sales of DVD players surpassed those of VCRs, 770,916 to 738,662, according to the CEA.

That trend is not likely to stop anytime soon, Wargo said, as prices for DVD players continue to drop and more movie titles become available in that format.

"From a retail perspective the switch is already on," he said.

Although, Wargo was quick to add, that doesn't mean consumers are giving up on the VCR just yet.

"We did a holiday survey and VCRs are (in) the top five products consumers will buy this holiday," he said.

And No. 1?

"DVD," he said.

Bonus features

The increasing popularity of the DVD comes as no surprise to Gary Reber, editor and publisher of Widescreen Review, a monthly magazine focusing on home theater and the DVD.

"The success of DVD is logical and should happen, when you compare the superior performance of the (DVD) medium to tape-based VHS," Reber said. "It has a couple times the resolution, and what it can deliver sound-wise ... it's superior in that sense, too."

Also, an average DVD has at least twice the storage capacity of a videocassette, he said. Which has meant the inclusion of added extras such as director's commentary, deleted scenes, movie trailers, behind-the-scenes documentaries and even games -- none of which are found on VHS.

Plus, the DVD never shows signs of wear, unlike VHS, which begins to deteriorate after 10 years, Reber said.

And there's no having to wait for the tape to rewind or fast forward to get to a favorite moment in the film. Unlike a videocassette, a DVD provides almost instant access to select scenes in movies, in much the same way a song can quickly be located on a CD.

With all its format advantages, it's little wonder that DVDs are proving a tremendous competitor for videocassettes in the video-retail industry.

DVD accounts for 20 percent of all Blockbuster's rental revenue, said Randy Hargrove, Blockbuster spokesman, from corporate headquarters in Dallas.

And that figure is likely to increase to 30 percent by year's end and 50 percent by 2003, Hargrove added.

Consequently, the world's largest video chain, which includes 38 stores in Clark County, intends to double each store's DVD library by this time next year, he said, while reducing 25 percent of its VHS titles in the process.

"What we're doing with DVD is a consumer-driven initiative that takes advantage of DVD's rapid acceptance," Hargrove said. "We're certainly not getting out of VHS. We're still going to have new releases and the more popular older library titles. But we're going to increase DVD's presence."

Best Buy also has increased its DVD inventory.

Dereck Nation, a sales representative in the home-video section of the Best Buy store on South Maryland Parkway, said his store stocks nearly 10 times the amount of DVD titles than videocassette, which is typical of the chain nationwide.

The growing popularity of the format, however, hasn't swayed Bonnie Lees' opinion about not wanting to buy a DVD player.

Her inexpensive VCR can record her favorite TV shows, while a normal DVD player cannot, and a low-end DVD recorder costs around $800. Plus, Lee said, she's already spent at least $1,000 on videocassette.

"What do you do when you have all the movies on VHS? Switch over?" she asked. "You'd have to buy all new movies."

Gene Smith has heard that argument many times.

As store manager for Sun Coast Motion Picture Company at Meadows mall, Smith said customers often remark about not wanting to buy a DVD player for fear of having to purchase the same movies again.

But that's not the case, he said.

An avid movie buff, Smith had already amassed a collection of 2,000 films on videocassette when he bought his DVD player. Now he owns 350 DVDs on top of that -- most of which are titles he doesn't have on VHS.

"No one's saying you have to throw your VCR away," Smith said. "I think they get into that mentality that you have to buy into a new format. You don't. You can keep your videos and buy DVDs."

Just so long as there's room for the cassettes and 8-tracks.

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