D-VHS D-Theater Frustration
Dear Gary: Sorry, but I am angry, and not just me but others too in my area. I have been following the excellent WSR reviews and write-ups and the demo shows kicking off D-Theater equipment and movie releases. I have bought most of the decent family titles. Trying to show 1080i movies to friends and relatives with garbage releases, believe me, takes away the D-Theater “I want one” focus. This message needs to get to the movie industry who is authoring D-Theater material. I look daily at the D-VHSMovieGuide site and the last input for “e-letters” was November 15, 2002. The last input on the message board was December 5. Almost zippo positive input from anyone! There is very little coverage in any home theatre magazine except JVC ads. A trip to Circuit City, Sears, and Good Guys has D-Theater demos running on various screens. When approached about D-Theater they know nothing! They don't even know what to tell the customer when asked where to buy D-Theater tapes. Something is wrong with this picture! Yes, other forums talk about it, but this isn't reaching customers. I enjoy HDTV programing and HDNet, and even my local cable company has HDTV on HBO and Showtime, with more programs coming soon at 720p/1080i. I have it and it is equal or better than what the DISH Network™ and DirecTV® provides in HDTV. D-Theater has a direct place for users and better/more coverage has got to be conveyed to customers. I would like to see the following added to D-Theater equipment: - DTS Digital Surround D-Theater movies. - A combo DVD/D-Theater player with progressive scan and Faroudja chipset for solid video output, and DVD-Audio playback. Build it, promote it, sell it. The best of all worlds for customers. Your long-time, forever subscriber,
Bill Bellevue, Washington
Editor-in-Chief Gary Reber Comments:
I am sympathetic with your feelings and experience. It is a quandary why there is such little support on behalf of the home theatre magazines for the D-VHS D-Theater platform, especially given that the desired alternative of a high-definition optical disc or HD-DVD format is still quite possibly a few years away. In the interim, there is no other format capability for recording high-definition programming over-the-air and off satellite or for prerecorded HD movies and other programming. Without the support of the home theatre magazine community, there can be little expectation for a community to develop with a “focused” interest in D-Theater. Others, like yourself (and that includes yours truly) are inceasingly coming to the realization that D-VHS deserves support, especially given the fact that an HD-DVD or other high-definition optical disc format is at least two to four years or more from becoming a realistic format introduction. In the interim, D-VHS D-Theater is the only prerecorded HD platform there is, and one supported by four major studios at present. Looking back over the past ten years of Widescreen Review’s existence, I felt that the D-VHS D-Theater platform was a significant event in the history of imaging science. I have been a proponent of true high-definition video since the inception of the technology, and extensively covered the H/DTV debate amongst the technologists, broadcasters, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). Thus, I have been deeply involved in the issues surrounding the transition from analog to digital broadcast since founding the magazine. While the issues with respect to HDTV in the United States are still unresolved and there is much to write about, I think it is important to appreciate that the D-VHS format sets the highest standard thus far for HD picture quality, and is playing an integral role in the transition to H(DTV). An ultimate optical-based HD format will be required to equal or surpass such performance, in order for it to be embraced by enthusiasts. There are currently three main contenders for the HD throne, and each has its own combination of formats and codecs. All three variations of HD-DVD will require new players to read the discs. The DVD Forum, the standards-setting body for the DVD format, will use the 0.6mm bonded disk proposed by NEC Corporation and Toshiba Corporation as the basis for its next-generation DVD standard utilizing a blue laser. This next-generation HD-DVD represents a minimal extension of the current DVD format with smaller pits and tracks, but no change to the data layer depth, although a blue laser is needed to read the disc. Video can be encoded with MPEG-2 or with a new codec still to be chosen. While NEC and Toshiba jointly proposed the Advanced Optical Disk System to the DVD Forum in August, the Blu-ray Disc proponents, supporting a competing blue laser technology, have decided to launch their format without the sanction of the DVD Forum, even though the nine companies supporting the format are also members of the DVD Forum. The third contender is the AOL Time Warner proposal for an HD-DVD-9 disc, an adaptation of the existing dual-layer DVD-9 format, requiring no changes to the physical disc—only a new codec for the video. Thus, as previously forecast in Widescreen Review past issues, an impending format battle is imminent. We at Widescreen Review will continue our support of the platform, even if others continue to ignore its significant contribution to imaging science, and WSR will continue to appraise our readers of upcoming HD prerecorded formats as they are being developed and readied for market. I hope that eventually a strong community of interest will develop over time and cause a more rapid transition from analog to digital television, particularly HDTV. The resulting demand for HDTV to be the driving force for releasing the best that Hollywood has to offer is in movies on D-Theater.
You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ mailto:editorgary@widescreenreview.com