More D-VHS® D-Theater™
Dear Gary:
I’m writing to request that Widescreen Review touch on D-VHS® occasionally within its pages, as it seems to have been dropped altogether of late. I understand there haven’t been any new releases in a while, but being as WSR has supported it for so long, and being a stalwart advocate of all things home theatre and the best experiences therein, I find it odd that you would fail to keep your readers informed of the format’s status, reviews of software and the latest hardware. This is especially pertinent in lieu of the increasingly dire state of the format war in the high-definition disc arena. I know we are all salivating for an HD-capable disc format that includes all the aspects we know and love of standard-definition DVD, but having come to D-VHS recently out of frustration with said format war and its likely consequences for the consumer, I think it deserves coverage/attention.
I find it odd that with decks as cheap as they are now, and with the quality of the D-Theater™ tapes being what they are (fabulous, as I’ve recently had the pleasure of discovering), the market might stand to get a “second wind” if people are re-acquainted with the format. Who knows, maybe we could convince the studios to get back to releasing titles, and perhaps even re-release some of those wonderful back-catalog titles like Alien that are fetching hundreds on eBay. What do you think?
Shane Walker, Chicago, Illinois
Editor-In-Chief and Publisher Gary Reber Comments:
I’m with you both! After spending nearly 100 pages of coverage on the high-definition D-VHS D-Theater tape format, sadly both JVC, the developer, and the four studios who initially released titles on the format––Artisan Entertainment (Lions Gate), DreamWorks Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and Universal Studios Home Entertainment––have apparently abandoned the format. No new player introductions or movie releases have been forthcoming for many months. I believe that the anticipation of an HD optical disc format that records HD and plays pre-recorded HD content was imminent. Of course, the truth is that a format war is raging with no certain outcome.
I supported the D-VHS D-Theater format because it offered serious home theatre enthusiasts an opportunity to begin to experience real HD resolution and picture quality, and to begin to appreciate how dramatic this quality adds to the experience. Display manufacturers also benefited, as they now had 1080i pre-recorded movies to demonstrate their technologies. And retailers benefited because they now had the same movies to entice customers to purchase new HDTV displays. The studios benefited because they had a format to evaluate their mastering capabilities and to have yet another revenue stream that didn’t threaten their DVD business. It was a win-win scenario.
But something happened. I don’t know what. JVC stopped supporting the marketing of the format. And the studios, without such support found movie releases in D-Theater not at the volume levels they had hoped for.
Hopefully, manufacturers and studios will be encouraged by your letters. I know there are thousands of enthusiasts out there who have players who would be thrilled with new releases, especially those day-and-date with DVD.
Let’s hope that apathy won’t be the result of the HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc format war, resulting in a similar scenario.
You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ mailto:editorgary@widescreenreview.com