DTS Percolates Into Mid-Priced Components And Slates 100 DVD Titles For Release By Year End

The cachet of owing a DTS-decoding component isnít limited any more to the upper-echelon audiophile customer, says Executive Vice President Operations Jon Kirchner. In fact, DTS has become such a staple in components in the $400 to $1,000 range that consumers ""donít want to buy anything without it."" But once they have the component in their homes, he adds, ""the challenge is to educate them as to what DTS means ñ the challenge is to put content in their hands.To that end, DTS is promoting the use of its demo discs as retail sales tools. ""The best way to sell 5.1 is in an offensive instead of defensive way. When dealers ""A-B"" discs with and without DTS, Iíve yet to meet someone who didnít get it."" And speaker companies are all playing our material at shows, because they are the true beneficiaries of DTS.""Kirchner says that the expanding breadth of DTS titles in both audio and DVD should also help fuel the educative fires. By year end DTS expects 100 DVD titles to be released or slated for release. Already, the DTS DVD release of ""Saving Private Ryan"" day-and-date with VHS and the mass-market DVED versions is enhancing awareness of the technology. Kirchner also cites the success of the DTS version of The Eaglesí ""Hell Freezes Over"" ñ the best-selling DVD music disc ever, with around 120,000 copies vended to date ñ in describing just how important audio is as a conduit to DTS DVD sales.DTS is planning to exhibit at the January 2000 CES, where the company hopes to underscore its message to both suppliers and the retailers who sell DTS hardware and software, Kirchner adds.Source: AudioVideo International