DVD-9 Becoming The Standard DVD-Video

At the International Recording Media Association conference at Amelia Island, Florida in early March, industry executives reported that DVD-9 is fast becoming the standard DVD disc format. As many as a third of all new DVD releases are projected to be replicated on DVD-0 discs, the dual-layer discs with almost twice the capacity of the DVD-5s used to replicate the vast majority of movies in 1998. Industry spokesmen cited the growing interest among studios and other suppliers in collectorís editions and in releases with enhancements, such as director commentary and a host of other special features including alternative endings and a DTSÆ Digital Surround soundtrack in addition to the standard DolbyÆ Digital soundtrack.Panasonic was the first of the DVD-Video replicates to begin volume production of the DVD-9 discs, and reportedly DVD-9 discs now account for roughly 75 percent of the companyís DVD production. But as an industry overall the majority of replicators are still focused on DVD-5s. According to Nimbus Manufacturing, only 6.4 percent of DVD releases to date have been replicated on DVD-9, though that is expected to grow to over 9 percent in the coming weeks.With greater disc capacity new demands will be placed on each studioís creative departments to come up with more-elaborate DVD releases. This however, is already and will continue to complicate efforts to bring those DVD titles out day-and-date with VHS, due to even tighter lead-times caused by adding extra material and obtaining clearances. The result may be that studios will release a title in two separate editions, as has often been the case with LaserDiscs. One version would be a basic ""movie-only"" release followed by a ""special edition."" Hopefully, with DVD-9 becoming the standard DVD-Video disc release, at least both Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround soundtracks will occupy each disc, thus eliminating the present situation in which a DTS Digital Surround release follows the Dolby Digital release with no other extras.Studios also are expected to expand the interaction of the contents of a DVD-9 disc with Web-based support. Increasingly, DVD-Videos will feature titles in which some of the material is ""unlocked"" only when played in a personal computer with DVD-ROM capability that is linked to a Web site.Of course, costs will still be a factor that will dictate to what extent studios will use the full capacity of DVD-9 discs. And with increasingly expanded content and interactive features the challenge will be to keep consumer pricing at present levels.