Dvd rental review

THE DVD AND DIGITAL VIDEO DIRECTORY 2001 - 3rd Edition - Bethan Cater, Editor - [Review] - Since its inception, Waterlow New Media Information has been keeping track of the DVD industry. This is, without any doubt when linked to Waterlow's free Website, the most comprehensive source of DVD and CD-ROM information available anywhere in the world. In this new 3rd print edition of the Directory, listings are available for 2,678 companies, an increase of nearly 1,000 from the 2nd edition. In addition, this latest directory has added new sections for Digital Video Production Services, Mastering & Replication and Packaging. A new subsection has been added for testing companies and hardware and software sections have been subdivided to better reflect the nature of their products. Waterlow's Website contains information on over 19,000 companies, and 35,000 CD-ROM and DVD titles. (At our last attempt, the Waterlow Website was still undergoing its transition from fee to "free". Some glitches were to be expected during this period. The Website will be financially self-supporting from advertisers, according to Waterlow.) -- In this print edition, as in previous editions, "DVD Facts and Figures" are presented, offering an up-to-date overview of the entire industry. DVDs are still looking for "killer applications", which have not yet come. In the meantime, the entertainment industry is cutting off its own nose by still insisting on five DVD Video regional world standards and signal scrambling (encoding) for motion pictures for "copyright" purposes. Some of this mess is in the courts already. (So much for the DVD Copy Control Association.) While DVD players are now inexpensive and available in many makes and models, DVD players still cannot match the play/record functions of a basic VCR. Until this happens, DVD is likely to stay a small industry - not to mention also that until digital HDTV becomes as affordable as current analog TV sets, there is really no incentive to buy a DVD player for any appreciable greater quality in viewing. DVD purchase and rental rates also tend to be higher than their VHS tape counterparts. Is it really that important to be the "first kid on the block" to own a DVD Video player? - But all of this is changing and virtually no one is sure which of four (or more) DVD record/rewrite standards will become popular. 104 pages. A free copy of this print directory is available on request. -- For further information contact: Waterlow New Media Information, Paulton House, 8 Shepardess Walk, London N1 7LB, UK. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7324 2345. Fax: +44 (0)20 7324 2312. Email: orders@waterlow.com URL: http://www.newmediainfo.com -- In North America contact: Konnect Soft, Inc., 11 Groves Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22305. Telephone: (703) 838-8920. Fax: (703) 838-8921. Email: info@konnectsoft.com -- This directory and its Web database listings [http://www.newmediainfo.com] continue to be an excellent reference work covering a specific developing industry that is a very valuable source of information for all, with many of the applications that are possible still unfolding before us. [RSH]