DVD,
the playing of home video on a CD (compact disc) is clearly the wave of
the future, whose technological and marketing advantages over videocassettes
are many and obvious. DVD's vast superiority of both sight and sound become
dramatically evident on first viewing, and easily adapt themselves to
varying TV formats -- letterbox or wide screen. In addition, many DVD
discs include director's cut, outtakes, previously censored footage, and
interviews with the filmmaker and cast.
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For
those with a hi-fi "brown thumb," many reputable retail outlets for DVD
players, will install the equipment in your home free of charge. Not the
least of the enticements to invest in this new medium is the ease of purchase
-- and return -- via a website, netflix.com. For $20 a month you can rent
any number of films, (limited to 4 movies at one time,) with no late fees,
and return the film whenever you want in a postage-paid envelope that
comes with the disc and fits in any mail slot. The first month, including
8 rentals and shipping, is free. The netflix website displays an exhaustive
list of over 300,000 available films and useful categories: drama, comedy,
action, and critics choices. It's safe to predict that everything will
soon be available on DVD. Once you've clicked on the discs of your choice,
they arrive within 2 to 3 days.
If this column sounds like an
unabashed commercial plug, so be it. A week of DVD viewing and netflix.com
surfing convinced me that video cassettes, and their outlets replete with
late fees and return hassles, are destined to go the way of carbon paper
and mimeograph machines.
