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Since its introduction as a consumer format around 1997, digital versatile disc (DVD) has been a hot topic for most rich-media developers closely watched in the trades, with a growing number of production houses taking advantage of ever cheaper software tools and equipment for producing DVD.
Because of its ability to combine broadcast-quality video with the kinds of interactivity, we've come to expect in the computer age, DVD has been heralded as the convergent answer to the various limitations of the CD-ROM, the VCR, and the CD player.
The DVD market has grown from nothing in 1996 to more than 28 million units shipped worldwide in 2001. DVD sales will reach new heights over the next several years, according to Cahners In-Stat Group (www.instat.com). In a study conducted in January 2001, Cahners In-Stat found that DVDs will continue as the fastest-growing consumer electronics product in history with 60 million units expected to sell in 2004. New features such as DVD Audio (see Chapter 9), component integration leading to lower prices, and new products incorporating DVD technology, such as hybrid set-top boxes and DVD mini-systems (see Chapter 17), all point to continued growth.
In addition, recording technologies have advanced rapidly, with new products having entered the DVD recorder market in 2001 that included DVD recorders using the DVD-RW and DVD+RW formats. In-Stat also found that:
