New and Emerging Video Formats:
Implications for Librarians and Distributors

National Media Market
Glenview, Illinois
October 25, 1997
(Revised 11/3/97)
Kristine R. Brancolini
Indiana University Libraries
brancoli@indiana.edu

Part 1: Evaluating a New Format  |  Part 2: DVD and Divx  |  Survey and Results  |  Conclusions  |  Internet Resources  |  Bibliography

My topic this morning will be new and emerging video formats, with an emphasis on suitability for library collections.  I will not be discussing the Internet, because it is a distribution system, not a format.  Undoubtedly, we will be licensing video for delivery over the Internet someday, but for the next few years, I predict that we will continue to purchase video primarily as physical objects, albeit in new formats.  I will address the issues related to adding a new video format from the perspective of a media librarian.  However, the decision making process that librarians use when we add a new format or replace an old format has relevance for distributors of educational video.  I will limit my remarks to optical video formats, because I believe that they are the formats to watch.  I do not believe we will see another magnetic tape distribution format, so we must turn our attention to optical discs.  My comments this morning are based upon my own experience as an academic media librarian, from my experience teaching a course in media librarianship in the IU School of Library and Information Science, and from a survey that I conducted last month via the listserv Videolib.  As background for this morning's discussion,  I want to describe the evolution of my media collection.  It is characteristic of many academic library media collections.

The Indiana University Libraries began collecting videorecordings on 3/4" videotape in 1975.  In the beginning, we purchased just about everything from  PBS Video, Time-Life Multimedia, and Films, Inc.  When I arrived in 1983,  we had about 500 videotapes.  That was when everything cost $350 and the Media fund was less than $15,000 per year.  In 1986 we began collecting on 1/2" VHS and soon began phasing out the purchase of  3/4" tapes.  Although we have not purchased a 3/4" videocassette in nearly ten years, we still support 3/4" playback in the Media Center.  The decision to buy VHS was brought about by the demand for feature films on video.  Only the classics were available on 3/4"; in 1986 we had about 100 feature films in our collection.  Today we have about 2,500 feature films on VHS and laserdisc to support instruction and research.  (To see a list, http://www.indiana.edu/~libreser/media/Feature-Film-List.html)

This brings me to an important point.  New media formats are driven by consumer content and consumer demand.  The emergence of the home video market brought about two parallel pricing structures for video, a lower home video price for titles marketed to the general public and a higher educational video price for titles marketed to libraries and educational institutions.  In fiscal year 1996/97, I selected videorecordings for our collection ranging in price from  $11.00 to $400 for one tape.  The difference in price can generally be attributed to home video versus educational video, although prices for some educational videorecordings are coming down.   The first break came with the release of Eyes on the Prize from PBS Video in 1986.  The entire series was $350, which had previously been the price for one part.  It was a turning point.  It is important to note, however, that PBS Video productions are subsidized and do not need to make a profit through videocassette sales.

I began exploring laserdisc purchases in 1991, but I was hampered by our inadequate equipment budget.  Demand for VHS was so heavy that I was reluctant to divert money to purchase laserdisc equipment.  However,  as I explored the advantages of laserdiscs, I decided to take the plunge.  I purchased four laserdisc players in 1992  and we began collecting.  We now have about 700 laserdiscs and it is the preferred format for current-release feature films.  This past year I have added spoken word compact discs and multimedia CD-ROMs.  The first CD-ROMs I bought were reference titles to support film studies and video collection development.  Now I am buying circulating multimedia CD-ROMs in most subject areas.  Notice that I used the word 'added.'  We are still buying audiocassettes, and have been since 1971, and we are still buying VHS; our collection includes several thousand spoken-word audiocassettes, which are irreplaceable; and 8,000 videocassettes.  The library's Media fund supports all formats, audio and video, but the vast majority of the money will be spent on video.  Last year I purchased about 800 videotapes, about 150 laserdiscs, and  about 30 multimedia CD-ROMs.

First,  I will describe the factors that must be considered when evaluating a new video format for library collections.  There are actually two important questions to be answered during this process:  Will I add the new format?  Will it replace a format or supplement the others?  Second, I will present a  status report on the latest video format, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc), and its emerging companion formats Divx (Digital Video Express; pronounced div-ix) and DVD-ROM.  Along the way, I will elaborate upon the convergence of video and computer technology and what that means for media librarians. 

Part 1:  Evaluating a New Format

 A number of factors go into the decision to begin collecting a new format.  What do I mean  by the word 'collecting?'  To me, a collection is more than a few titles that you just happened to buy or you acquired by gift or some other accident.  One multimedia CD-ROM that happened to arrive with a book does not constitute a 'collection.'  To begin collecting a new format means that you have made a conscious, open-ended decision to buy a body of material and that you have thought about what you will buy, where you will house it, how you will house it, whether it will circulate and for how long.  This is a two-step process:  First, you must consider the format itself.  Then, you must make numerous decisions about the scope of your collecting activities and how the materials themselves will be handled.  I want to talk about the first step in that process.  What factors must be considered during the decision making process?  These factors are the same for all types of libraries but the way you evaluate each one may differ.  I will begin with an academic library.  It closely resembles a school library with regard to this type of decision making.  Then I will explain how the factors might be weighed differently for a public library.

1)  Format Stability and Incompatibility.  The first question I ask myself is:  Is this  new format still evolving?   Are rapid developments creating immediately obsolete hardware and software?  Are two incompatible formats battling for control of the market?  Libraries were reluctant to begin collecting 1/2" videocassettes as long as there were two competing formats, Beta and VHS.  Some librarians bought both for awhile, some made a decision to buy VHS over Beta, and some waited until VHS had eliminated Beta from the competition.  When I began buying  laserdiscs, the format had stabilized.  At one time there had been competing incompatible formats, but that was no longer the case by 1992.  In the case of multimedia CD-ROMs, some libraries are dismayed by the need to consider Mac versus IBM.    Most libraries that decide to purchase only type of  CD-ROM select IBM, since most of the software is IBM-compatible and many discs can be used on either platform.  Many libraries have opted to buy both Mac and IBM, since there is quality software that is Mac only.   However, CD-ROM technology itself is stable and has been for more ten years.  DVD-ROM presents no problems because it will be backward compatible, meaning our old CD-ROMs will play in the the new DVD-ROM disc drives.  Enthusiasm for the latest video format, DVD, has been tempered by a new format battle between DVD and Divx.  More about that later.  These sorts of problems make librarians reluctant to move into a new format until it has stabilized.   We do not want shelves filled with materials that users don't want or can't play back anymore.  More importantly for school and academic libraries, we don't want to be stuck with expensive equipment for which we can buy no or very little software.

2)  Available Materials.  What kind of programs are available on this new format?  Is there appropriate content for my collection?  This factor has implications for discontinuing buying an older format.  When I began to think about collecting laserdiscs, the primary content was--and continues to be--feature films.  These laserdiscs are aimed at the consumer market.  I buy feature films to support the curriculum at IU, so the content was within my collecting scope.  There were also some documentaries available , such as Eyes on the Prize and Visions of Light, but these are home video documentaries.  What about all of the educational media that is not available on laserdisc?  It was clear from the beginning that I would continue to buy on both VHS and laserdisc.  I could not abandon VHS for laserdisc.  This decision has implications for the third factor.  Equipment.

3)  Equipment.  It is a painful fact of life for some librarians, but audiovisual materials require equipment to play them back.  In the IU Libraries we have taken the position that we provide the necessary equipment to play all formats we collect.  So I needed to think about buying some laserdisc players.  I was impressed with the content of laserdiscs and some of their other qualities, which I will mention in a minute, but we didn't have any  laserdisc players in the library and I learned  they were not widely available on campus.  The Main Library media collection is used primarily in two places, the Media Center and classrooms.  So I was concerned about the lack of available equipment.  The third place where users play back our materials is in their homes.  Instructors may borrow videocassettes for one day to preview or show in a class.  I assumed that some instructors would want to take the laserdiscs home to preview, but how many of them had laserdisc players?  If the answer is "Not many," should that stop me from buying them?  I concluded that I needed to provide an adequate number of laserdisc players in the Media Center,  and in the classrooms in the library we use for group video showings.  However, I didn't worry about their availability in classrooms; instructors could always bring their students into the library for a showing.  And I didn't worry about their availability in instructors' homes; they could always preview in the library.  It turned out that some instructors have laserdisc players, but most preview in the library.  Some classrooms are equipped with laserdisc players, but most instructors bring their classes to the library to view them in group; we have video projection equipment, which makes this a particularly attractive option.  However, to minimize the equipment problem, for the first year the only laserdiscs I bought were duplicates of our VHS collection, usually in improved versions.

4)  Physical Characteristics and Capabilities.  I was attracted by the quality and durability of laserdiscs.  Everything I had read suggested that laserdisc picture quality and sound quality are superior to videocassette.  Unlike videotape, laserdiscs do not degrade with use and they do not deteriorate just sitting on the shelf.  My videocassettes are wearing out every day, even if no one plays them.  Laserdiscs do not suffer the same fate.  If  handled properly, they could last forever.   I don't manage an archival collection and "forever" isn't a word that I use very often to describe my collections, but I liked the idea that laserdiscs do not wear out with the same speed and regularity of videotapes.  The film studies faculty also liked the availability of  thousands of films, many letterboxed and with special features, such as freeze frame and additional audio tracks, with commentary by the director or a noted film scholar.  Laserdiscs also offer random access, which is useful in the classroom if the instructor only wants to show particular scenes.

5)  Selection Information and Acquisitions.  This fifth factor was a secondary consideration, but figured into the decision to begin collecting laserdiscs.  Where would I find selection information?  I don't preview, so the availability of reviews is important to me.  Where can I buy the new format?  Do my current vendors supply this format or will I have to locate other sources?  It turned out that most feature films released on videocassette today are also released on laserdisc.  So the selection tools that I use to make decisions about feature films can be used to select laserdiscs.  One good example is Randy Pitman's Video Librarian:  The Review Guide for Libraries; the "Video Movies" review section emphasizes foreign films and independent productions and most are available on VHS and laserdisc.  (For more information about Video Librarian, visit the web site at http://www.videolibrarian.com.)  In my quest for specific laserdisc information, I discovered  Douglas Pratt's monthly publication, The Laser Disc  Newsletter (P.O. Box 420, East Rockaway, New York  11518-0420).  For $35.00 per year, this publication is a bargain.  Pratt reviews approximately 75 laserdiscs per issue and has recently added DVD reviews.

I tried to buy laserdiscs from the same sources that I use for VHS home video, but found them to be unsatisfactory.  I would find titles in The Laser Disc Newsletter, but my sources for videocassettes wouldn't have them in stock.  However, through the Newsletter, I discovered numerous consumer-oriented laserdisc sources, including one with wonderful discounts and an incredible inventory, Ken Crane's Laserdisc Superstore.  They have a web site (http://www.kencranes.com/), so we can search their catalog online, finding prices and availability information.  The web site also has links to movie-related sites, laserdisc sites, and more recently, DVD sites.   An added bonus with laserdiscs is that current releases cost approximately one-third of the videocassette version.  We benefit because laserdiscs are priced for the consumer market rather than the rental market.

I won't go into the next level of decision making, but once you make the decision to add a new format, don't forget all those specific decisions about collection development and selection policy, cataloging, circulation policy, packaging, shelving, and more.  Do not make the mistake with new formats that many of us have made in the past, especially with regard to video.  Plan for the new format before you buy even one title.  Write a collection development and selection policy; don't keep it all in your head.  Be ready with new handouts to inform your users about the new format and its capabilities.  Be ready to tell them what you have  and how to use it.

I consider laserdiscs to be a success story in my library.  I want to spend a couple of minutes talking about a format that I rejected for my collection, interactive laserdiscs.  When I decided to begin collecting laserdiscs, I decided to limit my collection to level 1 laserdiscs, which offer a low level of interactivity controlled by the player and its remote control; random access; freeze frame; and alternate audio tracks.  Around the time I was considering adding laserdiscs to my collection, the Indiana University Undergraduate Library received some special funds to try something experimental; they decided to buy some equipment and experiment with computer-controlled interactive laserdiscs.  They called their new computer, laserdisc player and materials the Interactive Information Center.  The first purchases arrived in 1992.  I watched their experience and decided that I had made the right decision not to add this type of laserdisc to my collection.  There were not many quality materials for a college audience.  The equipment was temperamental and required constant attention.  Using the materials required time and patience on the part of users.  Most had to be trained to use it individually, which placed a burden on the Reference staff, many of whom had no media background.  This format has now been almost completed replaced  by multimedia CD-ROMs.  The Undergraduate Library is no longer buying interactive laserdiscs; they have switched their collecting focus to multimedia CD-ROM reference materials suitable for an undergraduate user.  It was not a mistake for the Undergraduate Library to try interactive laserdiscs.  The library learned from trying to make them accessible to students and their investment was modest.  Their  experience points out the danger of investing heavily in a format that may be superseded within a few years.

How would the consideration of these format evaluation factors differ in a public library?  In a public library you would probably be more concerned about user demand, which is usually based upon the equipment users have at home.  Most public libraries offer only limited in-house playback.  Most public library users want to check out materials to use at home.  Some public libraries have large laserdisc collections, primarily because their users bought laserdisc players and began asking for laserdiscs at the library.  However, most public libraries do not collect laserdiscs, simply because no one has asked for them.

Availability of suitable content is another factor that is judged differently in different types of libraries.  Few school libraries collect laserdiscs, because they do not want feature film collections and that is the content of most laserdiscs.  However, schools and school libraries were the target audience for most interactive laserdiscs; consequently that format was much more popular in school libraries than in public or academic libraries.  Some textbook series were published with accompanying interactive laserdiscs.   The content available on multimedia CD-ROMs  appeals to both school and public libraries.  Many public libraries began collecting multimedia CD-ROM  because millions of computers with CD-ROM drives have been sold for home use in recent years, accompanied by the release of thousands of high-quality multimedia CD-ROMs for adults and children.  Many of these titles are also suitable for school libraries.  However, academic librarians have found few titles suitable for a college or university audience, so they are reluctant to invest in the format.   Most of  the academic libraries that have begun buying multimedia CD-ROMs are buying lightly, compared to other types of libraries. 

Part 2:  DVD and Divx

 Concern about the longevity of a format is appropriate, but I think librarians sometimes use that argument to avoid adopting new formats at all.  I still hear librarians say, "But isn't VHS a dying format?  Isn't laserdisc a dying format?"  Both of these formats will be replaced someday; you can't buy 8-track tapes anymore.  But today neither VHS or laserdisc is a dying format.  How do I know?  I can still buy thousands of titles in either format.  There are thousands of new titles released every year.  Consumers are still buying players, although the purchase of laserdisc players has slowed since the release of DVD.  Just as I knew when to abandon collecting 3/4" videocassettes,  you will know when to abandon these formats.   There will be less and less to buy and your circulation statistics will begin to plummet.  However, these things do not happen overnight.

Librarians must face a difficult fact.  We will be supporting many audio/video formats simultaneously.  For the first time since VHS essentially eliminated 3/4" video ten years ago, I am hearing rumblings about a replacement format for VHS.  And computer technologies are beginning to find a place alongside audio/video materials.  I want to spend some time talking about three new formats--one that is here and two that are on the horizon, DVD, DVD-ROM, and Divx.

DVD.   I first began reading about DVD in 1995.  The digital video technology had been in development since 1993.  However, compatibility problems and the potential for format wars slowed development.  In August 1995 an alliance of patent-holding technology contributors agreed to pool their resources and define standards.  The alliance members wanted to be sure to please two groups, their content providers, movie studios; and the computer platform providers, both Apple and IBM compatible.  From the beginning, DVD was meant to serve both purposes, a compact, high-quality format for the distribution of movies, which would be a replacement for VHS videocassettes; and a format for the distribution of interactive computer programs, which would be a replacement for CD-ROM.

So what is DVD and why is the consumer electronics industry so excited about it?  A DVD is a 5-inch optical disc.  It looks like an audio CD or a compact disc, but it differs in important ways.  It is a high-capacity storage device that contains at least 4.7 GB of data, which is a seven-fold increase over the current CD-ROM standard.  There are two variations that offer even more storage capacity, a 2-layer version with 9.4 GB capacity and double-sided discs with 17 GB capacity.  These highest-capacity discs are designed to replace CD-ROM to store large databases.  DVD video is intended to replace VHS as the primary mean for distributing entertainment to the home.  A DVD disc holds 133 minutes on each side, which means that two two-hour movies could be held on one disc, offering  six discrete channels of audio.  DVD video is encoded with MPEG-2 compressed video and Dolby AC-3 (Dolby Digital) audio.  Picture quality is superior to laserdiscs, with 500 lines of resolution to laserdisc's 400; VHS contains only 250 lines of resolution.  DVD  offers consumers picture and sound quality superior to existing distribution formats, in a compact, durable package.

DVD video reached stores in seven major cities in February 1997.  The Panasonic and Toshiba players were on display, but software did not reach the stores until March 1997.  Lumivision was the first company with DVD software in stores.  The first discs were priced at $24.95 and this continues to be a typical price for a DVD-video disc.

Warner, MGM/UA, New Line, Polygram, and others released DVD titles in the spring of 1997.  Fox, Disney, Universal, and Paramount have taken an official wait-and-see position, reportedly due to copyright concerns.

According to Laser Scans:  The Laserdisc and DVD Newsletter, in April 1997 sales of laserdisc players were down 72% over the previous year.  In that month, 17,903 DVD players were shipped (not sold to consumers), 725,481 VCRs were sold, and 2,179 laserdisc players were sold.  In April 1996, 7,843 laserdisc players were sold.  However, many early adopters are laserdisc collectors.  They were buying DVD/laserdisc combination players, which are counted as DVD players.   What can you expect to pay for a DVD player?  The following analysis comes from an article in a July 1997 column by Harry Sommerfield:

"Player prices, unfortunately, span a wider range. Would you believe $499 (for the RCA RC5200P) to $5495 (for the Faroudja DV1000). If you want a "combi" player that can handle LDs too, Pioneer has two on the market -- one sells for $999 (model DVL-700), the other for $1750 (model DVL-90). The buzz in the business is that the Sony (model DVP-S7000, $1000) produces the best picture for under $3000 -- the Toshibas (model SD-2006, $599 and SD-3006, $699) looked pretty good to me too." (URL: http://www.e-town.com/news/articles/9728hsc.html)

 What was the status of DVD video in October 1997?  According to the November issue of Laser Scans, DVD sales in the United States are weak after seven months on the market.   An October 15 article published in the New York Times stated that only 50,000 players had been sold to consumers.  Another market survey places that figure closer to 70,000.   However, with sales to consumers ranging between 50,000 and 70,000, sales are slower than expected.

Divx.  A troubling development may slow DVD sales further, which could be disastrous for the new format during the upcoming Holiday buying season.  On September 8, 1997, Richard L. Sharp, chairman of Circuit City Stores, the nation's largest retailer of television, stereos, and other consumer electronics, announced a competing digital video format, Digital Video Express, known as Divx (pronounced Div-ix).  I have read conflicting reports about Divx, but this is the general idea.  Discs will be sold at video rental stores and other retail outlets.  The discs sell for $5.00 rather than $25.00, but they can only be played within a 48-hour period.  If you want to watch the disc again after 48 hours, you must pay again.  Reports of how this will be accomplished vary.  According to Joel Brinkley writing in the New York Times, "The Divx player would be connected to a phone line, which would forward play and billing information to a Divx central computer."  For approximately $25.00, consumers can have Divx discs encoded for an unlimited number of plays, just like a DVD.  However, if you don't want to entend the life of the disc, you simply throw it away. The first Divx players may be introduced to two major markets in time for the Holidays, but they are expected to be in general distribution by next summer.

 Here are some troubling elements from a consumer point-of-view:

  1. Divx players cost $100.00 to $200.00 more than today's DVD players;
  2. DVD players will not play Divx discs, but Divx players will play DVD discs;
  3. People may be reluctant to se up an automatic billing device in their living rooms, given the potential for mistaken charges and children replaying discs without their parents' knowledge.
  4. What does the consumer do with all of the discarded Divx discs?  Throw them into the trash?  This seems extremely wasteful and a landfill nightmare.

E/Town:  The Home Electronic Guide web site conducted an E/Town Poll on Divx
(http://www.e-town.com/news/articles/polldivxintro092597mfx.html).  The results, reported on September 25, were overwhelmingly negative.  To the single question, "Do you like the Divx concept?" 96.6% of 786 respondents said "no."  The Executive Summary of their survey results reports fifteen reasons why respondents dislike the whole idea of Divx.   Early indications suggest that Divx is dead in the water, but unquestionably it will damage the viability of DVD.

What is the potential for DVD and Divx for libraries?  Let's examine our five factors in deciding to adopt a new format.

  1. Format Stability and Incompatibility.  DVD was looking relatively stable, at least over the past seven months, until the news about Divx.  Divx is a major problem for consumers, so that makes it a problem for libraries.  Some companies, such as Disney, have reported that they will be releasing only on Divx, not DVD.  However, Divx discs can only be played on one player, making them unsuitable for library collections, even if we paid to have them encoded for unlimited play.
  2. Available Materials.   Approximately 300 feature films and documentaries are currently available on DVD, with approximately 125 additional titles scheduled for release before January 1998.  To see a complete list, visit the "The DVD Software Guide" on the E/Town web site (http://www.e-town.com/dvd_guide/index.html).  The offerings are primarily feature films, with a smattering of documentaries.  There is nothing appropriate for my library that I cannot buy on laserdisc.
  3. Equipment.  Can I afford equipment for a new format that offers no significant advantages over laserdisc?  Not at this time.  I pay about $250 for a VHS player and about $500 for a laserdisc player.  If I were to invest in DVD equipment now, I would buy combination players, which cost about $1,000.  The cost of adding new and expensive equipment is a major consideration.  Public librarians must ask themselves if their user base has bought heavily enough in DVD to support the new format in the library.  Since the early adopters tend to be collectors, this is unlikely.  (For use patterns of early adopters, see the E/Town Poll.)
  4. Physical Characteristics and Capabilities.  DVD is smaller than laserdiscs, which is good news from a storage perspective.  However, for public libraries, the smaller size may also mean that the discs are more prone to theft.  There have been some questions about the quality of freeze-frame for film study.  Douglas Pratt reported in the The Laser Disc Newsletter that for straight-through play, he prefers DVD, but for stopping and starting--close study of a film--he prefers laserdisc.  This has implications for those of us with collections that support film studies.  Random access searching is also reported to be inferior with DVD, another problem for instructors using feature films in the classroom.
  5. Selection Information/Acquisitions.  Selection and acquisition do not seem to pose difficulties even at this early date.  The laserdisc publications, such as The Laser Disc Newsletter and Laser Scans, are reviewing DVD along with laserdiscs.  Their publications will be the place to watch for the demise of laserdisc; when the balance shifts away from laserdisc toward DVD, that will be a good indication that the format is in decline.  However, that is not the case at this time.  There are still new deals for laserdisc releases and many more laserdisc releases than DVD releases every month.  Ken Crane's Laserdisc Superstore is selling DVDs at 20% off suggested retail (http://www.kencranes.com/), so availability presents no difficulties for libraries.

 My library is not buying DVD yet.  Divx may slow it down, but I believe that it will eventually replace laserdiscs and VHS, although it may take DVD-recordable to begin making inroads into the VHS market.

What about other librarians?  Am I being overly cautious?  In September I conducted a short electronic survey of subscribers to Videolib listserv.  Its 450 subscribers include media librarians in all types of libraries, with all types of collections and media budgets.  For the survey instrument, see the appendix, "Laserdisc/Multimedia CD-ROM/DVD Survey."

Nineteen libraries responded to the survey, three public and 16 academic; no school libraries responded.  Of these nineteen libraries, sixteen are currently collecting laserdiscs, eighteen are collecting multimedia CD-ROM, and one is collecting DVD.  The size of laserdisc collections ranges from 3 to 3,400, with one not available; the size of multimedia CD-ROM collections ranges from 14 to 700, with one not available; and the one library that has purchased DVDs does not have a number.   For a more detailed breakdown, see Table 1 and Table 2.
 

TABLE 1:  Size of Laserdisc Collections
(n=15) 
1-99 4 700-999 2
100-499 5 1000+ 2
500-699 2
TABLE 2:  Size of Multimedia CD-ROM Collections
(n=17) 
1-49 7 200-299 2
50-99 3 300+ 2
100-199  3 

Respondents are adding between 1 and 500 laserdiscs to their collections each year, with 4 not available;  and between 5 and 200 multimedia CD-ROMs, with 5 not available.  For a more detailed breakdown, see Table 3 and Table 4.
 

Table 3:  Number of Laserdiscs Added FY 1996/97
(n=12) 
1-49    6
50-99    0
100-149    2
150+    4
Table 4: Number of Multimedia CD-ROMs Added FY 1996/97
(n=13) 
1-49 13
50-99 3
100-149 2
150+  1 

The library that has begun buying DVD as an experimental format has stopped buying laserdiscs.  Two libraries have stopped buying 3/4" videocassettes in the past year, but three reported that they stopped collecting on this format between two and three years ago. None of the respondents has stopped buying or decreased their volume of buying VHS.

With the exception of the one library that has decided to buy DVD as an experimental format,  respondents reported a "wait-and-see" attitude with regard to DVD.  Two reported pressure from administrators to at least try the format.  However, no one reported feeling intense pressure, either because of the material available on DVD or because of user demand for the new format. 

Conclusions

 As in all media decisions, the appropriateness of the technology for a given application should be a guiding principle.  What does VHS do well?  It stores full motion video and sound, designed to be watched in a linear fashion.  What does laserdisc do well?  It offers superior full-motion video and digital audio; it also offers random access and multiple audio tracks.  What does CD-ROM do well?  The situation is a little more complex than for VHS and laserdisc, since CD-ROM is computer software.  Computers process, display, and manage information.  Multimedia CD-ROMs should take advantage of the unique capabilities of computers, or the content should be delivered in another way.  Keep in mind a limitation of a CD-ROM; it must be played on a very expensive computer, usually with no more than a 17" monitor and picture quality inferior to a television set.  VHS tapes and laserdiscs both require a television set or monitor and a relatively inexpensive playback machine, offering superior picture quality and probably sound quality as well.  VHS and laserdisc are here for the time-being.  So is multimedia CD-ROM.  However, if you want high-quality, full-motion video, VHS and laserdisc are still the formats of choice.  Multimedia CD-ROMs have many benefits, particularly for games and educational products, but CD-ROM is not the format of choice for the playback of video without animation, graphics, or text.  It seems inevitable that DVD-ROM will replace CD-ROM, with its superior storage capacity.  However, the systems will be backward compatible, meaning that our existing CD-ROMs can be played in DVD-ROM drives.  DVD-ROM has been released but only in the more expensive, high-end desktop computers.

The video format to watch is DVD, digital video disc or digital versatile disc.  A recordable DVD is promised within two years.  It could provide the ease of use and high-capacity, high-speed storage and playback required for any VHS competitor.  The Divx controversy may have slowed the adoption of DVD for the time being, but strong early consumer support, coupled with the power of the manufacturers behind its development and marketing, seem to assure its eventual success.   I anticipate requesting at least two  DVD/laserdisc combi player in my 1998/99 equipment allocation, which will be submitted in August 1998.  But just as audiophiles have never abandoned vinyl, I have a feeling that laserdisc fanatics will be buying, selling, and trading laserdiscs long after librarians are calling it a dead format.  That's why my first DVD players will also play laserdiscs.
 

APPENDIX

Laserdisc/Multimedia CD-ROM/DVD Survey
(Sent to subscribers of the Videolib listserv on September 10, 1997)

I am gathering information for a presentation on new and emerging video formats at the 1997 National Media Market and I hope you can help.  If your library collects media in any optical format - laserdisc, multimedia CD-ROM, or others - please take a few minutes to respond to the following survey.  Send replies to me via email:  brancoli@indiana.edu.  If you prefer, you can print the survey and fax me your response at 812/855-1649.  I will compile the results and make them available in late October.  Thanks!

Kristine Brancolini
Indiana University Libraries
brancoli@indiana.edu

Laserdisc/Multimedia CD-ROM/DVD Survey

Please respond by September 30, 1997.

Name:

Title:

Name of Library:

Email Address:                                                          Phone number:
 

1.  Type of library?

 Public ____        College/University ____        School _____         Special ____

 2.  What optical formats is your library currently collecting?

 Laserdisc ____         Multimedia CD-ROM ____        DVD _____

 Other (please specify):

3.  How many pieces does your library have of each optical format?  (If you do not have this information, please indicate N/A, for "Not available.")

 Laserdiscs ____        Multimedia CD-ROMs ____        DVDs ____

4.  How many pieces of each format did you add to your collection in the past fiscal year (1996/97)?  (If you do not have this information, please indicate N/A, for "Not available.")

  Laserdiscs ____        Multimedia CD-ROMs ____        DVDs ____

 Other (please specify):

5.  Have you stopped buying any optical format in the past year?

 Yes ____        No ____

  If yes, please specify:

  Laserdisc ____         Multimedia CD-ROM ____        Other (please specify): ____

6.  Have you decreased the volume of buying any optical format in anticipation of DVD?

 Yes ____        No ____

  If yes, please explain:

7.  Have you stopped buying any videotape format during the past year?

 Yes ____        No ____

  If yes, please specify:

 VHS ____        3/4"  ____        Other (Please specify):

COMMENTS:
 
 
 
 



 

 RECOMMENDED INTERNET RESOURCES: 
NEW AND EMERGING VIDEO TECHNOLOGIES

Compiled by Kristine Brancolini and Aaron Reichert
Updated October 28, 1998
(printer-friendly version available)

General

Gary Handman, Head of the Media Resources Center at University of California Berkeley Library, created the following web site for a PBS teleconference, Video, CD-ROM, and the Web:  Motion Media and the Library of the Future, originating from Denver, Colorado, on May 15, 1997.

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/NVR.html
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/NVRbibliography.html
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/NVRnewmediasites.html

Laser Scans: The Laserdisc and DVD Newsletter, a monthly newsletter distributed online, is edited and published by Chris McGowan. Email subscriptions are free. To subscribe email Chris McGowan at LaserScans@aol.com. Laser Scans is available at the following Web sites:

Digital and High Definition Television

DVD

The Yahoo! DVD site is searchable and has links to many other useful DVD web sites.  This is a persistent site and Yahoo! updates the links frequently.
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Companies/Entertainment/Video/DVD/

E/Town:  The Home Electronics Guide.  Their "DVD Central" is an attractive, well-organized, and nearly comprehensive source of both DVD and Divx information.
http://www.e-town.com/

Robert Aas's site in Norway links to many important sites on DVD, but also has links to Divx sites and HST sites.  HST is a Divx competitor; according to its developers, HST offers superior copy protection and it is compatible with DVD players.
http://janus.unik.no/%7Erobert/hifi/dvd/

The DVD Video Group -- http://www.dvdvideogroup.com

C-Cube Microsystems' Digital Video Disc Technology page -- http://www.c-cube.com/technology/dvd.html

Divx

Divx:  Digital Video Express, the official Divx homepage.
http://www.divx.com/

For a complete explanation of the DVD vs. Divx controversy, The DVD Resource Page has created an anti-DVD page.
http://www.dvdresource.com/divx
 

HST Technologies

Divx already has a competitor, one that offers copy protection and the possibility of pay-per-view, using existing DVD players.  Developed by Hide and Seek Technologies, here is the official web site.
http://www.hideseek.com/divx.htm

Laserdiscs

The Yahoo! laserdisc site is searchable and has links to many other useful laserdisc web sites.  This is a persistent site and Yahoo! updates the links frequently.
http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Companies/Entertainment/Video/Laserdisc/
 


 

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Brinkley, Joel.  It's a made for television controversy:  Hollywood vitriol rises over promotion of new videodisk.  The New York Times, October 15, 1997, Late Edition-Final, Section D, page 1, column 2, 1809 words.  Lexis-Nexis.  Accessed 10/21/97.

Brown, Eric. DVD, the hype and the hope. New Media, February 10, 1997. Available full-text.
URL: <http://www.hyperstand.com/NewMedia/97/02/fea/DVD_Hype_Hope.html>

Master, Ian G.  Scheme holds consumer in contempt.  The Toronto Star, Fast Forward, page J4, 940 words.  Lexis-Nexis.  Accessed 10/21/97.

Parker, Dana J. DVD-ROM: Who needs it, who will use it, and how? E-Media Professional,
January, 1997. Available full-text. URL: <http://www.onlineinc.com/emedia/JanEM/parker1.html>

Somerfield, Harry.  Buying a DVD player circa 1997.  E/Town:  The Home Electronic Guide.
URL: <http://www.e-town.com/news/articles/9728hsc.html>

Update -- New and Emerging Video Technologies: A Status Report - Oct. 28, 1998
 

URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~libreser/kris/newformats.html

Questions and Comments: brancoli@indiana.edu

Copyright 1997, Kristine Brancolini