In the era of DVD, videotape gets no respect—some might say deservedly so. But according to the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) VidTrac program, considered by some to be the most accurate video rental point-of-sale tracking technology, the 2001 year-end rental revenue market share for VHS was 83.4% while DVD accounted for 16.6%. This variance means that VHS rental spending outpaced that for DVDs by $5.6 billion.

In poll after poll, Guide to Home Theater readers suggest that some form of high definition DVD will be one of the key developments needed to give HDTV a real kick in the pants. It may be a while before the copyright issues are resolved sufficiently to make it happen, but the technology appears to be on its way.

Although broadcasters still have until 2006 to implement DTV, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is reporting that manufacturer-to-dealer sales of digital television (DTV) products continued to beat past year performance. For the latest figures, DTV products are defined to include integrated sets and monitors displaying active vertical scanning lines of at least 480p and, in the case of integrated sets, receiving and decoding ATSC terrestrial digital transmissions.

It looked good on paper and at the demo: Digital Television and HDTV would revive the video market and create a wave of demand for new sets and playback equipment. Then there were the 8VSB versus COFDM and copy protection flaps, leading to shifting connection standards and uncertainty both on the manufacturing end and in the marketplace.