format i never know of. on vhs.

mobile04

i was looking through the net for a copy of the day after tomorrow
and found this

http://www.dvdempire.com/Exec/v4_item.asp?olduserid=00000661767413&item_id=625830&userid=00000661767413&redir=1


DVHS/D-Theater Published Articles - 03/27/2002


D-VHS® D-Theater™
Hollywood Studios Support New HD Platform

By Gary Reber




D-VHS® “D-Theater™” Prerecorded High-Definition Videocassettes

The HDTV enthusiasts have been asking for it, and now it’s here—the first prerecorded high-definition movies based on the latest-generation D-VHS® format. On Thursday, January 30, 2002, at the JVC Showcase Center in Beverly Hills, California, VHS developer JVC (Victor Company of Japan, Ltd.) formally announced that the home entertainment divisions of four major Hollywood studios—Artisan Entertainment, DreamWorks Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and Universal Studios Home Video—have joined with JVC to support the new D-VHS “D-Theater™” software platform for high-definition copyrighted prerecorded content. The support of these major content providers marks the next phase in the acceptance of high-definition (HD) as the new standard for home entertainment and television viewing.

The new generation digital VHS platform incorporates a new proprietary encryption system that is regarded by the supporting studios as the highest level of protection available, to prevent the unauthorized duplication of copyrighted prerecorded HD content. The system reinforces the existing D-VHS security system, providing significantly stronger levels of protection against illegal copying of movies and other high-value content. Prerecorded D-Theater videocassettes can only be created on duplication equipment licensed and approved by JVC. The system was added as a licensing option to the D-VHS standard for products in the North American market.

In the original release statement, Patricia Wyatt, President, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment said, “The D-VHS format offers superior picture quality to any other format in existence today and the solid copyright protection technology built into the D-Theater system makes the format extremely attractive to us as content providers. Nothing else can reproduce the visual impact of film and we anticipate that true film enthusiasts will adopt D-Theater now that HD prerecorded content will be available.”

“As the only hi-def format in existence, the D-Theater option allows us to offer movie fans an unprecedented home theatre experience,” said Kelley Avery of DreamWorks Home Entertainment. “This format offers the most pristine viewing quality to the increasing number of households with hi-def systems.”

“It has always been our goal to provide consumers with the option to obtain the best picture quality in which to view our product, and the D-VHS D-Theater platform offers just that,” said Steve Beeks, President, Artisan Entertainment. “This idea, combined with the ability to record high-definition television and the option to view standard cassettes from a consumer’s existing [VHS] home library, makes this product very attractive.”

Then, too, tape offers an advantage in the amount of data it can store. Even next-generation optical discs can only store 20 to 30 gigabyte (GB) of data on a single side, which is only about half that of D-VHS. And, while some think that tape is obsolete as a medium, it is important to note that virtually all hi-def professional recordings are currently being made using a tape medium.

This expected, but long-awaited announcement is certain to cause a reaction within the consumer electronics industry and the Hollywood studio community, who have invested heavily in DVD. Some DVD supporters are certain to view this new development as somewhat of a nightmare scenario. And the argument is sound that this is no doubt a last-ditch attempt to extend the VHS format as an intellectual property revenue source into the 21st century. Those anti-tape proponents who believe tape is at an end worry that D-VHS will confuse consumers, cause a slowdown in sales of DVD, and is ill-timed. While the introduction of the D-VHS format follows the relatively recent launch of DVD, the launching studios view the two formats as offering unique benefits to the consumer. DVD is fast becoming the preferred mass-market standard-definition format, while D-VHS is the first high-definition record/prerecorded format that addresses a niche market. But this fledgling HD market is projected to significantly grow in coming years with the shift from standard-definition to high-definition content.

“D-VHS is in a unique class different from DVD. This meets the videophile’s highest quality expectations for an in-home experience,” said Craig Kornblau, President, Universal Studios Home Video. “JVC’s D-VHS D-Theater video recorder will allow consumers to play hi-def content which clearly differentiates it from a DVD player. It is the only hi-def option.”
Speaking on the copy protection issue, Kornblau said, “We would only put out HD product if we were absolutely guaranteed that it would be fully copy-protected. Frankly, that’s why it has taken so long.”

The bets are on as to what the other Hollywood studios will do—join or resist. If new digital VCRs such as D-VHS never became available, some entertainment industry lawyers would lose little sleep. At present, several competing Hollywood studios do not plan to release any HD D-VHS D-Theater titles, setting what they see as the stage for a new battle over competing prerecorded video formats. (This is not a new scenario—read WSR Issues 15 to 30 which covered the DVD format wars.) But D-VHS is not the enemy of DVD. There is no reason why both D-VHS and DVD formats can’t survive. It would make no sense for the Hollywood studios to cannibalize the successful DVD format. D-VHS provides a unique opportunity to provide an incremental revenue stream to the studios—high-definition prerecorded movies.

Consumer Electronics Companies Adopt D-VHS

In the following article, I will attempt to provide an in-depth overview of the long history associated with the development of the D-VHS standard, and discuss the technical aspects of the platform.
I first wrote about the new digital Data-VHS (D-VHS) format, developed by JVC, back in Issue 14, May/June 1995.1 The format is capable of recording compressed HD digital signals and other forms of bit stream data. At that early stage of development, the first D-VHS VCR prototype was integrated with a RCA-brand DSS receiver. The DSS DirecTV® interface was co-developed with Thomson Multimedia and Hitachi, and as well, Philips was working on an EchoStar DISH Network™ digital broadcast set-top box (STB). In that report, specifications for the D-VHS format were scheduled to be finalized at the end of the year. The first D-VHS VCR was to be introduced in the U.S. in mid-1996.

JVC first announced the imminent launch of its new high-definition prerecorded format, D-Theater, at the 2001 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). In Japan, which does not have the D-Theater system, the D-VHS system has been adopted by Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, and JVC, and in Europe by JVC, Philips, and Thomson Multimedia. JVC senior executives at the press conference said that they were in discussions with all of the above D-VHS licensees and that at least one or two are expected to adopt the D-Theater platform option, which would appear on new units slated for the U.S. market. No plans exist to introduce the platform outside of North America at this time.

The platform assures interchangeability of non-D-Theater-marked content between D-VHS machines. But right now the JVC HM-DH30000U is the only D-Theater product in the marketplace in the U.S. D-Theater software, identified by a prominent “D-Theater” logo on the packaging, will be playable only on D-VHS video recorders that incorporate this secure platform and bear the same “D-Theater” logo.

High-Profile, Effects-Laden Catalog Titles

At the press conference, the supporting studios alluded to a number of high-value titles in the initial rollout. Among the titles name-dropped were: Fox’s X-Men, Fight Club, Die Hard, Independence Day, Bedazzled, Courage Under Fire, The Siege, Titan A.E., Entrapment, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, and The Sound Of Music; Artisan’s Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator; DreamWorks’ Galaxy Quest; and Universal’s U-571 (see review). The first two D-Theater promotional titles (not for sale) are Beyond Records’ Mötley Crüe—Lewd Crüed & Tattooed (see review) and House Of YES—Live From House Of Blues. The studio representatives I talked to said that as the market penetration for D-VHS D-Theater develops, more and more titles will be released. I got the impression that upward of 100 titles would be released in 2002. I had hoped for even more releases, but because there will be so few D-VHS D-Theater players available the first year, the launch will be initially limited. The on-going slate of releases would be comprised of both feature film and music titles. The studio representatives said they would officially announce their title slate by summer, with the first release dates scheduled most likely for June 2002. All the initial releases will be mastered in 1080i (directly off the 1080p film vault masters) with 5.1 Dolby® Digital soundtracks, though 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of Marketing, Peter Staddon, said Fox would release 11 catalog titles in their first wave with some initial titles carrying the DTS® Digital Surround™ soundtrack option. The studios noted that they have not defined their strategy in terms of day-and-date releases and other supplemental content.
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full article here

http://www.dvhsmovieguide.com/articles/dvhsyht1.html

byte

Sounded like another effort by JVC to keep their ailing VHS format alive. Similar to Sony continually rehashing MiniDisc. JVC had introduced Super VHS too for a while, but poor takeup from what I gather.