DIGITAL DIGEST - http://www.digital-digest.com
DIGITAL DIGEST | LIVE UPDATE Issue 41
31 December, 2003

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TOP NEWS SUMMARY:

1. Introduction

2. 2003 - What's Hot and What's Not

3. 2004 - What's Next?

4. How to cancel/change your subscription email address/settings
- how to maintain the subscription to this newsletter even if
your email address has changed

5. A simple thank-you and some concluding words

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1. Introduction

Well, it's hard to believe 2003 is over - it feels that it was just
yesterday that I was wrapping up 2002. It's been a great year for
Digital Digest, and I guess this is the first extended period in
which I have had time to work on this newsletter (this is the 10th
full issue since July 2003 - there have only been a total of 41 full
issues since 1999). 2004 should to be even better...

As promised in the last issue, this issue will provide a brief
preview of what 2004 will be like in the world of digital video, as
well as going over last year's predictions.

Have a great 2004.

-- DVDGuy

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2. 2003 - What's Hot and What's Not

In issue 31, I previewed what 2003 might be like in terms of what's
hot. Although it might be embarrassing, I think it's worthwhile to go
back and have a look at just how accurate (or ridiculous) my
predictions were...

DVD-ROM Applications: I mentioned that if DVD-ROM applications
(games, especially) didn't make it in 2003, then it might never make
it. Well, DVD-ROM applications are still as rare as hen's teeth,
although logic dictates that it shouldn't be the case. Most people
now have DVD-ROM drives, and most games come on 2 or more CDs. DVD-
ROM applications are also harder to copy (less people can burn ISO of
DVDs, since less people have DVD recorders). So why aren't there more
applications and games on DVD-ROM?

XviD: I think I hit this pretty spot on. There are now quite a few
standalone DVD players that support XviD, and most telling was the
fact that one of the more popular DVD conversion tools at the moment,
AutoGK, came out with XviD encoding capabilities before DivX
encoding. The official 1.0 version of XviD was just released, and all
XviD needs is a little bit of industry recognition, which DivX has an
abundance of (mostly due to the infamous DivX ;-) 3.11 Alpha).

Convergence: This is probably 50/50. While convergence, or Home
Theatre PCs, have gained some acceptance, it's still a long way away
from being a standard piece of equipment. However, the line between a
desktop computer and a piece of home theatre equipment has blurred
considerably, examples such as DVD players with DivX/XviD/MP3
playback and DVI output, LCD monitors that can be used as TVs,
Xbox/PS2 with Internet connectivity and PC functions, PC sound cards
with home theatre functionalities (Dolby/DTS decoding, 7.1 output,
for example), small form factor PCs ... As a whole, convergence is
still not there yet, but all the small pieces are starting to fall
together, and it promises to be exciting times.

DVD Burning: Another hit. DVD burners are now in the affordable $100
to $200 bracket, and almost all new computers (and even notebooks)
are now fitted with DVD burners. As with most things to do with DVDs,
it has not taken very long for DVD burners to gain public acceptance,
even though the whole DVD-/DVD+ issue remains partly unresolved (dual
format burners did help quite a bit in this area).


Related Links:
DivX: http://www.divx-digest.com/software/divxcodec5.html
DVD-ROM games: http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/software/games/
XviD: http://www.divx-digest.com/software/xvidcodec.html
XviD Explained (Newsletter Issue 29):
http://www.digital-digest.com/newsletter/issue29/index.html


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3. 2004 - What's Next?

It's time now to predict what will be the next big things in 2004.

With the introduction of dual layered burners, 1:1 DVD Backups should
be more commonplace in 2004. While the price of dual layered media
and hardware may still keep split/shrinked (or is that
shrank)/stripped DVD backups a more appealing option, making 1:1
copies will surely appeal to those who want to make a perfect backup
to their existing DVDs.

Games on DVD-ROM - if it doesn't happen in 2004, it probably never
will. PS2 and Xbox games come on DVD-ROM discs, so why not PC games?
Weird...

Do I really need to mention convergence again? By the end of 2004, I
expect most standalone DVD players to have DivX/XviD playback (or at
the very least, WMV/MPEG-4 playback). Quite a few should have DVI
connections for connecting to high def equipment, hopefully to
playback high def DivX clips. There are already DVD players that have
this functionality and costing under $200, so it's surely just a
matter of time (and once the Asian manufacturers get in on this,
expect sub $75 DivX/XviD capable DVD players).

But that's just one part of convergence. Home Theatre PCs should be
more common as well, with all the major computer companies offering
well priced HTPCs (or Media Center PCs, as Microsoft likes to call
them), and some hardware designed especially for HTPCs, like DVB-S/T
cards for watching and recording digital television on your PC.
Digital television, I feel, will be a bridge that connects PCs to the
home theatres - it is already possible to record HD television
(something that is very useful for home theatre buffs) onto hard-
drives, something that is not yet possible with any widely available
commercial standalone products.

That brings me to the final prediction for 2004, and that is the
increasing popularity of high definition video. In 2003, one of the
most exciting to have happened to digital video was the inclusion of
the high def version of Terminator 2, on the Terminator 2 Extreme
Edition DVD (although one of the worst things to happen in 2003 was
the fact that the HD movie used Digital Rights Management, and
couldn't be watched outside the United States/Canada, or without an
Internet connection, but that's a discussion for the next issue ...).
There was finally a use for your new expensive P4 CPU (other than for
3D games, of course) - and it played back the HD movie flawlessly.
There is already a DivX standard/profile for high definition content,
and once some high def capable DVD players are released (see above),
this would great as a format to compress HDTV clips to (then burn
onto dual layered media, to playback in your HD capable DVD/DivX
player that is connected to a HD display ... one can dream).


Related Links:
Terminator 2 Extreme Edition:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/T2DVD.aspx


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4. How to cancel/change settings/email address for your subscription
to this newsletter

Changing subscription status for this newsletter is pretty easy.

To un-subscribe:
- Send an email to liveupdate-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com using the
email account that receives this newsletter.

To change the email address that receives this newsletter:
- Un-subscribe using your current one, and sign up using a new email
address


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5. A simple thank-you and some concluding words

Just a note to thank all the thousands of people, including you, who
joined the Digital Digest LiveUpdate list. I've spent quite a bit of
time developing this site, and making it what it is today, and really
do appreciate your continued support.

I hoped you enjoyed another issue of the LiveUpdate newsletter. You
won't have to wait seven more months for the next issue, I promise :)

Thanks!!


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