Toshiba and NEC have emerged victorious from a prolonged campaign to gain approval for their blue-laser-based high-definition optical disc system. Known as HD-DVD, the system was approved for read-only applications by the DVD Forum on December 8.

Only four years after its official introduction, the Digital Versatile Disc has made its way into one of every three American homes, according to a study released in early October by the <A HREF="http://www.ce.org">Consumer Electronics Association</A> (CEA). The market's remarkably rapid acceptance of the technology has cemented DVD's position as the "fastest selling consumer electronics product of all time." The amazing number of players in consumers' hands is attributable to DVD's vastly better picture and sound, compared to videotape, and to extremely attractive prices. Basic players can now be found almost everywhere for well under $200.

The DVD format is rolling into its fifth year, and history's most successful consumer electronics product continues to gain momentum. Sales of both hardware and software continue to rise, despite downturns elsewhere in the economy.

According to recent figures released by the <A HREF="http://www.cema.org">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA) last week, DVD-Video experienced continued growth during the first quarter of 1999. More than 360,000 players were shipped to retailers through March 26, with the <A HREF="http://www.dvdvideogroup.com">DVD Video Group</A> projecting that an additional 30,000 units would be shipped during the last week of March, bringing the quarter's total shipment to 390,000.