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Selections of DVD videos and DIVX |
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DVD Videos are basically major digital improvements of all your favorite VHS movies. There are currently over 3,100 DVD titles available. Chico's Circuit City claimed to have roughly 675 titles at press time. The local Wal-Mart had only 65, but rotates its selection on a regular basis. Chico lacks the superstores of larger cities, so if you want to purchase from a larger selection, you'll have to either go online, mail order or make a jaunt to Sacramento or San Francisco. However, you can now rent these digital movies at Blockbuster in Chico. DVD Videos also have a subcategory called DIVX. DIVX revolutionizes the concept of renting by allowing you to purchase the movie of your choice for about five smackers. After your first viewing, you can watch the movie as much as you like for the next 48 hours. After that, you have to pay for each additional viewing by ordering another viewing over the phone line, through your DVD player. And if you're really jazzed with the flick and want to watch it over and over, you can pay a flat fee. DIVX movies are encrypted so you cannot copy them. This format is somewhat controversial. There is an argument among those in the retail industry over whether or not they are a comparable value to standard DVD Videos. Over the holiday season, one in three of all DVD players purchased in the United States had the capability to play DIVX, said Cody Hasty, a sales associate at the Chico Circuit City. So DIVX is probably here to stay. Currently, about 400 DIVX titles are available at Circuit City in Chico. DIVX videos are also available at The Good Guys in Sacramento and are widely accessible online. DVD-ROMs are still relatively few and far between. This format is creeping into the computer industry in the form of large games and huge databases (such as national phone listings). However, DVD-ROM players are infiltrating the computer market. When combined with an MPEG-compression (Motion Pictures Expert Group) card, DVD-ROM players play DVD Videos on your computer. Before buying a DVD-ROM player, do your homework. Some players come with the MPEG-compression card and some don't. Also, some computer video cards are now coming already equipped with MPEG-compression.  |
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