United States, three thousand titles were available,
and 9.3 million DVDs were sold. In 1999, four mil-
lion players were sold, 6,300 titles were available, and
twenty million DVDs were sold. DVDs and DVD play-
ers had an advantage that VHS and VCRs did not:
the Internet. By the late 1990’s, consumers had dis-
covered the ease of purchasing online, finding that
players and DVDs could be found at lower prices
than in stores. By the end of 1999, four titles had sold
over a million copies each:Austin Powers: The Spy Who
Shagged Me(1999),The Matrix(1999),Saving Private
Ryan(1998), andTitanic(1997).
Internet commerce and DVDs have been linked
since the introduction of the format. While video-
cassettes had been rented from stores such as the
Blockbuster chain, DVDs could be rented online
from Netflix starting in April, 1998. When the com-
pany introduced a flat monthly fee for unlimited
rentals of DVDs delivered quickly by mail in Septem-
ber, 1999, online renting of DVDs took off.
Impact Because DVDs were introduced relatively
late in the 1990’s, their full impact did not become
clear until the early twenty-first century. Once the
initial consumer excitement over improved picture,
sound, and storage subsided, more and more titles
were demanded, especially classic and obscure films,
along with increased extras. Many enthusiastic DVD
collectors built libraries of hundreds and thousands
of titles. DVD producers were pleasantly shocked by
the number of people wanting to own complete sea-
sons of their favorite television shows. What began as
an alternative to VHS eventually changed America’s
viewing habits as much as the earlier innovation had.
As a result, VHS itself slowly faded, with the last mass-
market VHS title issued in 2006.Further Reading
Barlow, Aaron.The DVD Revolution: Movies, Culture,
and Technology. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005.
Examines the impact of DVDs on home enter-
tainment and film study.
Bennett, James, and Tom Brown, eds.Film and Televi-
sion After DVD. New York: Routledge, 2008. Schol-
arly essays about DVD audiences, the impact of
the DVD on film history, and creating bonus ma-
terials.
Fitzpatrick, Eileen. “DVD POV: Perspective on a
Deep-Pocketed Market.”Billboard112 (May 27,
2000): 129. Looks at quick growth of DVD in-
dustry.
Taylor, Jim.Ever ything You Ever Wanted to Know About
DVD: The Official DVD FAQ. New York: McGraw-
Hill, 2004. Includes statistics about early develop-
ment of DVDs.
Michael AdamsSee also Amazon.com; Computers; Digital audio;
Dot-coms; Film in the United States; Internet;Ma-
trix, The; Plasma screens;Saving Private Ryan; Televi-
sion;Titanic; World Wide Web.280 DVDs The Nineties in America