U.S DVD sales will top $8.1 billion in 2002, an increase of over 50%, according to Adams Media Research. DVD sales this year surpassed video, even though only 30% of households have DVD players (compared to 90% for VCRs). In August 2002 the New York Times dubbed DVD “the most successful home entertainment device in history…a true pop-culture phenomenon.” DVD Demystified has served as DVD’s bible since the format first shipped in 1997. Demystifying not only basic technology issues but detailing production and authoring processes, making sense out of the plethora of battling video, audio, and data formats, and clearly explaining how DVD standards and specs dovetail or clash with related digital media standards, this book has not only become DVD’s standard reference, but also required reading for DVD enthusiasts who wanting to peer behind the scenes and figure out how to get the most from their technology. Since then, Jim Taylor has become DVD’s most visible guru, now President of the DVD Association, author of the internet DVD FAQ, and profiled by E!Online and DVD Report. This third edition will be almost completely rewritten to cover the major technology, format, and standard changes of the past three years, and will once again include a DVD designed to show the extreme limits of performance of this dynamic technology.