In the World According to DVD - that's digital versatile disc, for those out of step with the Next Big Thing in consumer electronics - the globe is neatly divided into six zones, and a format that works in one won't work in another. Not exactly a business plan for a global economy.
But apparently this is the best solution media and hardware companies could come up with to combat illegal copying. Having learned the hard way through rampant unauthorized reproduction of videotapes and computer software, leading electronics outfits figure that with the differentiation, counterfeiters will have less incentive to crank out their wares. China, where piracy is almost a national sport, is a DVD zone unto itself.
Meanwhile, a consortium of 10 DVD companies has agreed on a DVD-R design to allow recording. Let's hope this format - which is for your PC, not your TV - will play in any country.
ELECTRIC WORD
Spectrum Wants to Be (Almost) Free
DVD's World (And Welcome to It)
