Abstract :
Technology is now moving so fast that no one can keep up with it all. Consumers are left with the sneaking suspicion that something better and cheaper is just around the corner. We already have a house full of electronic trinkets, many bought on impulse and never used. So we are increasingly wary. DVD is the new high density “digital versatile disc” that was conceived as a “digital video disc” and can now store hitherto unimagined quantities of audio and computer data as well as video of better than broadcast quality. The arrival of recordable DVD paves the way to a completely new generation of home video recorder, which will offer functions consumers do not yet know they want. Like the “Time Machine” that can always play back what you just missed. The move from analogue to digital tv and radio creates space in the airwaves for so many new channels that broadcasters will have difficulty filling them. One easy way is to use Near Video or Audio-On Demand, with sound and picture programmes available virtually on tap. True Video On Demand will become a more cost effective proposition as computer servers increase in power and capacity, and reduce in price. But government relaxation of the rules on ADSL broadcasting by phone lines may change the rules of the game
