A year later, PC-DVD for the rest of us

Volume 15, Number 6 • June 1998

A year later, PC-DVD for the rest of us — Price and convenience make DVD-equipped PCs an attractive option
by Péter Jacsó

CD-ROM COMMENTARIES column examines the evolutionary march of DVD-ROM drives in the consumer market. Says first-generation drives were withdrawn from the market quickly, as they were incompatible with CD-ROM. Adds that second-generation models solved the compatibility problem, but required an assembly process likely to thwart all but the most highly skilled in such matters. Notes it was not until this spring that an avalanche of PCs with integrated DVD-ROM drives came to market. Reports that Compaq, Dell, Gateway, and Micron each have several Pentium II offerings in the $2,000 range with minor differences in configuration, adding that any of these represents excellent value for the money. Concludes, "The price and convenience finally will make 1998 the year of the DVD-ROM."