The switch from VHS to DVD has begun. Boasting exclusive features such as never before seen footage and improved picture and sound quality, DVD is gaining ground on VHS. ISU students and video retailers are starting to take notice and make the transition. However, VHS’ life is all but over. “You’re always going to have VHS, and you’re going to have DVD,” said Rodney Hibbs, owner of That’s Entertainment Video, 129 Lincoln Way. “There’s too much of a market out there, there’s too many players out there and there’s too much of a demand for VHS.”Hibbs’ store began offering DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs) when they debuted in 1997. However, his store is downsizing its library of 1,200 DVDs.”We found out that it’s a new release market and we don’t have the room or the capacity for a lot of the catalog titles,” he said. “We don’t need one copy anymore, we need five copies or more [of new releases].”Hibbs first saw the market begin to take off in 1998. “Of our new release business, it’s about 20 to 25 percent. So it’s coming,” Hibbs said.Other stores are just beginning to see the DVD business pick up. Jill Kirstein, manager of Video Update, 3615 Lincoln Way, says people have been looking for DVDs since Christmas.”I think it was the gift that people got this year,” she said.People are looking for movies with great sound and special effects like “The Rock,” Kirstein said. “They want things that blow up and the adventure scenes,” she said.Several people have also been scouting whether or not to buy a DVD player, Kirstein said.”We had a couple different people in the past couple of weeks just to look, just to see because they were interested in buying one but didn’t want to buy one if there’s nothing on the market to rent,” she said.Kirstein’s boyfriend received a DVD player for Christmas. Now, that’s all she tries to take home from work.”There’s some fun added extras that you can do at the beginnings and ends,” she said. “A lot of that though, we don’t use. We look at it to see what it is and then flip right by it.”Steve Medanic, senior in physics, bought his first DVD player, a floor model from Montgomery Ward, in 1997. Medanic bought it to obtain movies released on DVD before appearing on VHS and has built a collection of 20 DVDs. “It’s definitely a step up,” he said. “It’s the same difference between tapes and CDs. It’s just much better quality, much better portability and more convenience.”The extra features added exclusively to the discs such as the ability to play DVDs on most new computers and the wide screen capabilities are major improvements over its VHS counterpart, Medanic said.”I will generally pay the extra seven or eight bucks and go for the DVD over the VHS tape just because the picture quality is that much better and it’s a lot more convenient,” he said.Dan Blumhagen, senior in transportation and logistics, has abandoned his VCR in favor of a DVD player. Blumhagen has amassed a collection of 50 DVDs and prefers buying the discs as opposed to renting them.”It’s great because you don’t have to rewind or fast forward like on normal videotapes,” he said. “You can jump to any scene whenever you want.”Living in the dorms, Blumhagen has noticed others haven’t been as quick to desert their VCRs.”They use it because they need to record shows,” he said.Mike Welch, manager of Hollywood Video, 637 Lincoln Way, has begun to replace his VHS collection with DVDs. Welch has already accumulated 20 DVDs in the six months since purchasing a player.”I’m re-buying the stuff on DVD because it’s a lot better, the quality and quantity,” he said. The quality of the extra features on movies like “Terminator 2: Ultimate Edition” make it worth the cost, Welch said. The crystal clear picture and sound are also major selling points, he added.”I wish I had a system that would support it, but for those people that do, the sound quality on it is just fantastic,” he said. “The commercials say you can hear a pin drop, well you can.”Welch saw DVDs gain popularity in 1999 with more and more people getting them as Christmas presents. He believes DVD will eventually replace the VHS format, but not in the near future.”I don’t see it lasting,” he said. “It’s going to go away in about five or 10 years.”