DVD movie rentals for the first time surpassed that of videocassettes last week, making DVD the most popular home video format in the United States.
"This is truly momentous. As we look at the development of DVD, in its inexorable march to dominance in the home video market, we'll look back and say this was a turning point," said Sean Devlin Bersell, a spokesman for the Video Software Dealers Association, a trade group representing 10,000 retailers.
DVD sales blew past VHS tape two years ago, as consumers who bought new DVD players rushed to fill their home movie libraries with shiny new discs. DVD movie sales are twice those of pre-recorded VHS tapes, according to Video Business, a trade publication. And DVD players -- officially the fastest-growing consumer product ever -- similarly outsell VCRs by a ratio of 2-to-1.
But videotape remained the solid favorite at video stores like Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. That is, until the week ending Sunday, when the retailers' VidTrac rental data showed that DVDs turned the tide, with 28.2 million DVDs rented, compared with 27.3 million VHS cassettes.
The VCR -- once dubbed the scourge of the movie industry by the Motion Picture Association of America -- is hardly history. But its days are numbered.
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