DIGITAL VIDEODISC HEADED FOR CONSUMER MARKET.

Byline: David E. Kalish Associated Press

It took years of technological development and legal wrangling, but DVDs - the heir apparent to today's prerecorded videotape - finally are ready for prime time.

The sleek discs, which look like CDs but hold enough data to play a full-length movie, were prevented from reaching store shelves last year because of protracted copyright tussles.

But with announcements this week by major electronics manufacturers, the end may be nearing for the book-sized videotape - much as the record album was killed by the CD in the 1980s.

DVDs, or digital videodiscs, are also expected to eventually replace CDs and CD-ROMs.

Philips Electronics NV and Sony Electronics Corp. said this week at the Consumer Electronics Show here they will start selling DVD players this spring at prices ranging from $600 to $900. Prices are expected to drop as popularity grows and economies of scale enable manufacturers to cut costs.

``The DVD is as big a deal to video as the compact disc was to audio,'' Carl Yankowski, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics, said in an interview. ``This is clearly going to open up a whole new arena.''

Starting this spring, Americans will see DVDs for rent alongside traditional videotapes in Blockbuster and other entertainment stores.

In-store kiosks will whet appetites for DVD players by demonstrating how much crisper and more vibrant DVD pictures appear than videotape's and how much easier it is to scan for images. Flipping around is as easy as with a CD.

Consumer acceptance is expected to be gradual, as Americans debate whether to splurge on a VCR replacement to upgrade their viewing habits. The industry expects to sell 1 million DVD players worldwide this year - half in the United States - growing rapidly to 10 million worldwide by the year 2000. Sony, for example, is initially targeting only avid audio-visual consumers with its high-end $900 model, which includes features such as smoother rewind and fast-forward.

Owners of new DVD players are expected to keep their old VCRs, as they continue to play videos they own.

As Yankowski said, ``I'm sure that you did not throw out your turntable when the CD player first came around.''

More than 100 titles initially will be available on DVD, including ``Beavis and Butt-head,'' ``Jumanji'' starring Robin Williams, and Clint Eastwood's ``In the Line of Fire.'' Music videos and educational programming also will be offered.

One factor that will keep videos alive for the near future is the inability of consumers to record programming with DVDs, unlike videos.

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Photo: (color) ``The DVD is as big a deal to video as the compact disc was to audio.''

Carl Yankowski

president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics

Associated Press