You might say changes are afoot in the digital realm. All because they got high. High-definition, that is. A consortium of Hollywood studios--DreamWorks, Universal, 20th Century Fox and Artisan Entertainment (news - external web site)--announced this week plans to release several of their most popular action-packed movies in D-VHS--a special high-end digital videocassette that will play exclusively on JVC players designed for high-definition television sets.

There's been a lot of hype surrounding the move to high-definition digital video, but so far electronics manufacturers have failed to deliver. But now that JVC--the Japanese Electronics firm owned by Matsushita--has finally worked out an acceptable encryption system to prevent the pirating of movies, several studios are finally ready to embrace the HD format. The consortium plans to release movies that will play on a special JVC format called D-Theater that is only intended for high-definition television sets. It will be a dual-use machine, playing both high-definition (D-VHS) movies but also standard VHS tapes (the latter will not play in high-definition, however). "We view the format as an opportuinity for those 2 million high-definition-capable households to view movies at home at the highest level possible...this a moviephile's dream," says Steve Feldstein, 20th Century Fox's senior vice president of corporate communications and marketing.