Want the whole of ``Monty Python's Flying Circus'' at your fingertips? Feel like shutting yourself in for a private marathon of ``The X-Files ''? Care to relive an entire season of America's favorite wiseguy family, ``The Sopranos ''?
The DVD format allows studios and distributors to put whole seasons of TV series in consumers' hands in compact boxed sets loaded with behind-the-scenes material and other extras for serious fans.
With the number of DVD players in U.S. homes approaching 25 million, collectible boxed sets have grown in popularity, and distributors have put out a rush of new sets in time for holiday-shopping season.
Packing as many as a couple of dozen episodes into a boxed set was impractical with the VHS format, which might require a foot of shelf space for a single season of some series. Both retailers and fans would have a hard time finding room.
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