They have superior sound and image quality

That distant rumble you hear criminal minds dvd is the sound of yet another approaching cultural shift, accompanied by all the shouts of joy and gnashing of teeth that come with such upheaval.

The DVD isn't dead yet, but it's definitely looking a little peaked, at least in the eyes of the home-video industry. Sales continue to decline volume is down about 40 percent from this time last year for the Top 20 titles, according to Home Media Magazine, the formerly ubiquitous neighborhood rental shops have all but vanished Blockbuster, once dominant, has plunged curb your enthusiasm dvd into bankruptcy, and the major studios have drastically cut back on full-scale releases of library titles.

The days of the digital versatile disc may well be coming to an end, at least in its established form as a factory pressed, attractively packaged object of mass consumption. But there are several desperate housewives dvd new formats competing to replace it.

Blu-ray discs, introduced in 2006, offer 5-10 times as much space for data storage as a standard-definition DVD. They have superior sound and image quality as well as a range of bells and whistles designed to make walt disney classic collection the experience of watching a movie more active for twitchy 21st-century audiences.

For those who find physical objects too much of a burden, there is the new world of direct electronic delivery. Cable systems were there first, with on-demand channels that offer access to recent deadwood dvd films for charges ranging from $3 to $10, though the heat has now passed to the Internet-based on-demand streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu Plus Hulu's new premium pay service, which offer all-you-can-eat buffets for monthly fees in the $8 to $10 range. Other Internet services like Wal-Mart's VUDU, Amazon Instant Video and Apple's iTunes Store offer individual titles for a la carte download at prices from 99 cents to $20.