Private U.S.A. spokesman Wayne Hentai told XBiz, “DVD sales have been stronger than VHS sales for a while. There haven’t been much VHS sales, so it does not make much sense to continue selling videos.”
Hentai went on to say, “DVD is a better format for adult. Viewers can skip over. The extras are a value-added product. In terms of image quality, DVDs have a significantly superior line resolution.” Hentai added that videos experience more image degradation when they are reused than DVDs do.
Another advantage is that in terms of storage, the more compact DVDs save space for both the distributor and consumer. The smaller, lighter DVDs are also presumably cheaper to send by mail or courier.
Private U.S.A. is reportedly the first important producer of adult movies to announce a DVD-only policy. Just as audiocassettes beat out eight-track tapes, and VHS prevailed over Betamax, the DVD format may now be triumphing over videos in the adult realm.
Hentai said that he believed that this would become an adult industry-wide trend. “Because the decrease in VHS sales is not unique to Private U.S.A., it is true of all production companies across the board in adult,” Hentai said.
However, the company spokesman stressed that the exclusive switchover to DVD only was not necessarily also the policy of Private U.S.A.’s parent company. Publicly traded, Private Media Group, Inc. is based in Spain.
“I can’t speak for Barcelona. I think they will still distribute VHS,” Hentai said.
Hentai added that in November, when Private U.S.A. starts releasing its new titles solely as DVDs, Private U.S.A. will continue to sell its VHS stock on hand until it is depleted.
