Q: What are the advantages?

A: Better picture. And we're very sincere about that. The encoding used to place the movie on the disc means you get more clarity, more precise color and, certainly, a better picture than on video (and likely better than on laserdisc).

You'll also have more control. Freeze-frame and frame-by-frame stepping are crystal clear. There's no rewinding. Chapter searches allow you to quickly move through any part of the film.

Many DVDs have wide-screen or full-frame options. And wide screen is one of the best advantages.

Q: Why wide screen?

A: It allows you to watch the movie as the director intended it to be seen -- just like in a movie theater. You get the full width of the frame. That means that, on a traditional television set, there will be black bands across the top and bottom. A standard TV screen is relatively square, while a movie screen is a longer rectangle. If the far ends of that longer rectangle are shown, the picture no longer fills the top and bottom of the TV screen -- thus the black bands. This is also why more and more new TV sets are increasing in screen width.

To understand what you've been missing, think of the chariot race in "Ben-Hur," which for years was broadcast on television in "full-frame" format. The term "full-frame" is actually a misnomer. In order to "fill" the TV screen, the broadcaster would cut off the edges of the movie or "pan and scan" it, which means the picture moves back and forth from left and right of what would otherwise be on the screen. In other words, the picture would move from Charlton Heston on this chariot to Stephen Boyd on that chariot. But as wide screen reveals, Heston, Boyd and their chariots are usually onscreen at the same time, and the action is more thrilling to watch.

In recent years, broadcasters have been showing the "Ben-Hur" chariot race in wide screen. But only the chariot race. The rest of the movie is forced to fill your TV screen using the frustrating "full-frame" or pan-and-scan formats, cutting off some of the characters and action. DVD wide screen lets you watch all of "Ben-Hur" as it was meant to be seen.

Q: I hear the term "extras" all the time. What's that?

A: Extras are often another advantage of DVDs. They include commentary tracks (merely by pressing a couple of buttons on your remote control, you can listen to the director and/or stars talk about making the movie while you watch it); multi-language tracks (you can often listen to a movie in English and have French or Spanish subtitles or vice versa); "making of" documentaries; games (especially on children's movies); deleted scenes; special-effects demonstrations and more. There are even DVDs that include commentary tracks about the film's score.

The extras in the new "Memento" special edition stand out. Taking their cue from the film's head-case twistedness, the bonus features are accessed by answering questions on a psychological test. The extras include being able to listen to the movie while reading director Christopher Nolan's copy of the script -- with his written notes.

A word of caution: As extras become more prolific and ever more intricate, they might also become more of a premium. Hollywood studios are increasingly talking about what might happen with extras as overall production costs and star salaries rise. This might mean that, eventually, DVDs with a lot of extras would cost more, or that studios would be less inclined to include extras.

Q: What are the disadvantages of DVD?

A: Watching DVD movies will make you want to buy a TV set with a much bigger screen. And to get a surround-sound or digital speaker system. (While you're at it, why not get one center, two front and two back speakers -- and a subwoofer?) And with DVD movie prices dropping to videotape levels, you'll be buying lots more films. (Secret advantage: DVD cases are much slimmer than tapes, so they take up less storage space.)

Q: How much does it cost to rent and buy DVDs?

A: As with everything else on the planet, prices vary. But, generally, DVD movie prices have fallen in the past year almost to the same level as videotapes, and in some cases even less. A DVD of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," for example, costs $15.99 at Amazon.com, where the video version sells for $16.95.

For rentals, some major stores offer all DVDs and new-release videos at the same rental price. At Hollywood Video, it's usually $4.06. But older VHS tapes often cost much less to rent -- roughly $2.

Q: Over time, my VHS tapes don't seem to look as good as they used to. How long will a DVD last?

A: Chances are very good that it will last longer than you. Estimates are that a disc should remain in good shape for anywhere from 50 to 300 years.

Q: Are there enough DVDs out there to make buying a player worth my while?

A: Absolutely. In 1997, when DVDs debuted in America for sale, there were four titles available, all of them adaptations of Imax movies. By the end of 2001, there were 14,000 DVD titles available.

Q: Who has the best DVDs?

A: Memorize this word: Criterion. You can get mainstream movies on DVD just about anywhere. But for careful handling of classics, foreign films, art films and even the Beastie Boys' music videos on DVD, go to the Criterion Collection ( www.criterionco.com). You'll find everything from Preston Sturges' 1941 Barbara Stanwyck-Henry Fonda comedy "The Lady Eve" to Akira Kurosawa's 1961 "Yojimbo."

Q: Which movies get released on DVD?

A: These days, pretty much all new movies and certainly all new mainstream Hollywood ones. Even John Travolta's spaceship-wreck "Battlefield Earth" is getting new life on DVD; it debuts Aug. 2.

It's the older films that have been dribbled out. They are selected for DVD release based on demand, extras that can be included and the whims of whoever owns the rights.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have been holdouts, waiting to release some of their biggest movies on DVD until the format's acceptance has reached the appropriate point. That Spielberg's "E.T." is coming out this fall on DVD signals that the new technology is considered unstoppable. Lucas has said that he'll release "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" on DVD this year. On the other hand, he's still withholding the first "Star Wars" trilogy.

Q: What kind of TV set do I need to watch DVDs?

A: The short answer is, one that turns on. DVD players are like VCR machines. Follow the instruction booklet with your new DVD player to hook it up to any TV you own. (Well, maybe not the one your great-grandmother left you.)

Q: I don't want to buy DVD movies, so where can I rent them?

A: Have you been to a video store lately? Blockbuster, for example, reshuffled its shelves last fall, removing 25 percent of its videotape inventory (older movies that weren't being rented anyway) and bringing in more DVDs and video games. For the rest of this year, spokesman Lugash says, Blockbuster will tweak inventories at individual stores to reflect demand. That means that if more and more people rent DVDs at the outlet you frequent, that store's DVD offerings will increase.

There is also a growing number of online DVD rental companies. Costs vary, but there's usually a standard monthly fee for a certain number of items. You select the movie you want using the Internet, and in a few days it arrives at your house via mail. When you're done with it, you place the disc into its pre-stamped package and mail it back.

Among the major online rental firms are QwikFliks, DVD Avenue, DVD Barn and Netflix. An overview of each, with site links, can be found at www.dvd-clubs-and-dvd-rentals-online.com.

Q: What about recordable DVDs: DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD+R?

A: You're a techie, aren't you? Get on the Internet and head straight for www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html. It's an exhaustive, frequently updated list of answers to just about every DVD question anybody could have. It discusses hookups, packaging, sound system channels, formats, encoding and more. Much, much more.

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