Editing DVD player (section)

== History ==
The first DVD player is claimed to have been created by the Japanese electronics vendor [[Toshiba]] in November 1996,<ref>{{cite web |title=Toshiba Science Museum : World's First DVD Player |url=https://toshiba-mirai-kagakukan.jp/en/learn/history/ichigoki/1996dvd/index.htm |website=toshiba-mirai-kagakukan.jp |access-date=March 26, 2022 |quote=In November 1996, Toshiba introduced the world's first DVD player, the SD-3000, as a result of developments initiated in 1994. }}</ref> and the first to be released to US customers is claimed to have been by Sony in April 1997.<ref>{{cite web |title=Flashback 1997: The First DVD Players Arrive |url=https://www.soundandvision.com/content/flashback-1997-first-dvd-players-arrive |website=Sound & Vision |access-date=March 26, 2022 |language=en |date=March 30, 2017 |quote=Sony released its first commercial DVD player in the U.S., the model DVP-S7000 }}</ref>

Some manufacturers originally announced that DVD players would be available as early as the middle of 1996. These predictions were too optimistic. Delivery was initially held up for "political" reasons of copy protection demanded by movie studios, but was later delayed by lack of movie titles. The first players appeared in Japan on November 1, 1996, followed by the United States on March 31, 1997, with distribution limited to only seven major cities for the first six months.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kmworld.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/DVDs-first-year-8984.aspx|title=DVD's first year|date=May 25, 1998 }}</ref>

Fujitsu released the first DVD-ROM-equipped computer on November 6 in Great Britain. Toshiba released a DVD-ROM-equipped computer and a DVD-ROM drive in Japan in early 1997 (moved back from December which was moved back from November). DVD-ROM drives from Toshiba, Pioneer, Panasonic, Hitachi, and Sony began appearing in sample quantities as early as January 1997, but none were available before May. The first PC upgrade kits (a combination of DVD-ROM drive and hardware decoder card) became available from Creative Labs, Hi-Val, and Diamond Multimedia in April and May 1997. In 2014, every major PC manufacturer had models that include DVD-ROM drives.

The first DVD-Audio players were released in Japan by Pioneer in late 1999, but they did not play copy-protected discs. Matsushita (under the Panasonic and Technics labels) first released full-fledged players in July 2000 for $700 to $1,200. Sony released the first SACD players in May 1999 for $5,000. Pioneer's first DVD-Audio players released in late 1999 also played SACD.