Average consumers didn't and still don't understand region coding as it is. It's a failure. You're right though, d-vhs is dead in the water, but you just wait - holographic and/or flu recent data storage will overtake reflective data storage, and as HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are both reflective there's no way they're going to last for very long on the market. I don't like either format, I'm not excited about either format - they do not break any new ground, they're capacity is pitiful really, it's not a huge leap from DVD, it's just a baby-step and it won't last long mark my words.
By the way, the people I know who own professional-grade home movie projectors buy WAY more DVD's then the average consumer. So I bet that their market size is very considerable, and getting them onside will ultimately determine the final success of any format.