A format for storing audio and visual data. Comparable in size to a CD (compact disc), the DVD has significantly more storage capacity (enough space to store a 133 minute movie) and can hold both A/V information and data (like subtitles, and multi-language title abilities.) The A/V information found on DVD is MPEG2, and the digital output of a DVD player to an A/V receiver is AC3 (Dolby Digital).
The next generation of digital discs. A DVD uses similar methods to and looks like an ordinary CD. Hence DVD can be used for the same tasks as a CD e.g. DVD-Rom, DVD-Audio and DVD-Video. DVDs have a much greater capacity than CDs (a CD has a capacity of 640Mb, a DVD has a maximum theoretical capacity of 18 Gb = 18000 Mb). This greater capacity means entire movies can be put onto a single disc using MPEG-II compression. DVD uses several technical tricks to further improve performance namely dual layering, multiple data streams and variable bit-rate . Each DVD disc also has a menu system allowing the user to choose the disc options, view any scene or look at the supplied extras.
Previously known as Digital Video Disc, this represents the latest in home theater. This format is has the ability to have multiple aspect ratios, several different versions of a movie with several different captions as well as Dolby Digital sound.
A CD-sized (12 cm) video disc capable of playing back an entire movie from a single disc.
The current standard for films on CDs. This digital format aims to replace VHS, Laserdiscs, CD-ROMs and conventional CDs. The erasable format will be 2.6Gb and the write-once recordable version will be 3.8Gb, eventually expanding to 4.7Gb. Using MPEG-2 compression, a single disk is able to store over two hours of information.
Another name for DVD (digital video disc) which accounts for the recording ability of audio as well as video.
data storage medium, optical disc capable of storing high quality video as well as data such as programs, text, still images and sound (also known as ‘digital video disc’).
A digital versatile disc is an optical disc on which videos, music, games or other content is recorded. Though DVDs and CDs both have a 12-inch diameter, the DVD's 4.7-gigabyte memory capacity is about seven times larger than that of a CD. A DVD can record 133 minutes of video. In November 1996, Toshiba Corp. and other companies started selling DVD players. But sales have been slow, with domestic shipments totaling only 825,000 units through the end of December 1999. The shipment value of DVD content, including movies, totaled 30.2 billion yen in 1999. However, such shipments registered a 270% year-on-year leap in the first three months of 2000.A DVD recorder put on the market by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. in July 2001, for instance, can record for up to 12 hours using a 9.4-gigabyte disc.
Generic name for a family of related disc formats encompassing Video, Audio, and computer file storage on an optical disc format. They share common physical format and logical/file structures. They differ only content. Physical differences between erasable (Book E), write-once read many times (Book D), and ROM (Book A) may emerge.
a family of flat, circular digital storage media formats that are written to and read by a laser, that are 120 mm (4.72 inches) in diameter, 1.2 mm (0.05 inches) thick, and made of clear polycarbonate plastic, and that store at least 4.7 gigabytes of data
Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory. Like a CD-ROM, an optical disc recorded on and read by a laser, but used to store even larger quantities of information, specifically 8.5 gigabytes
A relatively new standard that seeks to combine better-than-laser-disc quality video with better-than-CD quality audio in a disc the size of a CD. Requires special players.
