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DVD, an introduction.
DVD is a multi-purpose technology suited to
both entertainment and computer uses. As an entertainment
product DVD will be used for full length movies with up
to 133 minutes of high quality video (MPEG-2 format) and
audio.
DVD will revolutionise the way we use VCR's for entertainment. Because of the masses of storage space available in DVD format, and new data compression algorithms such as MPEG-2 audio and video, we are now able to store full length motion pictures on one CD! DVD also has an impressive list of new features such as Parental lockout, Directors Cut, AC-3 Audio, and different aspect ratios, to name just a few features.
To obtain this increased storage space, the track density on a DVD-CD has been increased over that of an ordinary CD. Therefore, existing CD-ROM Drives and CD-Audio Players are unable to read these DVD discs.
The first in the DVD family of drives for computer use will be a read-only drive referred to as DVD-ROM. Subsequently, the family will be expanded with a one-time recordable version, referred to as DVD-R, and finally a rewritable version, referred to as DVD-RAM.
DVD-ROM drives will be used with computers as an alternative to CD-ROM, providing over 7 times the storage capacity (4.7GBytes). It is expected that the publishers of games, education and entertainment software (which use multiple CD-ROMs) will offer their titles on a single DVD-ROM disc. With advanced video boards and high performance PCs, game and entertainment software will achieve new levels of capability using DVD technology. The DVD-ROM drive will read existing CD-ROMs and music CDs and will be compatible with installed sound and video boards. Additionally, the DVD-ROM drive will read DVD movie titles using an advanced (MPEG-2) video board -- required to decode the high resolution video format.
DVD-ROM drives will ultimately be available from many manufacturers. The first drives, using a single-layer disc of 4.7GB, will be available during the second half of 1996 from several manufacturers including Toshiba, Philips, Sony and Hitachi. In 1997, dual-layer discs are expected to increase the disc capacity to 8.5GB. In the more-distant future, it is planned to use double-sided, dual-layer discs which increase the capacity to 17GB.
Just as CD-R drives can record a disc that appears to a CD-ROM drive as a "pressed" disc, the write-once DVD-R drives will record a 3.9GB DVD-R disc that can be read on a DVD-ROM drive. The first DVD-R drive is expected by mid-1997.
Then by the end of 1997, the rewritable DVD-RAM drive will become available (this is similar to the unreleased CD-E drive). DVD-RAM drives will read and write to a 2.6GB DVD-RAM disc, read and write-once to a 3.9GB DVD-R disc, and read a 4.7GB/8.5GB DVD-ROM disc. Also, it is expected that a DVD-RAM disc will be readable on both the DVD-R and DVD-ROM drives -- a level of compatibility previously unseen.