DVD is a disc on which motion pictures, computer programs, or other information is stored in the form of digital (numeric) code. A DVD is the same size as a standard compact disc (CD)—about 43/4 inches (12 centimeters) in diameter—but it can store much more information than a CD can. Each side of a DVD can contain two data layers, one beneath the other. A single two-sided DVD can store about 17 gigabytes (billion bytes) of information. DVD is often said to stand for Digital Versatile Disc or Digital VideoDisc. However, many people involved in the production of DVD’s insist the letters have no specific meaning.
Many DVD’s store materials that combine visuals and sound, such as motion pictures and concert performances. Others store data or computer programs, such as electronic games . Some DVD’s contain only audio, but of a higher quality than that on a CD. DVD’s are played using a DVD player connected to a television set or on a computer or electronic game console . Many DVD players can also play CD’s. Movies, games, and computer programs typically are stored on DVD-ROM’s (Read-Only Memory), which cannot be rewritten with new data. Computer users can employ special drives to save their own data on special recordable or rewritable DVD’s.
An international group of electronics manufacturers developed the DVD. Products that use DVD’s first became available in 1996.
