Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
DVD Formats and Standards
As with the CD standards, the DVD standards are published in reference books produced mainly by
the DVD Forum, but also by other companies, such as the DVD+RW Alliance. The DVD Forum's
DVD-Video and DVD-ROM standards are well established and are supported by virtually every
DVD drive, regardless of age. However, rival recordable and rewritable DVD standards have been
developed by both organizations. The DVD Forum developed the following standards:
• DVD-RAM (drag-and-drop file storage and erasure without any add-on software required)
• DVD-R (recordable DVD)
• DVD-RW (rewritable DVD)
After the development of DVD-RAM and DVD-R, the rival DVD+RW Alliance developed these
standards:
• DVD+RW (rewritable DVD with support for lossless linking to prevent buffer underrun)
• DVD+R (recordable DVD)
Early rewritable DVD drives supported either DVD-RW or DVD+RW, but recent DVD rewritable
drives support DVD+/-R/RW media, and so-called “Super Multi” drives using an LG-designed drive
mechanism add support for DVD-RAM media as well. As a result, you can now choose the best DVD
media for the task.
DVD rewritable drives support all of these media types.
The current standard and high-capacity DVD formats are shown in
Table 11.21
.
Table 11.21. Standard and High-Capacity DVD Formats and Capacities
