Some specifics on DVD

The DVD format offers a plethora of features when compared to VHS and Laserdisc. DVD is essentially a digital disc the same size as a standard CD, but has a slightly different surface on which information is recorded and retrieved. The surface of the disc contains digital information in the form of microscopic pits that are interpreted by a laser pickup as a digital signal. Since there is no physical contact between the player and the surface of the disc, there is little possibility of damaging the disc when in use. Only physical damage such as scratches causes the information to be harmed.

A standard single sided, single layered DVD-Video disc can hold 4.7 gigabytes of information (2 hours of video and digital surround sound), which is seven times more digital information than a normal CD. This has been made possible by reducing the size of the pits on the disc surface by about one half, and by using the MPEG2 data compression technology to reduce the size of the original information by 40 times prior to encoding onto the disc. The same compression technology is used by a DVD player when reading a disc to expand the information into a usable signal. DVD video has a picture resolution of 500 horizontal lines, giving it a sharp, high resolution appearance superior to VHS video (240 lines) and even Laserdisc (400 lines).

The DVD Disc types: DVD-5 DVD-9 DVD-10 DVD-14 DVD-18 Single Layer, Single Side. 133 Mins.The Basic and commonly used type.Dual Layer, Single Side. 240 Mins.Will be the standard DVD format.Single Layer, Two Sided. 266 Mins.These 'Flippers' are being phased out.Side1 - Single Layer, Side2 - Dual LayerDVD-9 plus DVD-9. 373 Mins.Dual Layer DVD-9 on both sides. 480 Mins.

DVD discs are available with all the sound and picture information of a single movie recorded on a single side of the disc. Where a recording is too long to fit onto a single side, it can be recorded onto a dual-layer disc, making flipping the disc over half way through unnecessary. The DVD-Video format is also popular with the home computer market in the form of DVD-ROM and recordable DVD-R and DVD-RAM.

Recordable DVD for the Home Cinema market is slowly becoming available which could lead to immense storage capacity for computers and a high quality alternative to the VHS video recorder. The extra storage capacity on the disc can be used to store additional information not found on other formats, and these features are outlined below.

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