DVD (also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc"
- see Etymology) is a popular optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are video
and data storage. Most DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs (CDs) but store more
than 6 times the data.
Variations of the term DVD often describe the way data is stored on the discs: DVD-ROM
has data which can only be read and not written, DVD-R can be written once and then functions
as a DVD-ROM, and DVD-RAM or DVD-RW holds data that can be re-written multiple times.
DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs respectively refer to properly formatted
and structured video and audio content. Other types of DVD discs, including those
with video content, may be referred to as DVD-Data discs. The term "DVD" is commonly
misused to refer to high density optical disc formats in general, such as Blu-ray
and HD DVD.
In 1993 two high-density optical storage standards were being developed; one was the MultiMedia
Compact Disc, backed by Philips and Sony, and the other was the Super Density disc, supported by
Toshiba, Time Warner, Matsushita Electric, Hitachi, Pioneer, Thomson and JVC. IBM's president,
Lou Gerstner, acting as a matchmaker, led an effort to unite the two camps behind a single standard,
anticipating a repeat of the costly videotape format war between VHS and Betamax in the 1980s.
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