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DVD: The New Consumer Optical Disk Format

by Terry Kuny
Network Notes #39
ISSN 1201-4338
Information Technology Services
National Library of Canada

December 18, 1996

Why have a new optical disk format?

The large size of digital video, multimedia and computer applications requires large-capacity storage media. Digitized versions of common movies cannot fit on to a standard size CD-ROM format, even with very high-quality compression techniques. A new format with enough capacity and playing time for most entertainment purposes, as well as high quality sound and image support, had to be devised.

DVD is a compromise format agreed on by the major consumer electronic and entertainment companies, a consortium that includes Sony, Philips, Toshiba, Matsushita, and a large number of Hollywood entertainment studios. The agreement to standardize on DVD is one of the strongest reasons for believing DVD will emerge as the "winner" for the next-generation optical disk format. ("DVD" used to stand for Digital Video Disc, then Digital Versatile Disc; it's now just DVD.)

Capacity

Four different levels of DVD storage capacity are being planned: 4.7 Gb, 9.0 Gb, 13 Gb, and 17 Gb. This capacity is between eight and 15 times the capacity of current CDs. For example, a 4.7 Gb DVD can store about 7.5 hours of CD quality sound or 135 minutes of MPEG-2 compressed video.

For stand-alone computer use, about 24 hours of MPEG-1 compressed video can be stored. The physical disk size (120 mm) is the same as current optical CDs. Initial claims are that the quality of DVD is better than that of VHS. Video compression uses the MPEG-2 standard. (Gb=Gigabyte; sizes are approximate)

Immediate Future

DVD-ROM drives for computers will probably be released early in 1997 and will cost from $200 US to $500 US. Software distribution and advanced multimedia are expected to be early drivers of this format.

A computer board to do MPEG-2 decompression or built-in MPEG-2 electronics will allow a DVD- ROM drive to be used as a movie player on a PC. Current hardware and software solutions for computer-based MPEG-2 support are quite expensive.

DVD-Video is expected to replace VHS in the future. This will occur when prices for players and DVD discs come down and when recordable DVD is made accessible at affordable prices. DVD-Video players with over 200 DVD titles are expected to be available shortly. Player prices are expected to be around $500-$750 US. Costs for mastering new DVD titles are expected to be relatively inexpensive as existing CD plants can be modified to produce DVD.

Future DVD-related formats will include DVD-Audio, DVD-Recordable, and DVD-RAM disc (re-recordable). Some video-game companies have also shown interest in using DVD versions of games, while an interactive version, DVD-i has been proposed by Philips.

Cautionary Notes

There is much talk about DVD in the popular press but there is very little to review in the way of products. Important questions about quality of the information (video images/sound), price of players, and the availability of a recordable DVD format must be answered before consumer acceptance of DVD becomes widespread.

In the desktop computer marketplaces, DVD-ROM players must be downwardly compatible with existing CD-ROM disks, or migration to the new format will be very slow. MPEG-2 hardware and software prices will also be an important constraint to the acceptance of DVD-ROM in the multimedia marketplace.

There is some indication in the press that disagreements among consortium members and the entertainment industry regarding data protection and licensing are slowing down the shipping of DVD products.

DVD and Libraries

DVD is the strongest contender for the next-generation optical media. Libraries can reasonably expect to see DVD-Video and DVD-ROM disks in their collections within the next two to three years. The greatly-increased storage capacity and the development of cost-effective recordable units is likely to make the format a popular one for digital storage.

Current market predictions are that by 2000, all consumer CD drives will be DVD drives. These drives are expected to be downwardly compatible with existing CD-audio format disks although CD- I formats will not be compatible. DVD-Audio disks may gradually replace CD-Audio disks but this development will not occur for some time.

Further Information

Canada Copyright. The National Library of Canada. (Revised: 1997-07-31).