Digital Video (Versatile) Disc. A new multiple media format agreed upon by Sony, Philips, Toshiba, and others. DVDs are the same size as a CD, only with a higher track and pit density. The first, single-sided DVDs will hold 4.7Gb; as double-sided, multi-layer discs are available, the capacity will be 8.5Gb and 17Gb, respectively. Transfer rates are about 1.35Mbps, or about as fast as an 8X CD-ROM drive. The data format is 24-bit 96kHz. One DVD is sufficient to store a typical movie, eight tracks of Dolby AC-3 surround audio, and numerous subtitle tracks, which is why the film industry is pushing it: an improvement in the potential of both audio and video quality with the profit profile of a CD. One DVD-5 disc will allow 318 minutes of 48kHz, 20-bit, two-channel audio, or about 144 minutes of 88.2kHz, 24-bit, two-channel audio. At 88.2kHz, 24-bit, LCR plus two channels of 44.1kHz, 20-bit surround-sound, a DVD-5 will hold 75 minutes of audio.
DVD players will be able to play back CDs, but not those written using the CD-R standard. As with CD-ROM formats, DVD specifications are referred to in terms of books, A-E:
Additional DVD subdesignations are:
