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DVD Format information

DVD is the first home entertainment medium that gives viewers so much control over how movies, concerts, documentaries and other programs are presented. The available options will vary from disc to disc (the disc producers make those decisions). Each DVD disc has an on-screen menu that makes it easy to select the type of presentation that best matches your A/V equipment and personal preferences:
  • Screen shape or aspect ratio: Standard, Widescreen, or Letterbox.
  • Soundtrack audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, Pro Logic surround, or stereo.
  • Soundtrack language: Often English and French for Zone #1 (USA and Canada), but other languages may be included as well.
  • Subtitle languages: DVD discs can provide up to 32 subtitle tracks!

 

For reference, a Music CD / CD-ROM can hold around 650 Megabytes.   That equates to under 20 minutes of video whereas DVD can hold upto 17 Gigabytes or over 8 hours of music.

The actual capacity depends on the type of DVD disc.  Discs can be dual layered (2 amounts of data layered on the same side of disc) as well as dual sided (data being stored on both sides of the disc) and various combinations in between.  This information will tell the end user whether they will need to turn the disc over or to insert a second disc when watching a long movie.

The various video and audio options are typically listed on a DVD's packaging. It's a good idea to get in the habit of checking the packaging to see what's included, especially if you're interested in a specific version.  The type of DVD media is usually mentioned on the disc itself.   The list below shows all types of DVD discs currently available.

Note:  

SS / DS                Single / Dual sided

SL / DL / ML       Single / Dual / Mixed layer 

                            (Mixed = Single layer on one side dual layer on other)

GB                       Gigabytes - Data storage measurement commonly used on computers

 

 

  • DVD-5   (12cm, SS / SL)            (4.7Gb), over 2 hours of video
  • DVD-9   (12cm, SS / DL)            (8.5Gb), around 4 hours of video
  • DVD-10 (12cm, DS / DL)            (9.4Gb), around 4.5 hours of video
  • DVD-14 (12cm, DS / ML)           (13.24Gb), about 6.5 hours of video
  • DVD-18 (12cm, DS / DL)            (17Gb), over 8 hours of video

 

  • DVD-1 (8cm, SS / SL)                (1.4Gb), around .5 hours of video
  • DVD-2 (8cm, SS / DL)                (2.7Gb), around 1.3 hours of video
  • DVD-3 (8cm, DS / SL)                (2.9Gb), around 1.4 hours of video
  • DVD-4 (8cm, DS / DL)                (5.3Gb), around 2.5 hours of video 

 

  • DVD-R 1.0 (12 cm, SS/SL)          (3.68 Gb)
  • DVD-R 2.0 (12 cm, SS/SL)          (4.37 Gb), 8.75 Gb rare DS discs
  • DVD-RW 2.0 (12 cm, SS/SL)       (4.37 Gb), 8.75 Gb rare DS discs
  • DVD-RAM 1.0 (12 cm, SS/SL)     (2.40 Gb)
  • DVD-RAM 1.0 (12 cm, DS/SL)     (4.80 Gb)
  • DVD-RAM 2.0 (12 cm, SS/SL)      (4.37Gb)
  • DVD-RAM 2.0 (12 cm, DS/SL)      (8.75Gb)
  • DVD-RAM 2.0 (8 cm, SS/SL)        (1.36Gb)
  • DVD-RAM 2.0 (8 cm, DS/SL)        (2.47 Gb)
  • CD-ROM (12 cm, SS/SL)               (0.635Gb)
  • CD-ROM (8 cm, SS/SL)                 (0.180Gb)
  • DDCD-ROM (12 cm, SS/SL)          (1.270Gb)
  • DDCD-ROM (8 cm, SS/SL)            (0.360Gb)

 

 

 

Mick Evans 1999-2001

  [email protected]

[email protected]