Information on CD and DVD standards

There are many CD and DVD formats and standards in the market today. It is hardly possible to keep an overview on the particular features of these media.

There are several ways to format a CD or DVD. This concerns not only the industry, but also the private end user who burns CDs or DVD on his own. Commercially available recording software offers several forms of disc formats: there are CD ROMs for data, audio CD format for music, playable on CD players, and dvd format for video and film for devices such as a DVD player. Gradually DVD standards replace video CD formats. Compression technology standards, such as MP3, enable on the one hand end users, but also media companies to store more digital music files on their devices. Due to MP3 technology, CD and DVD media can now compile more data than before. However, these discs can not be read by and played in traditional CD players.

When the CD format was introduced in the 1980s, it was not believed that it will be used once for this variety of applications. Discs were the first optical audio data storage media. This revolutionised the music business. Within only a few years, the CD replaced traditional media such as records, tapes and cassettes. Only a little later, the CD became a general data storage medium and was introduced as CD ROM into the personal computer business. A capacity of up to 700MB made this medium superior to floppy discs. There was only one disadvantage: It was for single use only and not rewritable. This issue, however, was sorted out with the introduction of the CD RW format.

Besides CD standards, also the DVD format offers users a variety of DVD standards. There is the DVD R format and the DVD+. In comparison to CDs, DVD discs have more storage capacities. Besides the DVD audio format for music files, there is also a DVD data format. For DVD recorders or players, a DVD movie format is the right choice. The combination of all formats is available in the so called multi format DVD which offers full compatibility. DVD media for video files are in Europe usually offered as PAL format DVD, in other parts of the world with the so called NTSC format.

Today, more and more DVD recorders are used in private households replacing the traditional video recorder equipment. Analogue to the rewritable CDs, there are also rewritable DVDs available for multiple use.