A brief history of DVD product development
DVD-ROM drive: It is a computer peripheral that needs to be connected to a computer to read data, but the speed of reading data is faster than that of ordinary optical drives. The development is similar to that of optical drives. 1x speed DVD-ROM appeared at the end of 1996, but within a year, 2x speed became mainstream. Soon, 4x speed also became popular, but within a few months, it was overshadowed by 6 to 8x speed.
While DVD-ROM is becoming popular, the reading function of CD-R optical discs has become the mainstream of computer storage, which further triggered the development of DVD-R/RAM optical discs. In addition, in the development of DVD-ROM optical drives, in addition to increasing speed, thinning is also an inevitable trend. Because notebook computers are developing rapidly, they are another big market for DVD-ROMs.
DVD Player: This is a playback device used to connect to a TV. A 4.7GB DVD-Video can play 133 to 135 minutes of video. At present, most DVD Players have the function of playing both CD music and VCD videos, and the second-generation models have taken into account the function of reading CD-R/RW optical discs.
DVD Audio Player: In early 1999, the specifications of DVD Audio were fully formulated. This is a format used for advanced music, with special emphasis on sound effects; it is a big problem for advanced audio enthusiasts. good news. Therefore, when DVD Audio discs are officially launched, the currently popular CD Player will gradually be replaced because DVD Audio Player will be able to read CD music discs. In addition, it will also have the function of reading CD-R optical discs.
DVD-R: It can be said to be an extension of CD-R. The currently popular CD-R can only record once, with a capacity of 650MB. The first generation DVD-R appeared in mid-1997, but its specification was 3.95GB/side, which did not yet reach the capacity of 4.7GB/side.
However, some disagreements arose during the discussion of specifications at the DVD Forum. Finally, after mutual compromise, it was agreed that Japan's Pioneer would be the first to launch the first-generation DVD-R optical drive and optical disc at the end of the same year. In order to match the DVD-R's recordable capacity of 4.7GB, the DVD Forum has actively held meetings to discuss the second-generation DVD-R specifications with a recordable capacity of 4.7GB/side. In May 1999, the second-generation DVD- The R specification is finally completed.
DVD-RAM/ RW: This is considered the next generation of CD-RW. The first-generation DVD-RAM was specified as early as 1997 to be 2.6GB/side, but the capacity is still larger than 4.7GB/side. Far from it. In the same year, Philips and SONY jointly released 3.0GB PC+RW (DVD+RW) with HP, which also caused an unpleasant situation within the DVD Forum. However, the specification of 4.7GB/side DVD-RAM was accelerated. Finally, the specifications of DVD-RAM (Ver.2.0) were finalized in May 1999.
In addition, the DVD Forum also considered the practicality of DVD-RW using Groove Recording and included 4.7GB DVD-RW in the working group for discussion. At the same time, Pioneer, which leads the formulation of DVD-RW specifications, also actively advocates the application of DVD-RW in consumer electronics products. Therefore, from the perspective of compatibility between DVD-RW and existing DVD-ROM/Video, DVD-RW’s Application specifications should be accepted. Therefore, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM will appear in the DVD Forum specifications at the same time. The latter will have the advantage of being connected to a computer for fast access, while the former will have the advantage of compatibility in consumer electronics applications.
Although the storage capacity of CD-RW has reached 800MB, it is still not as attractive as the 4.7GB capacity of DVD-RAM Drive. Moreover, as long as they are loaded into a personal computer, they can be easily recorded, edited and reproduced. image. Let's wait and see whether the world of DVD will be dominated by DVD in 2001. At present, the recording specifications have not yet been determined, but I believe that an agreement will be reached soon. At the same time, when home DVD-RW appears, TV recorders will be completely replaced, and people will begin to enter the true multimedia era.
Speaking of the origin of DVD, we cannot fail to mention SONY and Philips. Since the two companies announced the CD standard in 1981, they have continuously introduced different CD formats over the years, directly and indirectly creating the emergence of DVD.
In September 1994, Pioneer took the lead in releasing a DVD Video with a capacity as large as a CD but 8 times larger than a CD. It was the first DVD format to appear on the market. A few months later, more and more companies launched DVDs, and the DVD formats began to separate. On the one hand, there was the MMCD format of SONY and Philips, and the capacity of this format was 3GB per side; as for the other format, SD format jointly promoted by multiple companies.
After many months of meetings, a unified DVD standard was finally formulated in May 1995, and the name of DVD was established as Digital Versatile Disk.
Development history of CD→DVD
1981: SONY and Philips initiated CD specifications and standards
1982: SONY launched the world's first CD player CDP -101 and the world's first CD - Billy Joel's 52nd Street
1984: SONY launched the world's first portable CD player
1985: SONY and Philips announced simultaneously CD format usable on computers
1989: CD sales in the United States exceeded 25 million, and the first batch of double-speed CD-ROMs were officially launched at the same time.
1990: SONY and Philips announced CD-R specifications
1994: CD officially became the standard equipment of personal computers
1995: DVD standard was officially announced
1996: The DVD standard was officially determined
1997: The world's first batch of DVD players were officially launched, and more than 500 sets were launched at the same time.
1998: The world's first batch of DVD-ROMs were officially used on some high-end computers. . . . . .
Perhaps no one thought about what DVD was 10 years ago. Until now, most people's impression of DVD is still at the stage of high-quality movies and entertainment. In fact, the development space of DVD is not that small. On the contrary, with its technology and amazing data storage capacity, it has great potential to replace all current computer storage media and become a new standard for next-generation storage.
Although there are still many differences between manufacturers on DVD formats (especially recordable DVDs), it is always the users who benefit in the end. In fact, in addition to the large increase in capacity, DVD has many advantages that traditional CDs cannot match. DVD has a larger capacity and faster running speed than CD (DVD-ROM's CD reading speed is generally up to 18-24 times faster), and has become a widely accepted standard. An ordinary DVD can store more than 4.7GB of data; some can even reach 17GB, which is 30 times that of traditional CDs.
Because DVD uses the Dolby surround sound system to process all video sound effects, it can handle three types of sound: Digital Analogue and Stereo at the same time, including 5.1MPEG 2 multi-channel and Dolby (now unified as Dolby 5.1), and has a heavy bass effect, so it has become the first choice for high-demand audio and video users as soon as it was launched. In addition, DVD can also provide up to 8 languages ??and 32 subtitles at one time.
DVD can provide more perfect picture quality audio-visual enjoyment than CD and VCD. Even the initially released DVD Video can store 135 minutes of MPEG 2 video on a single layer at one time. If two layers are used, It can store 241 minutes of video at a time. The screen resolution is more than 500 lines, and the image quality is better than any playback media including CD LD and VCD.
DVD supports different screen aspect ratios, so in addition to playing traditional 4:3 ratio videos, it can also play widescreen videos in 16:9 ratio. In addition, DVD allows users to watch the same movie from multiple angles (up to 9), allowing users to have a whole new experience with the movie. For example, if you are watching a DVD that contains highlights of a football game, you can watch the game from different camera angles.
Most DVD videos will store information related to the video, such as the title and each part of the video (usually called Chapter). Just press the search function to quickly jump to the scene you want to watch. fragment. If you don't want your children to see inappropriate content, you can use the special Parental Lock function to prevent them from opening and playing DVDs without authorization.
DVD can provide comprehensive menu functions. Whether you are using a DVD-ROM on your computer or a home DVD player, you can instantly select your favorite images through the comprehensive system menu function.