R+

• R+ is a recordable optical disc that can hold 4.7 on each layer which adds up to around 8.5GB in its memory.
• It was developed by DVD+RW. It was mostly supported by Sony and was created in mid 2002.
• The format competes with the DVD –R which was created by the DVD Forum.
• The Forum at first did not back the DVD+R format and so did not become an official DVD format until
January 25, 2008.
• During the early 2000’s it was shown that the capacity could be doubled using double layer technology.
• This gives the DVD+R the ability to store 8.5GB.
• Unlike the DVD+RW the DVD+R can only be written on once this makes it more suitable for non-volatile files
such as video or audio.
+RW
• +RW is a physical format used for rewritable DVDs and can hold up to 4.7GB, it was created by DVD+RW
which is a collection of drive and disc manufacturers.
• This DVD type is preferable because it allows lossless linking which helps random access which improves
compatibility.
• This type of DVD must be formatted before it can be used to written on by a DVD recorder.
• The Format was finalised in 1997 but was left until 2011 when it was more planned out and working which
increased its capacity from 2.8GB to 4.7GB.
• The way that the +RW can record and be rewritable is that it has a phase change metal alloy whose
crystalline phase and amorphous phase have different reflectivity.
• These states can be changed depending on the power of the writing laser; this allows
the DVD to be written, read, erased and re-written.
• A dual layer was approved in 2006 with an improved storage of 8.5GB however
manufacturing support did not materialise and competition from the blue ray which
could hold 25GB on a single layer prevented the change.
-R
• –R is a Recordable DVD format which has a usual capacity of around 4.7GB.
• It was developed to create a double layer of the DVD-R which has the capacity of 8.5GB.
• This double layered disc is called DVD-R DL and came on to the market in 2005. The data stored on the –R
cannot be changed once it has been written.
• The DVD –R was developed in 1997 and is compatible with all normal DVD players.
• On the DVD-R the location in which the laser hits the disc is accomplished with additional pits and lands in-
between the grooves.
• This gives the disc a constant wobble frequency used for motor control.
• The DVD+R is less likely to create an error than that of the land pre pit system which is used by the DVD-R.
• Another reason that +R is better is that the ADIP system it uses creates a faster speed and a more effective
error management system.
• These two formats were initially incompatible until DVD players became hybrid and
played them both.
-RW
• The DVD-RW optical disc has the equivalent storage capacity to that of a DVD-R but has the ability to be
rewritten on.
• This disc was developed in 1999 and had been approved by the DVD forum.
• The greatest advantage this disc has over –R is the ability to be re-written on as many times as is needed.
• Developers claim that they can be written on up to 1,000 times.
• Due to this ability they are mostly used for non-volatile storage such as back ups and home video recording.
• The second layer for this disc was approved but was unviable due to the Blu-Ray being bigger on one layer.
• A similar disc was also released that was a smaller mini DVD-RW which could hold 1.46GB with a diameter of
8 cm, this was mostly used for advertisement purposes as it lacked the size for any big applications.
Dual Layer
• The ability to add another layer onto a disc increases the size of the storage capacity considerably, on the +R
and –R it boosts the storage from 4.7GB to 8.5GB and for the +/- RW it boosts it form 2.8 to 4.7.
• During the later devolvement’s of adding layers to the latest DVD’s become pointless with the creation of the
blue ray which can store far more on a single layer.
• The first example of a dual layer disc was the DVD+RL which came out in 2003 and was approved by the DVD
forum.
• The way the dual layer works is the laser shines through the semi-transparent first layer to reach the second
physical layer.
• The change of the reading of one layer to the other gave a noticeable pause and sound this led many to
think that the disc was broke and defective.
• This led the notice being displayed on the packaging of the pause so that the consumer didn’t think it was
broke.
Writing Speed
• Modern optical discs can support writing speeds of up to 52x and higher.
• The rate is much faster than it was for a CD-ROM but the speed in which the
data is written is determined on the type being stored.
• The writing of the data onto a DVD at 1x is equivalent to 9 times faster than a
CD at 1x.
• The writing for a Blu-Ray is faster than a DVD and can hold more data. With
the creation of new technology and drivers the writing speed has increased
which in turn has led to the further developments of the discs ability to be
written on.
Audio
• Commercial audio sound media found on DVDs are encoded with compressed Dolby Digital and DTS.
• There is also the option of surround sound which plays the sound all around the room, giving the viewer a
more immersive experience.
• DTS (digital theatre systems) originally started to maintain the high quality of the sound in movies, there
biggest benefactor was Steven Spielberg who wanted to a have a higher quality sound for his films.
• DTS works by having an LED reader san the time code data from the film and then sends the data to the DTS
processor which synchronises the sound to the film.
• Dolby Digital is the compressed audio that was developed by Dolby laboratories; the audio compression is
lossy which means that some of the data is lost during the compression.
• Dolby Digital Technology was first used for the film Batman returns in 1992.
• Digital Theatre Systems have a richer and greater sound then that of Dolby, but Dolby digital is the standard
and has easier more accessible DVD software.
Video
• DVD- Video is the consumer format used to store digital video data on DVD discs, as well as this it is the most
common video format in the world.
• The requirements for playing a DVD require a drive and a H.262/MPEG-2 decoder, this can be found in
machines such as DVD players, video game consoles and computers.
• The DVD specification was created by the DVD forum and the licence for the logo has a fee of £5,000.
• The publicity of the specification is not available as every subscriber must sign a non-disclosure agreement
which outlines the confidentiality of the information.
• This prohibits the releasing of the information by law and any breach would be a case for the forum to make
a lawsuit against the subscriber.
Menu
• A DVD menu can vary in complexity, in some DVD menus there are more sophisticated animations that are
likely to include audio.
• All menus for movies have the same requirements for the options that they should give the user to select.
They include play, scene selection, settings and special features.
• The selections of the options the user can use are determined by the content of the DVD.
• In more simpler content DVD’s there is a narrower selection of options to choose between as there is only
one asset on the DVD.
• For movies the movie is entirely separate from the special features and are both only accessed via different
option selections.
• Some of the other options such as settings or special features have their own menus and options to choose
from, the transition between the different menus can sometimes include animations to entertain the user
and to create a clear transition which can also give the user an indication that the DVD hasn’t frozen.