What Does DVD Stand For?

What does DVD stand for: video or versatile?

Both versions are out there, and both are understood. Here is how the letters break down:

The industry group behind the format later said that DVD is simply the name and does not officially stand for anything. In practice, Digital Versatile Disc is the most common expansion in reference books, and Digital Video Disc is the one you hear in casual talk.

How a DVD stores data

A DVD holds data as tiny pits and flat spots along a spiral track. A red laser in the player reads the track, and the pattern of reflections becomes ones and zeros. Compared with a CD, the pits are smaller and the track is packed tighter, which is where the extra space comes from.

A standard single layer disc holds 4.7 gigabytes. A dual layer disc adds a second, semi transparent layer, raising the total to about 8.5 gigabytes on one side. That was enough for a full length movie with extra scenes, subtitles and several audio tracks, which is why the format took off.

DVD-R, DVD+RW and other labels

• DVD-ROM: read only, the kind that comes with a movie or software. Read about ROM for the full form.
• DVD-R and DVD+R: blank discs you can record once. The two competing formats work in most modern drives.
• DVD-RW and DVD+RW: rewritable discs you can erase and record many times.
• DVD-RAM: a rewritable type used mostly for data backup.
• DL: dual layer, meaning higher capacity.

Region codes and copy protection

Movie DVDs often carry a region code, a number that matches the disc to players sold in a certain part of the world. The United States and Canada are Region 1. A disc bought in Europe may be Region 2 and refuse to play on a standard US player.

Many commercial discs also use a copy protection scheme called the Content Scramble System, or CSS. That is a different meaning from the web design term with the same letters.

DVD in a sentence

• "The library lends DVDs for one week."
• "Is the extended version on DVD or only on streaming?"
• "My laptop does not have a DVD drive, so I bought an external one."
• "We burned the wedding video onto a DVD for Grandma."
• "The box set includes four DVDs and a booklet."

For more than one disc, add a small s: DVDs, never DVD's. Say "a DVD," since D is pronounced "dee."

DVD and its neighbors

Home video moved from VHS tapes to DVDs, then to high definition discs and streaming. A few related terms often get mixed up:

• DVR: a digital video recorder that saves TV shows to a hard drive. No disc involved.
• VOD: video on demand, shows and films you stream or rent online.
• CD: compact disc, the smaller capacity ancestor mostly used for music.

Many more device and media terms live in the tech acronyms collection.