White Paper

‘DVD Technology’

Aoife Ní Chionnaith

July 2003

Institut des Sciences de l’Homme (http://www.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr)

Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (http://www.cnrs.fr/)
DVD Technology

Contents
Introduction 3
DVD Formats 4
Physical Formats 4
Application Formats 5
DVD Specification 6
Organisation 6
Part 1 - Physical Specification 6
Part 2 - File Specification 6
DVD-ROM 7
Authoring 7
Playback 7
Features 7
Higher Capacity than CD-ROM 7
Interactivity 7
Disadvantages 7
DVD-Video 8
MPEG-2 8
Authoring 9
Playback 9
Features 10
Superior picture quality to VHS 10
Audio 10
Random access features 10
Menus 10
Multiple Titles 10
Aspect Ratios 10
Multiple language subtitles 11
Closed captions 11
Still pictures 11
Multiple viewing angles 11
Hidden Features 11
Parental Control 11
Copy Protection 11
User Operation Restrictions 11
Durability 12
Regional Coding 12
Disadvantages 12
Future of DVD 13
eDVD (eDVD, iDVD, connectedDVD) 13
Video On Demand (VOD) 13
Interactive TV 13
‘Blu-Ray’ DVD Format 13
Blue Laser DVD Format (0.6mm) 13
References 14

Page 2 of 14
DVD Technology

Introduction
In 1994, the movie industry began searching for a new system for distributing films on a disc. They
were looking for a disc that could contain, amongst other features, about 135 minutes of film on
one side of a disc at superior quality to existing laserdiscs, copy protection, parental lock,
widescreen.

Until 1996, two competing optical discs formats were being developed, but their development was
merged in 1996 under the DVD Forum who produce the official DVD specifications.

What is DVD?

In the past, DVD has stood for 'Digital Versatile Disc' and 'Digital Video Disc', but now it is simply a
word in itself. DVD is an optical storage technology for any information, such as video, audio,
computer data and games. Although the DVD discs are similar in appearance to compact discs
(CDs), the formats, physical specifications and file specifications are very different. This is
explained in ‘DVD Introduction’.

This document also provides information on authoring, features, disadvantages and user
requirements on one of the main application Formats - DVD Vide. It also looks at what might be in
store for DVD in the future and provides links to tutorials and other web pages which may be of
interest.

Page 3 of 14
DVD Technology

DVD Formats
Physical Formats
A DVD is an optical disc consisting of microscopic pits (called ‘marks’ on writeable discs). As the
disc spins in the player, a laser beam passes over the disc and the changes in the intensity of the
light reflected is converted into a digital signal. As the intensity of the reflected laser beam
changes, this is converted into encoded digital signal.

A DVD disc consists of two substrates (0.6mm thick) bonded together. Each side can contain two
layers called ‘Layer 0’ and ‘Layer 1’ (the outermost layer). The physical format of a DVD
determines the capacity of the DVD disc. DVD capacity is determined by pit size, track pit spacing
and the number of layers the disc contains. See below for a current list of discs and their capacities.

Physical Format Capacity Layer(s) Side(s)

Common Use Computer Use
DVD-5 4.7 GB 4.37GB 1 1
DVD-9 8.54 GB 7.95GB 2 1
DVD-10 9.4 GB 8.75GB 1 2
DVD-14 13.24 GB 12.33GB 1 on one side 2
2 on the other
DVD-18 17.08 GB 15.90GB 2 2
DVD-R 1.0 3.95 3.67 1 1
DVD-R (G) 2.0 4.7 4.37 1 1
DVD-R 9.4 8.75 1 2
DVD-RAM 1.0 2.58 2.40 1 1
DVD-RAM 1.0 5.16 GB 4.80 1 2
DVD-RAM 2.0 4.70 4.37 1 1
DVD-RAM 2.0 9.40 8.75 1 2
DVD-RW 4.7 GB 4.37 1 1
DVD-RW 9.4 8.75 1 2

(The capacities for computer use are based on 1 gigabyte equalling 1,024 bytes. The capacities for
common use take the value of 1 gigabyte to equal 1,000 bytes.)

DVD-5 and DVD-9 are the most common formats in use. DVD-9 is best suited to DVD-Video running
times longer than 133 minutes. DVD-10 is suitable for when letterbox and pan & scan versions are
required on the same DVD-Video, however, if the playing time is long, the disc will need to be
flipped over. DVD-14 is no longer a common format and DVD-18 is difficult to manufacture. Data
can only be written once to a DVD-R disc and it is therefore often used for archiving purposes. DVD-
R (G) is for general home use and DVD-R (A) is for authoring purposes (i.e. professional use). DVD-
RAM, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs can be written to disc thousands of times.

Page 4 of 14
DVD Technology

Application Formats
DVD-ROM is the base format for all DVD formats. The main application formats are DVD-ROM, DVD-
Video and DVD-Audio. A DVD disc can contain a combination of two or all three of these application
formats.

If a DVD disc contains DVD-Video and DVD-ROM, a standalone DVD player will only read the DVD-
Video portion, but most DVD-ROM drives can read the DVD-ROM and DVD-Video portions (if they are
equipped with a DVD-Video decoder).

Page 5 of 14
DVD Technology

DVD Specification
Organisation
The DVD physical and file specifications are defined by the DVD Forum (http://www.dvdforum.org).
The forum consists of hardware manufacturers, software firms and other users of DVDs. The forum
defines and publishes the standards and is responsible for promoting acceptance of standards
throughout the globe. Each specification is maintained by a different working group (WG). The DVD
standard comes in various parts and it was first published in 1996. The standard can be purchased
via http://www.dvdfllc.co.jp/ .

Parts 1 and 2 of the specification are actually the basis of all DVD read-only discs (including DVD-
Video and DVD-Audio) as it defines the physical and file system specifications for these formats.
Parts 3 and 4 give more exact specifications for DVD-Video and DVD-Audio. The parts of the DVD
Specification that cover DVD-ROM, DVD-Video and DVD-Audio are as follows:

Disc Type Part 1 Physical Part 2 File System Part 3 Video Part 4 Audio
Read-only DVD-ROM 3 3
DVD-Video 3 3 3
DVD-Audio 3 3 3

Source: http://www.dvdforum.org/tech-dvdbook.htm

Part 1 - Physical Specification

The physical specification of a DVD disc includes the following parameters:

Diameter 80mm or 120mm +/-0.30

Disc Thickness 1.2mm (+0.30/-0.06)
Track Pitch 0.74 μm ((+/-0.01 avg. 0.03 max.)
Wave Length of Laser Diode 650/635 nanometre

Source: ‘DVD Demystified’.

Part 2 - File Specification

A DVD-ROM can hold any type of data, however, the UDF file structure, which was defined by the
Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA http://www.osta.org/specs/) is compulsory. UDF
constrains the ISO 13346 file system by defining ways iin which the ISO volume and file structure
applies to various operating systems.

Page 6 of 14
DVD Technology

DVD-ROM
DVD-Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM) is similar to CD-ROM except that it can contain much more
information. The reason DVD-ROM has evolved is to meet the needs of the computer industry which
required a new format that could cope with the complex multimedia applications that are being
developed.

DVD-ROM is used for high-speed data retrieval and is therefore suited to computer games and
educational software. It is envisaged that DVD-ROM will eventually replace CD-ROM.

Authoring
An example of DVD-ROM authoring packages include:

Company Product Operating System Comments

Macromedia Director MX Windows/Macintosh Allows the user to create interactive audio, video
(RealVideo, QuickTime, AVI), 3D, bitmaps (jpg,
gif, png, bmp, psd, tiff & pict), vectors (swf),
text, fonts etc.

Authorware Windows/Macintosh An e-learning package that allows the creation of

interactive rich media applications.

Playback
To play a DVD-ROM, the user needs a computer with a DVD-ROM drive installed and a mouse or a
keyboard to navigate through the disc.

Features
Higher Capacity than CD-ROM
DVD-ROM has a higher capacity (see Physical Formats) than CD-ROM. It can therefore be used for
sophisticated games, encyclopaedias and multimedia applications, databases etc.

Interactivity
The user can connect to the Internet and other external documents or information by clicking on
hyperlinks that have been authored into the content.

Disadvantages
DVD-ROMs cannot be played on DVD-Video players, but only on DVD-ROM drives, therefore watching
a movie on a computer screen may not be as comfortable for most users as watching a film on a
television screen.

Page 7 of 14
DVD Technology

DVD-Video
DVD-Video is an application format of DVD-ROM. The objective of DVD-Video was to provide the
film industry with a replacement for LaserDisc (LD). The industry wanted a disc that with a
capacity of about 135 minutes (which would allow most movies to fit on a single disc), with video
quality equivalent or greater than LaserDisc. In order to fit studio quality films onto DVD discs,
some form of compression must be used. MPEG-2 is the standard form of compression used.

MPEG-2
If studio quality film or video was transferred directly onto DVD-Video, it would create about 200Mb
of data per second. The higher the data rate used, the higher the quality of sound and audio that is
stored on the DVD.

However, the maximum data rate for DVD is 9.8Mb per second, therefore some form of compression
needs to be carried out on the content. MPEG-1 compression can be used, but MPEG-2 gives higher
quality and has become the standard compression for DVD-Video. The basic idea of MPEG
compression is to discard any unnecessary information i.e. by analysing:

• how much movement there is in the frame compared to the previous frame
• what changes of colour have taken place since the last frame
• what changes in light or contrast have taken place since the last frame
• what elements of the picture have remained static since the last frame

For more information on MPEG, see the MPEG Homepage : http://mpeg.telecomitalialab.com/.

Page 8 of 14
DVD Technology

Authoring
DVD-Video authoring software is required to create DVDs containing images, video, sound and menus
for navigation for playback on a DVD-Video player. The following is a selection of DVD-Video
authoring software:

Company Product Operating System Use Description

Windows Macintosh Professional Home
Sonic Scenarist 3 Aimed at commercial film
production companies.
DVD Creator 3 For movie & post-production
studios and multimedia
producers.
DVD Producer 3 3
DVD Fusion 3 Designed to integrate with Avid
and Media 100 non-linear
editing systems.
ReelDVD 3 For independent and corporate
video projects.
DVDit PE 3 Software includes inbuilt
DVDit SE graphics and menu buttons for
easy authoring.
My DVD 4 Plus 3 Import video from camcorders
and output to DVD or VCD.
My DVD Video 3 For creating home videos and
Suite business presentations.
AutoDVD 3 For repeated video conversion
to DVD
Apple DVD-Studio Pro 3 3
iDVD 2 3 3
Ulead DVD Workshop 3 3 Aimed at creative video
professionals and enthusiasts.
DVD Movie 3 3 Includes a photo editing
Factory package for retouching photos
for importing.
Pinnacle Impression 3 3
DVD-Pro
Studio Version 8 3 3 Includes simple drag and drop
interface.
Expression 3 3 For creating home movies and
digital photos on CD and DVD.

Playback
A DVD-Video can be played back using a DVD-Video, a DVD-Video player, a television and a remote
control or via a DVD-ROM drive equipped with an MPEG-2 decoder and a mouse or a keyboard.

If the DVD-Video has been region coded, it can only be played in a DVD-Video player of the same
region coding (see map). Some DVD-ROM drives allow the region code to be changed a number of
times before the region is locked and cannot be changed further.

The DVD-Video must also be compatible with the TV broadcast system in use i.e. PAL, NTSC or
SECAM, which varies from country to country (for a region code map, see:
http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/multimedia/dvd.htm).

Page 9 of 14
DVD Technology

Features
Superior picture quality to VHS
DVD-Video has 500 lines of horizontal resolution compared to VHS which has just 240, as long as the
viewer has a screen that can accommodate the high resolution.

Audio
Superior sound quality to CD
DVD-Video can use the following sound standards:

Dolby Digital: Multichannel (1 to 5 channels), plus one optional sub-woofer

channel. A digital audio format. Lossy form of compression.

MPEG Audio: Multichannel digital audio format that supports 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or

7 channels. It is a lossy form of compression.

Linear PCM (LPCM): Lossless compression. It supports 1 to 8 channels on each

track.

Digital Theatre Sound (DTS): DTS is optinal. It is a lossy form of compression.

On NTSC formats, the disc must have at least one soundtrack using Linear PCM or Dolby Digital. On
PAL formats, the disc must have at least one soundtrack using Linear PCM, MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 or
Dolby Digital. Up to 8 streams of Dolby Digital multi-channel audio or Linear PCM.

Multiple Soundtracks/Languages
A DVD can contain alternative soundtracks (up to 8 tracks) or up to 4 languages (2 tracks per
language).

Karaoke Track
This feature enables background video pictures overlaid with the lyrics of a song. Up to 32 subtitle
or karaoke tracks are available.

Random access features

Random access features enables multiple endings for movies or games and quizzes to be created
due to seamless branching.

Menus
Menus allow for greater user interactivity as the user can access the menu at any stage during
playback.

Multiple Titles
The DVD-Video can contain more than one film or programme or different versions of the main
feature.

Aspect Ratios
DVD-Videos can play films at 4 different aspect ratios, Normal (4:3), Pan & Scan (16:9), Widescreen
(16:9, also known as anamporhic) and Letterbox (16:9 for 4:3 displays), although it is up to the film
company to decide if they will offer the three versions on the DVD-Video.

Page 10 of 14
DVD Technology

Multiple language subtitles

Subtitles are stored as separately recorded sub-pictures and the disc can contain up to 32 separate
channels of subtitles. Any type of character or font can be used as the text is stored in graphic
format.

Closed captions
Closed captions is a form of subtitling mainly used in the US, therefore used mostly on NTSC DVD-
Videos.

Still pictures
Still pictures can be displayed without any jittering (which usually occurs with VHS) or they can be
used as a slide show. Most DVD players perform perfect freeze frame and frame by frame
advancing, slow motion and fast speed play. Advanced DVD players can perform normal reverse and
frame by frame reverse.

Multiple viewing angles

A maximum of 9 different angles can be recorded onto the DVD-Video. The switching between the
angles can be seamless (no break in the playback) or non-seamless (the player pauses before
changing the angles).

Hidden Features
Some DVDs have extra features not mentioned on the menus but that can only be accessed by
pressing certain buttons on the remote control in a certain order.

Parental Control
A DVD player can be programmed with a special password to prevent certain categories of DVD-
Videos to be played. The content can be changed, based on the movie rating. The disc checks with
the DVD player what rating is set. There are 8 levels of control.

Copy Protection
If a disc is contains no copy protection, the high-quality DVD-Video can be used to produce
commercial quality VHS copies for illegal distribution. Therefore, different forms of copy
protection have been developed. The two main forms of copy protection are:

Content Scrambling System (CSS) Digital Copy Protection

CSS is used to scramble audio and video data on a DVD-Video disc. Playback of an encrpyted disc is
not possible if the player cannot decrpyt the signal. See http://www.dvdcca.org/faq.html for
further information.

Macrovision Analogue Protection System (APS)

APS is used to distort the composite video output to prevent recording and playback on VHS.
The process is placed on the disc during the authoring stage where certain digital-analogue copy
protection trigger bits are set to ‘on’. When the disc is in the player, the bits activate a special chip
inside the player which degrades the output of the analogue video signal. For further information,
see http://www.macrovision.com/solutions/video/copyprotect/index.php3.

User Operation Restrictions

During the authroing process, certain user operations e.g. pressing the ‘Menu’ or ‘Title’ buttons can
be restricted. This allows the authorer to ensure that the user views certain parts of the DVD e.g. a
warning, advertising or trailers for other films.

Page 11 of 14
DVD Technology

Durability
Magnetic fields do not affect the content of a DVD disc, unlike the informaion on VHS cassettes
which can be erased if placed near magnetic fields. A DVD disc is also less sensitive to heat than
VHS and also, the disc does not wear out as a result of playback. However, discs can lose data due
to scratches on the surface, but data loss is kept to a minimum due to error correction technology.

Regional Coding
This enables film companies to control the release of their titles throughout the globe. The region
codes are as follows:

Region 0 / Region Free The disc can be played in all regions.

Region 1 USA, Canada.
Region 2 Europe, Middle East, South Africa, Japan.
Region 3 South East Asia.
Region 4 Central and South America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand.
Region 5 Russian Federation, parts of Africa, India, Pakistan.
Region 6 China
Region 7 Undefined
Region 8 Airlines etc.

A region code map can be viewed on the following site:

http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/multimedia/dvd.htm.

Disadvantages
• Inavailability of movies - however this is changing as DVD-Video becomes more popular.
• DVD-Video discs and players are generally more expensive than VHS tapes and players.
• Incompatibility exists between some DVD-Video players and discs.
• DVD-Videos cannot be played in reverse on all DVD-Video players due to the nature of the
encoding.
• All PAL DVD-Video players can play NTSC version discs, however, NTSC players cannot play
PAL discs.

Page 12 of 14
DVD Technology

Future of DVD
eDVD (eDVD, iDVD, connectedDVD)
Sonic has developed 'eDVD', which they define as a DVD-Video combined with HTML, Macromedia
Flash and Java content. eDVD allows the user to use DVD-Video to connect to the Internet. To view
eDVD, the user needs an eDVD capable player with connection to the Internet. For more
information, see http://www.sonic.com/pdf/wp-eDVD.pdf.

Video On Demand (VOD)

Via a digital cable service, viewers will be able to choose a digital quality film or programme from a
broadcaster's library. The user can pause, stop, rewind or fast forward the programme/film
whenever they want. The system can be pay per view and therefore, this may eliminate the need
for renting a DVD-Video as the viewer can select from a library what they would like to view at a
time of their choosing.

Interactive TV
Interactive TV is television that allows the user to send information to the broadcaster. The remote
control is used to transmit information via a ‘back channel’. The information could be a reply to
question given during a programme, casting a vote, or chosing which programme to watch. This
technology could be linked with other technologies, e.g. a mobile phone, a printer, the internet
etc. For further information, see http://www.itvt.com/etvwhitepaper.html.

‘Blu-Ray’ DVD Format

‘Blue-Ray’ DVD format is a large capacity optical disc video recording format that is currently under
development by the following companies:

Hitachi, Ltd.
LG Electronics Inc.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Pioneer Corporation
Royal Philips Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Sharp Corporation
Sony Corporation
Thomson Multimedia

The DVD Forum has established subcommittees of Working Group 11 to study blue laser optical disc
applications. Further information can be found at the DVD Forum (http://www.dvdforum.org/).
The use of blue lasers will allow DVD discs to have higher capacity and eventually enable the
recording of high-definition video stream.

Blue Laser DVD Format (0.6mm)

Proposed by NEC and Toshiba.
Increased capacities
This format can be manufactured using current DVD manufacturing infrastructure and therefore
minimises investment costs for manufacturers. It uses a short wavelength blue laser but due to new
signal processing and phase-change media recording technologies it claims it can increase current
DVD disc capacities. For further information, see:
http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/0208/2901.html.

Page 13 of 14
DVD Technology

References
DVD Forum. DVD Book Construction [on-line]. DVD Forum, 2003. Available from :
http://www.dvdforum.org/tech-dvdbook.htm. (Date accessed: 16 April 2003).

DVD Region Code Map [on-line]. Pioneer Electronics Australia Pty Limited. Available from:
http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/multimedia/dvd.htm. (Date accessed: 7 July 2003)

DVD-Audio Overview [on-line]. Disctronics, 2003. Available from:

http://www.disctronics.co.uk/technology/dvdaudio/dvdaud_intro.htm. (Date accessed:16 April
2003)

ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29. The MPEG Home Page [on-line]. ISO/IEC, 2003. Available from :
http://mpeg.telecomitalialab.com/. (Date accessed: 14 January 2003).

LABARGE Ralph. DVD Authoring & Production, an Authoritative Guide to DVD-Video, DVD-ROM &
WebDVD. Berkeley, USA: CMP Media LCC, 2001.

Macrovision Corporation. Preserving an Effective DVD Copy Protection System [on-line].

Macrovision Corporation, 2003. Available from:
http://www.macrovision.com/solutions/video/copyprotect/index.php3. (Date accessed: 17 April
2003).

NEC. Toshiba and NEC Jointly Propose Next Generation, High Capacity, Blue-Laser DVD Format
[on-line]. NEC, 2002. Available from: http://www.nec.co.jp/press/en/0208/2901.html. (Date
acessed: 16 April 2003).

Pioneer. Blue-ray Disc [on-line]. Pioneer Corporation, 2002. Available from:

http://www.pioneer.co.jp/press/release92.html. (Date accessed: 4 April 2003).

SCHÄFER Ralf, WIEGAND Thomas, SCHWARZ Heiko. The Emerging H.264/AVC Standard [on-line].
Berlin, Germany: Heinrich Hertw Institute, 2003. Available from: http://www.ebu.ch/trev_293-
schaefer.pdf (Date accessed: 4 April 2003).

Swedlow, Tracy. 2000: Interactive Enhanced Television: A Historical and Critical Perspective [on-
line]. American Film Institute/Intel, 2000. Available from:
http://www.itvt.com/etvwhitepaper.html. (Date accessed: 17 January 2003).

Taylor, Jim. DVD Demystified 2nd Ed. McGraw Hill, New York, 2001.

Page 14 of 14