Although the storage capacity of a CD-ROM is significant, many programs and games begin to have dimensions larger and larger. For example, an encyclopedia uses 4 or 5 CDs. This problem is solved by the emergence of the DVD and DVD-ROM drive, the next step after the compact disc. Of course, now there are the Blu-ray discs, but all about them in another article. Right now, about DVD.
The DVD is very important for computer users that use the largest and most exciting games, software packages and movies. The DVD technology replaced the video tapes and the CDs currently used on the market. A DVD looks like a normal CD, but the points of information are much smaller and closer to each other. So instead of 650 MB of information that can be stored on a CD, a DVD can now hold up to 4.7 GB.
Unlike the CD, a DVD can have two faces on which to record information, so by turning it around, you can add another 4.7 gigabytes of information. And the future will have multiple layers inside the disc, so it will store over 25 GB, enough for any video game right now. Yes, there are Blu-rays with 50 GB, but I wonder who needs them now. I mean, if you are a gamer, a DVD is enough. If you are a big company, then you might need Blu-rays to store your databases.
The first DVD-ROM discs contained instructive and recreational games. They use the additional capacity to add more video and audio segments of information and to make all media fragments to look and sound better than standard CDs.
To play a DVD, you need a DVD-ROM, which looks like the CD-ROM, but has two lasers: one for reading classical CDs and one for DVDs. After you install a DVD-ROM in your PC, it will be able to read any CD whether old or new.
The huge capacity of a DVD is ideal for storing high-quality pictures and sounds; in fact, Hollywood had an important role in the launch of the DVD. That’s because movies started to be released on video and DVD. To run these video-DVDs on a PC you need a DVD video decoder card, which works alongside the PC video card. As there appear more powerful PCs, you do not need to install an additional video card, as all ongoing activity within the video will be made of the ultra high-speed central processor of the PC.
As CD-ROMs, the DVD-ROMs allows you to write information, and then burn information to disc or to delete and then re-write another report. You can use them to clear some space from the hard disk, especially if you have a huge number of files or you temporarily store video and music files.
In 1990, the Japanese Sony Corporation started a collaboration with Phillips to create a digital versatile disc to have a greater storage capacity than a CD. Other companies have not accepted the standard proposed by Philips and Sony engineers. The DVD producers opted for this standard and Phillips-Sony alliance has agreed to deliver this product to the masses. They did great, don’t you think?
