DVD, n.
Brit. /ˌdiːviˈdiː/, U.S. /ˈdiˌviˈdi/
[Initialism < diigital video disc.
In 1995 rival manufacturers of the product initially named digital video disc agreed that, in order to emphasize the flexibility of the format for multimedia applications, the preferred abbreviation DVD would be understood to denote digital versatile disc:
| 1995 Chattanooga (Tennessee) Free Press (Nexis) 8 Dec. The companies said the official name of the format will simply be DVD. Toshiba had been using the name ‘digital video disk’, but that was switched to ‘digital versatile disk’ after computer companies complained that it left out their applications. Sony had favored MMCD, short for ‘multimedia compact disc’. |
A type of compact disc with shorter pits and narrower separation tracks, giving a higher recording density and thus enabling it to be used for video as well as audio data; the standard or format for such discs. Freq. attrib.
| 1993 Consumer Electronics (Nexis) 30 Aug. Pioneer's DVD system being developed incorporates advanced signal processing, precision writing to CD-size discs and data compression. 1994 Variety 11 July 34 In May of this year, Sony and Philips announced the joint development of a quad density digital video disk—or DVD. 1996 Byte Oct. 139/1 DVD is the next-generation optical disk standard that will bring gigabytes to your desktop. 1998 Which? June 32/1 You can use DVDs to store large amounts of computer information. 1999 BBC Music Mag. Apr. 59 There are already a few DVD discs which contain music, without movie material, which play back on an ordinary DVD player. 2000 T. Clancy Bear & Dragon xxxviii. 571 Winston picked up the controller to un-pause the DVD player. |
Compounds. DVD-audio n. a DVD format for audio recording.
| 1996 Billboard 14 Sept. 48/4 Pioneer introduces the D–9601 DAT recorder, a 96-kilohertz-sampling unit designed for compatibility with..the developing *DVD audio format. 1998 New Scientist 10 Oct. 22/1 Independent tests for the DVD Forum found that MLP extends DVD-Audio playing time to 89 minutes for 6-channel surround-sound and 230 minutes for stereo. 2001 Smarthouse Feb.–Mar. 32/2 This is a big boy's toy with..the flexibility to be expanded with the addition of a DVD-Audio board once the technology is available. |
DVD-R n. DVD-recordable; a DVD which can be recorded on only once; cf. CD-R n. at C n. Additions
| 1995 Consumer Electronics (Nexis) 28 Aug. 11 Taiyo Yuden, major maker of write-once CDs, said it's developing *DVD-R based on MMCD format. 1996 Sci. Amer. July 28/2 Within a few years, recordable DVD-RAM (random-access memory) and DVD-R (recordable) discs and players should reach the marketplace. 2003 Wired Jan. 51/1 (advt.) A recent test..indicates that DVD-R discs are more likely to play back on other DVD players than any other format of recordable disc tested. |
DVD-RAM n.<DVD n. + RAM n.6 a particular format of DVD that can be rerecorded many times, a rewritable DVD.
| 1996 Sci. Amer. July 28/2 Within a few years, recordable *DVD-RAM (random-access memory) and DVD-R (recordable) discs and players should reach the marketplace. 1999 BBC Music Mag. Apr. 59 There is already an eraseable version of DVD, called DVD-RAM, intended mainly for use with computers. |
DVD-ROM n.<DVD n. + ROM (in CD ROM n. at C n. Initialisms 3) a DVD that is played through a computer but cannot be rerecorded.
| 1995 Electronic Engin. Times 13 Nov. 24/5 Though the *DVD-ROM capacity will be about eight times that of a CD-ROM, there are not so many files that big that need to be stored. 1998 Daily Tel. 25 Nov. 37/2 Most DVD equipment hitting the market..is DVD-Rom, using discs that can only read pre-recorded information, including existing CDs. 2000 Times 17 Nov. 16/3 (advt.) AMD Athlon Processor 850MHz. 64Mb SDRAM, 20Gb Hard Disk, DVD-ROM and CD-ReWriter. |
DVD-RW n. DVD-rewritable; an erasable format of DVD that can be recorded on repeatedly; cf. CD-RW n. at C n. Additions
| 1996Re: FINAL WORD ON N64 in rec.games.video.nintendo (Usenet newsgroup) 29 Dec. Imagine..a 30X *DVD-RW drive with storage of 17GB. 1997 PTN Jan. 6/4 The next step, DVD-RW, although a mere five letters, is a really big word. It's two syllables longer than ‘phonograph record.’ 2002 Digital Photogr. made Easy No. 12. 18/3 Three different formats, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD+RW, have sprung up. |
DVD-video n. a DVD format for video recording.
| 1996 PC World Apr. 50/1 By September, Toshiba is expected to ship a $600 *DVD-Video device that connects to a TV. 2000 EMedia July 30 The new optical format of DVD has rapidly achieved an impressive installed base (some 8 million set-top DVD-video players and 30 million computer-hosted DVD-ROM drives). |