Dimensions Guide

DVD, sometimes referred to as Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc, is used to store data, video and audio in digital format. There are several types of DVDs that you can find in the market today.

There are discs that already contain specific audio, video and data formats; and there are likewise recordable and rewritable DVDs. As for DVD size, the standard size used today is the one that comes in a diameter of twelve centimeters.

There is also a mini-DVD which has a diameter of eight centimeters. DVD size is similar the size of a Compact Disc or CD. 

Types of DVDs

As previously mentioned, there are different types of DVDs. These also have different capacities and designations or configurations. Capacities are determined in gigabyte or GB and gibibyte or GiB.

Types of DVDs include the DVD-ROM or read only memory; DVD-R or DVD+R which is a recordable disc; DVD-RW or DVD+RW or re-writable disc and DVD-RAM.

The recordable disc can only be used once to record video, audio or data format; after which, it will now be used as a DVD-ROM. On the other hand, the DVD-RW, DVD+RW and the DVD-RAM can be used to record any digital format, erase what has been recorded and then use the same discs to record again.

In a word, you can repeatedly use the last three types mentioned above to write and re-write multiple audio, video and data digital formats. 

Proliferation of DVD Piracy

Over the last couple of years, piracy has crippled the movie and music industry. Movies and music albums in DVD formats are continuously being illegally copied and then underground distribution is utilized to sell these pirated DVDs.

While penalties and punishment for copyright infringement has always been in place to protect the industry, a lot of unscrupulous people are still practicing movie and music piracy for their personal gain.

Today, all types of music and video formats in digital discs are open to piracy; not even the latest DVD type which is the Blu-Ray can be spared since there are likewise a lot of these discs already being copied by pirates.

True, pirated DVDs are more than a hundred times cheaper than original DVDs; they cannot withstand the test of time. In a word, these DVDs may be cheaper but since they are of extremely poor quality, they do not work properly; they do not last a lifetime and oftentimes, the music or movie stored are erased over time.