Name	Alec
Type	sexi|usage Standard Definition video Standard definition sound PS2 Xbox Xbox 360 games
Capacity	4.7 GB (single-sided, single-layer – common)8.5–8.7 GB (single-sided, double-layer)9.4 GB (double-sided, single-layer)17.08 GB (double-sided, double-layer – rare)
Read	650 nm laser, 10.5 Mbit/s (1×)
Write	10.5 Mbit/s (1×)
Standard	DVD Forum's DVD Books and DVD+RW Alliance specifications
Owners/creators	Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, Philips }}

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions.

Pre-recorded DVDs are mass-produced using molding machines that physically stamp data onto the DVD. Such discs are known as DVD-ROM, because data can only be read and not written nor erased. Blank recordable DVDs (DVD-R and DVD+R) can be recorded once using optical disc recording technologies and supported by optical disc drives and DVD recorders and then function as a DVD-ROM. Rewritable DVDs (DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM) can be recorded and erased multiple times.

DVDs are used in DVD-Video consumer digital video format and in DVD-Audio consumer digital audio format, as well as for authoring AVCHD discs. DVDs containing other types of information may be referred to as DVD data discs.

History

Before the advent of DVD and Blu-ray, the Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as View CD, Compact Disc digital video) became the first format for distributing digitally encoded films on standard 120 mm optical discs. (its predecessor CD Video used analog video encoding). VCD was on the market in 1993. In the same year, two new optical disc storage formats were being developed. One was the Multimedia Compact Disc (MMCD), backed by Philips and Sony, and the other was the Super Density (SD) disc, supported by Toshiba, Time Warner, Matsushita Electric, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Pioneer, Thomson, and JVC.

Representatives of the SD camp approached IBM, asking for advice on the file system to use for their disc as well as seeking support for their format for storing computer data. Alan E. Bell, a researcher from IBM's Almaden Research Center got that request and also learned of the MMCD development project. Wary of being caught in a repeat of the costly videotape format war between VHS and Betamax in the 1980s, he convened a group of computer industry experts, including representatives from Apple, Microsoft, Sun, Dell, and many others. This group was referred to as the Technical Working Group, or TWG.

The TWG voted to boycott both formats unless the two camps agreed on a single, converged standard. Lou Gerstner, president of IBM, was recruited to apply pressure on the executives of the warring factions. Eventually, the computer companies won the day, and a single format, now called DVD, was agreed upon. The TWG also collaborated with the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) on the use of their implementation of the ISO-13346 file system (known as Universal Disc Format) for use on the new DVDs.

Philips and Sony decided it was in their best interest to avoid another format war over their Multimedia Compact Disc, and agreed to unify with companies backing the Super Density Disc to release a single format with technologies from both. The specification was mostly similar to Toshiba and Matsushita's Super Density Disc, except for the dual-layer option (MMCD was single-sided and optionally dual-layer, whereas SD was single-layer but optionally double-sided) and EFMPlus modulation.

EFMPlus was chosen because of its great resilience to disc damage, such as scratches and fingerprints. EFMPlus, created by Kees Immink (who also designed EFM), is 6% less efficient than the modulation technique originally used by Toshiba, which resulted in a capacity of 4.7 GB, as opposed to the original 5 GB. The result was the DVD specification, finalized for the DVD movie player and DVD-ROM computer applications in December 1995.

The DVD Video format was first introduced by Toshiba in Japan in November 1996, in the United States in March 1997 (test marketed), in Europe in October 1998, and in Australia in February 1999.

In May 1997, the DVD Consortium was replaced by the DVD Forum, which is open to all other companies.

Specifications

DVD specifications created and updated by the DVD Forum are published as so-called ''DVD Books'' (e.g. DVD-ROM Book, DVD-Audio Book, DVD-Video Book, DVD-R Book, DVD-RW Book, DVD-RAM Book, DVD-AR Book, DVD-VR Book, etc.).

Some specifications for mechanical, physical and optical characteristics of DVD optical discs can be downloaded as ''freely available standards'' from the ISO website. Also, the DVD+RW Alliance publishes competing DVD specifications such as DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW or DVD+RW DL. These DVD formats are also ISO standards.

Some of DVD specifications (e.g. for DVD-Video) are not publicly available and can be obtained only from the DVD Format/Logo Licensing Corporation for a fee of US $5000. Every subscriber must sign a non-disclosure agreement as certain information in the DVD Book is proprietary and confidential.

Etymology

The official DVD charter documents specify that the basis of the DVD name stems from the term "digital versatile disc". Usage in the present day varies, with ''Digital Versatile Disc'', ''Digital Video Disc'', and ''DVD'' being the most common.

''DVD'' was originally used as an initialism for the unofficial term ''digital videodisk''.

A newsgroup FAQ written by Jim Taylor (a prominent figure in the industry) claims that four years later, in 1999, the DVD Forum stated that the format name was simply the three letters "DVD" and did not stand for anything.

The DVD Forum website has a section called "DVD Primer" in which the answer to the question, "What does DVD mean?" reads, "The keyword is 'versatile.' Digital Versatile Discs provide superb video, audio and data storage and access—all on one disc."

Identification (MID)

The DVD is made of a spiral groove read or written starting at the center. The form of the groove encodes unalterable identification data known as Media Identification Code (MID). The MID contains data such as the manufacturer and model, byte capacity, allowed data rates (also known as speed), etc.

Design

As a movie delivery medium

DVD was adopted by movie and home entertainment distributors to replace the ubiquitous VHS tape as the primary means of distributing films to consumers in the home entertainment marketplace. DVD was chosen for its superior ability to reproduce moving pictures and sound, for its superior durability, and for its interactivity. Interactivity had proven to be a feature which consumers, especially collectors, favored when the movie studios had released their films on laser disk. When the price point for a laser disk at approximately $100 per disk moved to $20 per disk at retail, this luxury feature became available for mass consumption. Simultaneously, the movie studios decided to change their home entertainment release model from a rental model to a for purchase model, and large numbers of dvds were sold.

At the same time, a demand for interactive design talent and services was created. Movies in the past had uniquely designed title sequences. Suddenly every movie being released required information architecture and interactive design components that matched the film's tone and were at the quality level that Hollywood demanded for its product.

New DVD releases are released weekly by all major studios. DVDs are typically released on Tuesdays of every week. With the advent of Blu-ray releases, studios now rely on both Blu-ray and DVDs to supplement their revenue for a particular movie.

As an interactive medium

DVD as a format had two qualities at the time that were not available in any other interactive medium: 1. Enough capacity and speed to provide high quality, full motion video and sound, and 2. low cost delivery mechanism provided by consumer products retailers who quickly moved to sell their players for under $200 and eventually for under $50 at retail. In addition, the medium itself was small enough and light enough to mail using general first class postage. Almost overnight, this created a new business opportunity and model for business innovators like Netflix to re-invent the home entertainment distribution model. It also opened up the opportunity for business and product information to be inexpensively provided on full motion video through direct mail.

Capacity

!rowspan="2" style="text-align:right;">1 style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;" style="text-align:right;"

+ Capacity and nomenclature<	SS = single-sided, DS = double-sided, SL = single-layer, DL = dual-layer	Designation	Layers(total) !!rowspan="2"	Diameter(cm) !!colspan="2"| Capacity
(Gigabyte	GB) !!align=right| (GiB)
DVD-1	SS SL		|	8	1.46	1.36
DVD-2	SS DL	style="text-align:right;"	1	2 ||	8	2.66	2.47
DVD-3	DS SL	style="text-align:right;"	2	2 ||	8	2.92	2.72
DVD-4	DS DL	style="text-align:right;"	2	4 ||	8	5.32	4.95
DVD-5	SS SL	style="text-align:right;"	1	1 ||	12	4.70	4.37
DVD-9	SS DL	style="text-align:right;"	1	2 ||	12	8.54	7.95
DVD-10	DS SL	style="text-align:right;"	2	2 ||	12	9.40	8.75
DVD-14<		DS SL+DL	style="text-align:right;">2	3 ||	12	13.24	12.33 <
DVD-18	DS DL	style="text-align:right;">2	4 ||	12	17.08	15.90

!rowspan="2" 1 SS SL (2.0) SS SL SS SL SS SL DS SL DS SL DS SL DS SL SS SL DS SL SS SL (1.0) SS SL (2.0) DS SL (1.0) DS SL (2.0)

+ Capacity and nomenclature of (re)writable discs	Designation	Layers(total) !!rowspan="2"	Diameter(cm) !!colspan="2"| Capacity
(Gigabyte		GB) !!align=right| (GiB)
DVD-R	SS SL (1.0)	|	1	12	3.95	3.68
DVD-R	|	1	1	12	4.70	4.37
DVD-RW	|	1	1	12	4.70	4.37
DVD+R	|	1	1	12	4.70	4.37
DVD+RW	|	1	1	12	4.70	4.37
DVD-R	|	2	2	12	9.40	8.75
DVD-RW	|	2	2	12	9.40	8.75
DVD+R	|	2	2	12	9.40	8.75
DVD+RW	|	2	2	12	9.40	8.75
DVD-RAM	|	1	1	8	1.46	1.36*
DVD-RAM	|	2	2	8	2.65	2.47*
DVD-RAM	|	1	1	12	2.58	2.40
DVD-RAM	|	1	1	12	4.70	4.37
DVD-RAM	|	2	2	12	5.16	4.80
DVD-RAM	|	2	2	12	9.40	8.75*

The basic types of DVD (12 cm diameter, single-sided or homogeneous double-sided) are referred to by a rough approximation of their capacity in gigabytes. In draft versions of the specification, DVD-5 indeed held five gigabytes, but some parameters were changed later on as explained above, so the capacity decreased. Other formats, those with 8 cm diameter and hybrid variants, acquired similar numeric names with even larger deviation.

The 12 cm type is a standard DVD, and the 8 cm variety is known as a MiniDVD. These are the same sizes as a standard CD and a mini-CD, respectively. The capacity by surface (MiB/cm²) varies from 6.92 MiB/cm² in the DVD-1 to 18.0 MiB/cm² in the DVD-18.

As with hard disk drives, in the DVD realm, gigabyte and the symbol GB are usually used in the SI sense (i.e., 10⁹, or 1,000,000,000 bytes). For distinction, gibibyte (with symbol GiB) is used (i.e., 1024³ (2³⁰), or 1,073,741,824 bytes).

Each DVD sector contains 2,418 bytes of data, 2,048 bytes of which are user data. There is a small difference in storage space between ''+'' and ''-'' (hyphen) formats:

Bytes 2,298,496 2,295,104 4,171,712 4,173,824

+ Capacity differences of writable DVD formats	Type	Sectors	|	kB	MB	GB	KiB	MiB	GiB
DVD-R SL	|	4,707,319,808	4,707,319.808	4,707.320	4.707	4,596,992	4,489.250	4.384
DVD+R SL	|	4,700,372,992	4,700,372.992	4,700.373	4.700	4,590,208	4,482.625	4.378
DVD-R DL	|	8,543,666,176	8,543,666.176	8,543.666	8.544	8,343,424	8,147.875	7.957
DVD+R DL	|	8,547,991,552	8,547,991.552	8,547.992	8.548	8,347,648	8,152.000	7.961

Technology

DVD uses 650 nm wavelength laser diode light as opposed to 780 nm for CD. This permits a smaller pit to be etched on the media surface compared to CDs (0.74 µm for DVD versus 1.6 µm for CD), allowing in part for DVD's increased storage capacity.

In comparison, Blu-ray Disc, the successor to the DVD format, uses a wavelength of 405 nm, and one dual-layer disc has a 50 GB storage capacity.

Writing speeds for DVD were 1×, that is, 1,385 kB/s (1,353 KiB/s), in the first drives and media models. More recent models, at 18× or 20×, have 18 or 20 times that speed. Note that for CD drives, 1× means 153.6 kB/s (150 KiB/s), about one-ninth as swift.

1.32 2.64 3.17 3.43 5.28 7.93 10.57 13.21 15.85 21.13 23.78 26.42 29.06 31.70

+ DVD drive speeds	Drive speed	Data rate	~Write time (min)
(Mbit/s) !! (MB/s) !! (MiB/s)	! SL !! DL
! 1×	11.08	1.39	|	57	103
2×	22.16	2.77	|	28	51
2.4×	26.59	3.32	|	24	43
2.6×	28.81	3.60	|	22	40
4×	44.32	5.54	|	14	26
6×	66.48	8.31	|	9	17
8×	88.64	11.08	|	7	13
10×	110.80	13.85	|	6	10
12×	132.96	16.62	|	5	9
16×	177.28	22.16	|	4	6
18×	199.44	24.93	|	3	6
20×	221.60	27.70	|	3	5
22×	243.76	30.47	|	3	5
24×	265.92	33.24	|	2	4

Internal mechanism of a drive

This mechanism is shown right side up; the disc would sit on top of it. The laser and optical system scans the underside of the disc.

With reference to the photo, just to the right of image center is the disc spin motor, a gray cylinder, with its gray centering hub and black resilient drive ring on top. A clamp (not in the photo, retained in the drive's cover), pulled down by a magnet, clamps the disc when this mechanism rises, after the disc tray stops moving inward. This motor has an external rotor – every visible part of it spins.

The gray metal chassis is shock-mounted at its four corners to reduce sensitivity to external shocks, and to reduce drive noise when running fast. The soft shock mount grommets are just below the brass-colored washers at the four corners (the left one is obscured). Running through those grommets are screws to fasten them to the black plastic frame that's underneath.

Two parallel precision guide rods that run between upper left and lower right in the photo carry the "sled", the moving optical read-write head. As shown, this "sled" is close to, or at the position where it reads or writes at the edge of the disc.

A dark gray disc with two holes on opposite sides has a blue lens surrounded by silver-colored metal. This is the lens that's closest to the disc; it serves to both read and write by focusing the laser light to a very small spot. It is likely that this disc rotates half a turn to position a different set of optics (the other "hole") for CDs vs. DVDs.

Under the disc is an ingenious actuator comprising permanent magnets and coils that move the lens up and down to maintain focus on the data layer. As well, the actuator moves the lens slightly toward and away from the spin-motor spindle to keep the spot on track. Both focus and tracking are relatively quite fast and very precise. The same actuator rotates the lens mount half a turn as described.

To select tracks (or files) as well as advancing the "sled" during continuous read or write operations, a stepping motor rotates a coarse-pitch leadscrew to move the "sled" throughout its total travel range. The motor, itself, is the gray cylinder just to the left of the most-distant shock mount; its shaft is parallel to the support rods. The leadscrew, itself, is the rod with evenly-spaced darker details; these are the helical groove that engages a pin on the "sled".

The irregular orange material is flexible etched copper foil supported by thin sheet plastic; these are "flexible printed circuits" that connect everything to the electronics (which is not shown).

DVD recordable and rewritable

HP initially developed recordable DVD media from the need to store data for backup and transport.

DVD recordables are now also used for consumer audio and video recording. Three formats were developed: DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW (plus), and DVD-RAM. DVD-R is available in two formats, General (650 nm) and Authoring (635 nm), where Authoring discs may be recorded with encrypted content but General discs may not.

Although most DVD writers can nowadays write the DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW formats (usually denoted by "DVD±RW" and/or the existence of both the DVD Forum logo and the DVD+RW Alliance logo), the "plus" and the "dash" formats use different writing specifications. Most DVD readers and players will play both kinds of discs, although older models can have trouble with the "plus" variants.

Some first generation DVD players would cause damage to DVD±R/RW/DL when attempting to read them.

== Dual-layer recording == Dual-layer recording (sometimes also known as double-layer recording) allows DVD-R and DVD+R discs to store significantly more data—up to 8.54 gigabytes per disc, compared with 4.7 gigabytes for single-layer discs. Along with this, DVD-DLs have slower write speeds as compared to ordinary DVDs and when played on a DVD player a slight transition can sometimes be seen between the layers. DVD-R DL was developed for the DVD Forum by Pioneer Corporation; DVD+R DL was developed for the DVD+RW Alliance by Philips and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM).

A dual-layer disc differs from its usual DVD counterpart by employing a second physical layer within the disc itself. The drive with dual-layer capability accesses the second layer by shining the laser through the first semitransparent layer. In some DVD players, the layer change can exhibit a noticeable pause, up to several seconds. This caused some viewers to worry that their dual-layer discs were damaged or defective, with the end result that studios began listing a standard message explaining the dual-layer pausing effect on all dual-layer disc packaging.

DVD recordable discs supporting this technology are backward-compatible with some existing DVD players and DVD-ROM drives. Many current DVD recorders support dual-layer technology, and the price is now comparable to that of single-layer drives, although the blank media remain more expensive. The recording speeds reached by dual-layer media are still well below those of single-layer media.

There are two modes for dual-layer orientation. With ''Parallel Track Path'' (PTP), used on DVD-ROM, both layers start at the inside diameter (ID) and end at the outside diameter (OD) with the lead-out. With ''Opposite Track Path'' (OTP), used on many Digital Video Discs, the lower layer starts at the ID and the upper layer starts at the OD, where the other layer ends; they share one lead-in and one lead-out.

DVD-Video

DVD-Video is a standard for storing and distributing video/audio content on DVD media. The format went on sale in Japan on November 1, 1996, in the United States on March 1, 1997, in Europe on October 1, 1998 and in Australia on February 1, 1999. DVD-Video became the dominant form of home video distribution in Japan when it first went on sale in 1996, but did not become the dominant form of home video distribution in the United States until June 15, 2003, when weekly DVD-Video in the United States rentals began outnumbering weekly VHS cassette rentals, reflecting the rapid adoption rate of the technology in the U.S. marketplace. Currently, DVD-Video is the dominant form of home video distribution worldwide, although in Japan it was surpassed by Blu-ray Disc when Blu-ray first went on sale in Japan on March 31, 2006.

Security

Content Scramble System (CSS) is a Digital Rights Management (DRM) and encryption system employed on almost all commercially produced DVD-video discs. CSS utilizes a proprietary 40-bit stream cipher algorithm. The system was introduced around 1996 and was first compromised in 1999.

The purpose of CSS is twofold:

# CSS prevents byte-for-byte copies of an MPEG (digital video) stream from being playable since such copies do not include the keys that are hidden on the lead-in area of the restricted DVD. # CSS provides a reason for manufacturers to make their devices compliant with an industry-controlled standard, since CSS scrambled discs cannot in principle be played on noncompliant devices; anyone wishing to build compliant devices must obtain a license, which contains the requirement that the rest of the DRM system (region codes, Macrovision, and user operation prohibition) be implemented.

While most CSS-decrypting software is used to play DVD videos, other pieces of software (such as DVD Decrypter, AnyDVD, DVD43, Smartripper, and DVD Shrink) can copy a DVD to a hard drive and remove Macrovision, CSS encryption, region codes and user operation prohibition.

Consumer restrictions

The rise of filesharing and "piracy" has prompted many copyright holders to display notices on DVD packaging or displayed on screen when the content is played that warn consumers of the illegality of certain uses of the DVD. It is commonplace to include a 90 second advert warning that most forms of copying the contents are illegal. Many DVDs prevent skipping past or fast-forwarding through this warning.

Arrangements for renting and lending differ by geography. In the U.S., the right to re-sell, rent, or lend out bought DVDs is protected by the first-sale doctrine under the Copyright Act of 1976. In Europe, rental and lending rights are more limited, under a 1992 European Directive that gives copyright holders broader powers to restrict the commercial renting and public lending of DVD copies of their work.

DVD-Audio

DVD-Audio is a format for delivering high fidelity audio content on a DVD. It offers many channel configuration options (from mono to 5.1 surround sound) at various sampling frequencies (up to 24-bits/192 kHz versus CDDA's 16-bits/44.1 kHz). Compared with the CD format, the much higher-capacity DVD format enables the inclusion of considerably more music (with respect to total running time and quantity of songs) and/or far higher audio quality (reflected by higher sampling rates and greater sample resolution, and/or additional channels for spatial sound reproduction).

Despite DVD-Audio's superior technical specifications, there is debate as to whether the resulting audio enhancements are distinguishable in typical listening environments. DVD-Audio currently forms a niche market, probably due to the very sort of format war with rival standard SACD that DVD-Video avoided.

Security

DVD-Audio discs employ a DRM mechanism, called Content Protection for Prerecorded Media (CPPM), developed by the 4C group (IBM, Intel, Matsushita, and Toshiba).

Although CPPM was supposed to be much harder to crack than DVD-Video's CSS, it too was eventually cracked in 2007 with the release of the ''dvdcpxm'' tool. The subsequent release of the libdvdcpxm library (which is based on dvdcpxm) allowed for the development of open source DVD-Audio players and ripping software, such as DVD-Audio Explorer. As a result, making 1:1 copies of DVD-Audio discs is now possible with relative ease, much like DVD-Video discs.

Improvements and succession

HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc

In 2006, two new formats called HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released as the successor to DVD. HD DVD competed successfully with Blu-ray Disc in the format war of 2006–2008. A dual layer HD DVD can store up to 30GB and a dual layer Blu-ray disc can hold up to 50GB.

However, unlike previous format changes, e.g., audio tape to Compact Disc or VHS videotape to DVD, there is no immediate indication that production of the standard DVD will gradually wind down, as they still dominate, with around 75% of video sales and approximately one billion DVD player sales worldwide as of 3 April 2011. In fact, experts claim that the DVD will remain the dominant medium for at least another five years as Blu-ray technology is still in its introductory phase, write and read speeds being poor as well as the fact of necessary hardware being expensive and not readily available.

Consumers initially were also slow to adopt Blu-ray due to the cost. By 2009, 85% of stores were selling Blu-ray Discs. A high-definition television and appropriate connection cables are also required to take advantage of Blu-ray disc. Some analysts suggest that the biggest obstacle to replacing DVD is due to its installed base; a large majority of consumers are satisfied with DVDs. The DVD succeeded because it offered a compelling alternative to VHS. In addition, Blu-ray players are designed to be backward-compatible, allowing older DVDs to be played since the media are physically identical; this differed from the change from vinyl to CD and from tape to DVD, which involved a complete change in physical medium. it is still commonplace for major releases to be issued in "combo pack" format, including both a DVD and a Blu-ray disc (as well as, in many cases, a third disc with an authorized digital copy). Also, some multi-disc sets use Blu-ray for the main feature, but DVDs for supplementary features (examples of this include the ''Harry Potter'' "Ultimate Edition" collections, the 2009 re-release of the 1967 ''The Prisoner'' TV series, and a 2007 collection related to ''Blade Runner''). Another reason cited (July 2011) for the slower transition to Blu-ray from DVD is the necessity of and confusion over "firmware updates" and needing an internet connection to perform updates.

This situation can be best compared to the changeover from 78 rpm shellac recordings to 45 rpm and 33⅓ rpm vinyl recordings; because the medium used for the earlier format was virtually the same as the latter version (a disc on a turntable, played using a needle), phonographs continued to be built to play obsolete 78s for decades after the format was discontinued. Manufacturers continue to release standard DVD titles , and the format remains the preferred one for the release of older television programs and films, with some programs such as ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' needing to be re-scanned to produce a high definition version from the original film recordings (certain special effects were also updated in order to be better received in high-definition viewing). In the case of ''Doctor Who'', a series primarily produced on standard definition videotape between 1963 and 1989, BBC Video reportedly intends to continue issuing DVD-format releases of that series until at least November 2013 (since there would be very little increase in visual quality from upconverting the standard definition videotape masters to high definition).

Holographic Versatile Disc

The Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) is an optical disc technology that may one day hold up to 6 terabytes of information, although the current maximum is 500 GB. It employs a technique known as collinear holography.

5D DVD

The 5D DVD, being developed in the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, uses a multilaser system to encode and read data on multiple layers. Technology could be compatible with current DVD disc-drive technology. Disc capacities are estimated at up to 10 terabytes, and the technology could be commercially ready by 2019.

Use as backup medium

Durability of DVDs is measured by how long the data may be read from the disc, assuming compatible devices exist that can read it: that is, how long the disc can be stored until data is lost. Five factors affect durability: sealing method, reflective layer, organic dye makeup, where it was manufactured, and storage practices.

The longevity of the ability to read from a DVD+R or DVD-R is largely dependent on manufacturing quality, ranging from 2 to 15 years, and is believed to be an unreliable medium for backup unless great care is taken for storage conditions and handling.

According to the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA), "manufacturers claim life spans ranging from 30 to 100 years for DVD, DVD-R and DVD+R discs and up to 30 years for DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM".

See also

Book type

Digital video recorder (DVR)

Disk drive performance characteristics

DVD authoring

DVD region code

DVD TV game

Evita (first film to be released on DVD)

IFO, BUP and VOB

Professional Disc

VCD

References

Further reading

External links

DVD at the Open Directory Project

Dual Layer Explained – Informational Guide to the Dual Layer Recording Process

DVD Frequently Asked Questions (and Answers)

DVD Burning and Ripping: A Primer, A Glossary

YouTube: Segment from 1997 Toshiba DVD demo disc – Technical information about the then-new DVD format, from "DVD Gallery," an in-store demonstration disc from Toshiba.

Category:DVD Category:Audio storage Category:Computer storage media Category:Consumer electronics Category:Joint ventures Category:Video storage Category:120 mm discs Category:1995 introductions

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name	Michael Manring
landscape	yes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
alias	Manthing
born	June 1960
origin	Washington, D.C., United States
instrument	Bass guitar
genre	Jazz, World
occupation	Musician
years active	1975–present
label	Windham Hill, Highstreet, Alchemy, Manthing
website	www.manthing.com
notable instruments	}}

Michael Manring (born June 1960 in Annapolis) is an American electric bassist from the San Francisco Bay Area, (Northern California).

Biography

Michael Manring was born as youngest of four children. His family lived in Norfolk, Virginia and moved to the suburbs of Washington, D.C in 1969. The Manrings were a very active family musically, providing a very fertile background for Michael's musical development. He and his brother Doug - a guitarist and drummer, later living a long time in Japan - formed a very active rhythm group still being at high school, venturing through jazz rock and fusion, playing rock classics at beer parties or pop standards in restaurants and at weddings.

Manring was a pupil of bassist Peter Princiotto from Spring Hill area, Virginia. He began to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1970s, but canceled his studies in 1979 because of the heavy workload he already had, touring with several different bands like the Prog Rock band However. During his time at Berklee College he used every opportunity to play with very different musicians and bands. In the 1980s he studied and toured with Jaco Pastorius and began to develop his own style.

In addition to a long tenure in the 1980s as house bassist for Windham Hill Records, Manring has recorded with Spastic Ink, Alex Skolnick (in the bands Skol-Patrol and Attention Deficit, also featuring Tim Alexander from Primus), Larry Kassin, Tom Darter, Steve Morse, David Cullen, Alex de Grassi, Will Ackerman and many other noted musicians. He headlined his own band, Montreux, throughout the 1980s. He has been a member of Yo Miles!, Henry Kaiser and Wadada Leo Smith's Miles Davis tribute band, since its inception. 1994 Manring was polled ''Bassist Of The Year'' by the readers of ''Bass Player'' magazine. Manring's name is also tied with that of fingerstyle guitarist Michael Hedges, who was a dear friend and fellow musician. Manring toured extensively with Hedges and played on all Hedges albums except one. Manring is known as a humble and gracious live performer with a gift for improvisation with guest musicians.

Since 2005 Manring is member of the band DeMania with guitarist Alex de Grassi and percussionist Christopher Garcia.

Michael Manring remains active, touring the world for performances and clinics. He lives in Oakland, California.

Music and musical influences

Because of his association with the Windham Hill label Manring often was seen as a New Age musician. He doesn't see himself as belonging to a certain style or genre and often jokes about categorising his music. His album ''Thonk'' he termed for example "... the first New Age–Death metal–Fusion–album“.

Manring has a solid musical knowledge and uses the bass as a solo instrument usually in alternate tunings, with additional possibilities and patterns invoked on the fly with lever-activated de-tuners and bridges, somewhat like a pedal steel guitar. He wants to show that the electric bass can be used in a musically rich and expressive way. Manring occasionally plays on two (or even three or four) basses at the same time during live performances. Manring is also a composer of experimental music, mixing technology and fretless bass with the sounds of kitchen implements and cardboard boxes, evidenced on his "Book of Flame" solo album.

He is a technical virtuoso, generally using his bass in very different ways. Mostly he plays a fretless bass, which gives him ample possibilities to change tone and pitch just like on acoustic bass. Manring is rhythmically very versatile and often uses polyrhythms. He's said to do "... things on the electric bass that haven’t been done before, are nearly impossible, and (are) illegal in most states.". A very special technique used by Manring is the tuning change of single or several strings in the course of playing a piece.

Equipment

Manring plays a custom bass by ''Zon Guitars'', the so-called ''Zon Hyperbass'', a very flexible instrument, which was developed by Joseph Zon and Manring. Special tuning pegs and a special bridge allow instantaneous tuning change of single strings as well as of all strings simultaneously by the action of several tiny levers, a system like that of the TransTrem guitar. The development of this special model was caused by Manring's use of open tunings. When Manring began changing tunings during pieces by turning the pegs while playing, he soon realised the limitations of this approach. First he tried to overcome these limitations by changing a normal Music Man Sting Ray Bass, but then began to develop the Hyperbass with Zon. The Hyperbass has Bartolini pickups for every string and four Fishman Transducer for the body signals of the instruments.

Apart from the Hyperbass, Manring uses a whole fleet of instruments. A listing at his website gives the following models:

Zon Legacy Elite Special fretless, aka "Bub"

Homemade Jazz Bass-style fretless

Zon Michael Manring Hyperbass

Zon Custom Fretless, aka "Junior" or "Son of Bub"

Larrivee 5-string fretless acoustic bass guitar

MusicMan Stingray fretless

Paroutaud Music Laboratories 5-string fretless ''Infinite Sustain'' prototype

PRS fretless

Riverhead Unicorn fretless

Riverhead Unicorn fretted bass

Zon prototype headless fretted bass, aka "Vinny"

Zon Legacy Elite 6-string fretless

Zon prototype Legacy 10-string bass (5 x 2).

Manring uses several bass amplifiers, among others the ''SWR Mo' Bass'' amp, a multi effect bass amp.

Discography

''collected from and

Original work

1986 ''Unusual Weather'' (Windham Hill)

1989 ''Toward the Center of the Night (Windham Hill)

1991 ''Drastic Measures'' (Windham Hill)

1994 ''Thonk'' (Highstreet)

1995 ''Up Close 21'' (Windham Hill / High Street Records / Boston Acoustic)

1998 ''The Book of Flame'' (Alchemy Records)

2005 ''Soliloquy'' (Manthing Music)

Collaborations

; with Michael Hedges

1981 ''Breakfast in the Field'' (Windham Hill)

1984 ''Aerial Boundaries'' (Windham Hill)

1986 ''Watching My Life Go By'' (Open Air)

1987 ''Live on the Double Planet'' (Windham Hill)

1990 ''Taproot'' (Windham Hill)

1996 ''Oracle'' (Windham Hill)

1999 ''Torched'' (Windham Hill)

2000 ''Michael Hedges – The Best of Michael Hedges'' (Windham Hill)

2001 ''Beyond Boundaries – Guitar Solos'' (Windham Hill)

2003 ''Platinum & Gold Collection'' (RCA Victor)

2006 ''Pure Michael Hedges'' (RCA)

; with Danny Heines

2001 ''What Worlds They Bring'' (Vadadisc)

; with Alex Skolnick

1997 ''The Skol-Patrol'' (Pluto-Bound)

; with Montreux

1985 ''Chiaroscuro'' (Windham Hill)

1987 ''Sign Language'' (Windham Hill)

1989 ''Let Them Say'' (Windham Hill)

; with John Gorka

1991 ''Jack’s Crows'' (High Street)

1992 ''Temporary Road'' (High Street)

1994 ''Out of the Valley'' (High Street)

1996 ''Between Five and Seven'' (High Street)

1998 ''After Yesterday'' (Red House)

2001 ''Company You Keep'' (Red House)

2006 ''Writing in the Margins'' (Red House)

; with Paolo Giordano

1994 ''Paolo Giordano'' (Step Musique/New Sounds)

2000 ''Kid in a Toy Shop'' (Step Musique/New Sounds)

; with Turtle String Island Quartet

1995 ''By the Fireside'' (Windham Hill)

; with Attention Deficit

1998 ''Attention Deficit'' (Magna Carta)

2001 ''The Idiot King'' (Magna Carta)

; with Jeff Loomis

2008 ''Zero Order Phase'' (Century Media)

; with Yo Miles

1998 ''Yo Miles!'' (Shanachie)

2004 ''Sky Garden'' (Cuneiform)

2005 ''Upriver'' (Cuneiform)

; with Sadhappy

1998 ''Good Day Bad Dream'' (Periscope Recordings)

2005 ''Outerspaces'' (Periscope Recordings)

; with Scott McGill und Vic Stevens

2001 ''Addition by Subtraction'' (Free Electric Sound)

2003 ''Controlled by Radar'' (Free Electric Sound)

2006 ''What We Do'' (Free Electric Sound)

; with Larry Kassin und Tom Darter

2001 ''Scatter'' (MKD Music)

; with David Cullen

2001 ''Equilibré'' (Solid Air Records)

; with Human Factor

2002 ''Human Factor'' (Human Factor)

; with At War With Self

2005 ''Torn Between Dimensions'' (Free Electric Sound)

; with DeMania

2006 ''DeMania'' (Tropo Records)

; with Jeff Dodd

2007 ''Falling Awake'' (Aesthetic Records)

; with Jeff Titus

2007 ''Wood Dragon'' (Musician101 Music)

2011 ''What We Don't Know'' (Jeff Titus Music)

; with Jim Matheos

1999 ''Away with Words''

; with Yves Carbonne and Dominique Di Piazza 2005 ''Carbonne - Di Piazza - Manring''

; with Justin King (as King West Manring Vamos)

2008 ''I-XII''

; with Sándor Szabó

2010 ''Inner Smile'' (Indie Europe/Zoom) (ASIN: B0035W8QIS)

Compilations

; Windham Hill compilations

1982 ''An Evening with Windham Hill Live'' (Windham Hill)

1985 ''Windham Hill – Winter '' (Windham Hill)

1985 ''Windham Hill Sampler '86 '' (Windham Hill)

1985 ''Windham Hill Sampler '85'' (Windham Hill)

1986 ''A Winter’s Solstice II'' (Windham Hill)

1989 ''Windham Hill Radio Sampler I'' (Windham Hill)

1990 ''Windham Hill – The First Ten Years '' (Windham Hill)

1990 ''A Winter’s Solstice III '' (Windham Hill)

1990 ''Restore the Shore'' (Windham Hill)

1991 ''Windham Hill Sampler '92 '' (Windham Hill)

1991 ''Windham Hill Guitar Sampler II'' (Windham Hill)

1993 ''A Winter’s Solstice IV'' (Windham Hill)

1995 ''Heal the Bay'' (Windham Hill)

1996 ''Sanctuary – 20 Years of Windham Hill'' (Windham Hill)

1996 ''Redbook Relaxers – Daybreak '' (Windham Hill)

1996 ''Redbook Relaxers – Dreamscape'' (Windham Hill)

1996 ''Carols of Christmas'' (Windham Hill)

1997 ''Summer Solstice – A Windham Hill Collection '' (Windham Hill)

1997 ''Redbook Relaxers – Lullabies '' (Windham Hill)

1997 ''Redbook Relaxers – Dinner Party '' (Windham Hill)

1997 ''Redbook Relaxers – Between Friends '' (Windham Hill)

1997 ''Redbook Relaxers – After Hours '' (Windham Hill)

1997 ''Redbook Relaxers – Piano Reflections '' (Windham Hill)

1998 ''Thanksgiving – A Windham Hill Collection '' (Windham Hill)

1998 ''Yoga Zone – Music for Yoga Practice '' (Windham Hill)

1998 ''Conversations with God II'' (Windham Hill)

1999 ''Sun Dance – Summer Solstice III'' (Windham Hill)

2000 ''Windham Hill Classics – Morning '' (Windham Hill)

2000 ''Windham Hill Classics – Journeys'' (Windham Hill)

2000 ''Windham Hill Classics – Harvest'' (Windham Hill)

2000 ''Windham Hill Classics – Angels'' (Windham Hill)

2000 ''The Mozart Variations'' (Windham Hill)

2002 ''Spirit of Life '' (Windham Hill)

2003 ''Windham Hill Chill II'' (Windham Hill)

2003 ''Prayer – A Windham Hill Collection'' (Windham Hill)

2003 ''Adagio – A Windham Hill Collection'' (Windham Hill)

2003 ''A Winter’s Solstice V'' (Windham Hill)

2003 ''A Windham Hill Wedding Album'' (Windham Hill)

2004 ''Winter Wonderland – A Windham Hill Collection '' (Windham Hill)

2004 ''Lullaby – A Windham Hill Collection '' (Windham Hill)

2005 ''A Quiet Revolution – 30 Years of Windham Hill'' (Windham Hill)

2005 ''Essential Winter’s Solstice '' (Windham Hill)

; BMG compilations

1997 ''Twilight Jazz'' (BMG)

1997 ''Meditation – Revive '' (BMG)

1997 ''Candlelight Moments – Romantic Moments '' (BMG)

1997 ''Candlelight Moments – Meditative Moments '' (BMG)

1998 ''Moonlight Reflections'' (BMG)

1998 ''Quiet Moods – Romantic Reflections '' (BMG)

1998 ''Quiet Moods – Meditative Moments '' (BMG)

2000 ''New Age Christmas'' (BMG)

2000 ''Awake'' (BMG)

2000 ''Yoga – Energy '' (BMG)

2000 ''Yoga – Balance Energy and Strength '' (BMG)

2001 ''Meditation – Relax Restore and Revive '' (BMG)

2002 ''Meditation – Renew '' (BMG)

2002 ''Meditation – Relax '' (BMG)

; other label's compilations

1994 ''We Sing to Open Ears'' (High Street Records)

1996 ''Different Mozart'' (Philips)

1997 ''Heritage'' (Polygram )

1997 ''A Very Green Christmas '' (Seventh Wave)

1999 ''Moonlight Moments '' (Columbia River)

1999 ''Soundscape – New Age Reflections'' (Delta/BMG)

1999 ''Bass Talk, Vol. 6 '' (Hot Wire)

1999 ''Bass Day '98'' (Hudson Music)

2000 ''Dreamscape'' (Delta)

2003 ''Guitar Harvest I'' (Solid Air)

2004 ''Healing Garden – The Art of Relaxation '' (Madacy)

2005 ''Brazil Duets'' (Adventure Music)

2006 "Woodsongs: An Acoustic Guitar Collection" (New Land Music)

2010 "The Quantum Activist Soundtrack" (Bluedot Productions)

DVD, video

1996 ''Bass Essentials'' (Hot Licks)

1998 ''The Artist’s Profile: Michael Manring'' (ecliptic productions)

1998 ''Bass Day '98'' DVD (Hudson Music)

2000 ''Michael Manring: Instructional Bass'' (Video, Hal Leonard)

2009 ''The Quantum Activist'' Documentary Soundtrack (Bluedot Productions)

References

External links

Official Michael Manring website

Ask Steve Lawson and Michael Manring forum at TalkBass.com

Solo Bass Night A recurring Bay Area, California solo bass show featuring Michael Manring

Official Peter Princiotto website

http://www.liraproductions.com/dmg/index.htm - the official DEMANIA site

Bassist Michael Manring, an Interview With Editor Jake Kot

Michael Manring: A Review of the May 2009 Portland OR Concert, 8/01/2009

Michael Manring Interview with Blogger Tommy Landry, 2011

Category:American bass guitarists Category:New Age musicians Category:Chamber jazz bass guitarists Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:Living people Category:1960 births Category:Windham Hill Records artists

de:Michael Manring es:Michael Manring fr:Michael Manring it:Michael Manring pl:Michael Manring

{{infobox musical artist| background	non_vocal_instrumentalist | instrument Guitar
name	Pat Metheny
born	August 12, 1954Lee's Summit. Missouri, United States
instrument	Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, guitar synthesizer
occupation	Musician, songwriter
genre	Jazz, jazz fusion, world fusion, post-bop, jazz-rock, crossover jazz
associated acts	Pat Metheny Group, Noa, The Orb, Steve Reich
label	ECM, Geffen, Nonesuch
notable instruments	Gibson ES-175 Ibanez PM20 Signature ModelIbanez PM100 Signature ModelIbanez PM35Roland GR-300Pikasso guitar
years active	1974–present
website	}}

Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny (pronounced ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer.

One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progressive and contemporary jazz, post-bop, latin jazz and jazz fusion. Pat Metheny has three gold albums and 17 Grammy Awards. He is the brother of jazz flugelhornist and journalist Mike Metheny.

Biography

Metheny was born and raised in Lee's Summit, Missouri, a suburb southeast of Kansas City. Following his graduation from Lee's Summit High School, he briefly attended the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida in 1972, where he was quickly offered a teaching position. He then moved to Boston to take a teaching assistantship at the Berklee College of Music with jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton. He first made his name as a teenage prodigy under the wing of Burton. In the liner notes on the 2-disc Montgomery compilation ''Impressions: the Verve Jazz Sides'', Metheny is quoted as saying, "(Smokin' at the Half Note) is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. It is also the record that taught me how to play."

The angular compositions, asymmetrical lines, relentless rhythmic drive, and deep blues feeling of Ornette Coleman's ''New York is Now'' (Blue Note) inspired Metheny to find his own direction. He has recorded Coleman compositions on a number of his records (starting with a medley of "Round Trip" and "Broadway Blues" on his debut ''Bright Size Life''); worked extensively with Coleman collaborators such as Charlie Haden, Dewey Redman, and Billy Higgins; and has even made a record, ''Song X'', with Coleman.

Metheny's playing (as well as his tone) also show significant influence by Jim Hall, Joe Diorio, Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, and other classic jazz players. Metheny has often been quoted saying that he is as likely to name non-guitarists as significant stylistic influences as fellow guitar players, giving as examples players like Clifford Brown and John Coltrane. He has stated that Miles Davis' live album Four & More was hugely influential on his pursuit into jazz music. He has also admitted to being heavily influenced by The Beatles, going so far as to say that everything by The Beatles has impacted him as a musician. He has paid significant attention to the evolution of guitar playing across genres, however, and is familiar with the playing of notables from the likes of rocker Eddie Van Halen to Leo Kottke.

In particular, he has been influenced by Brazilian music--both the European-influenced jazz sound of the bossa nova and the intensely polyrhythmic Afro-Brazilian sounds of the country's northeast. Metheny made 3 albums on ECM with the Brazilian vocalist and percussionist Naná Vasconcelos in the early 1980s. He also lived in Brazil from the late 1980s to the early 1990s and performed with several local musicians such as Milton Nascimento and Toninho Horta. He also played with Antonio Carlos Jobim as a tribute, in a live performance in Carnegie Hall Salutes The Jazz Masters: Verve 50th Anniversary before Jobim’s passing away.

He is also a fan of several pop music artists, especially singer/songwriters including The Beatles; James Taylor (after whom he named the song "James" on ''Offramp''); Bruce Hornsby, Cheap Trick, Joni Mitchell, with whom he performed on her Shadows and Light (1980, Asylum/ Elektra) live tour. Metheny is also fond of Buckethead's music. He also worked with, sponsored or helped to make attractive recordings of unique singer/songwriters from all over the world such as Pedro Aznar (Argentina), David Bowie (UK), Silje Nergaard (Norway), Noa (Israel), and Anna Maria Jopek (Poland).

Two of Metheny's recordings, ''The Way Up'' and ''Orchestrion'', evidence the influence of American minimalist composer Steve Reich and utilize similar rhythmic figures structured around pulse. Reich's composition ''Electric Counterpoint'' was first recorded by Metheny and appears on the ''Different Trains'' CD released by Nonesuch Records in 1987.

The Metheny Brothers

Pat took part in recording some of the CDs by his older brother, trumpeter Mike Metheny, a talented jazz musician and a trumpet player based in Kansas City, Missouri, among them ''Day In - Night Out'' (1986) and more recently ''Close Enough for Love'' (2001). and

Bibliography

Discography

Early recognition

Chuck Lorre (producer of ''Two and a Half Men'' and ''The Big Bang Theory'') mentions Pat Metheny in his weekly 'vanity card' (shown briefly after the credits of the Season 1 Episode 12 episode of ''The Big Bang Theory'' entitled "The Jerusalem Duality"). To summarize, Chuck Lorre was a professional guitarist at the age of 22. He was invited to audit a jazz guitar class at the University of Miami, and his ego was crushed when Pat Metheny began to play. Chuck says that this experience played a part in shifting his focus toward television.

Awards

In 1995, Pat Metheny was granted the Miles Davis Award by the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

References

External links

The Pat Metheny homepage - biographies, discographies, discussion and songbook forums, tour dates, etc.

The most complete Pat Metheny discography with radio shows, promos a. o.

Pat Metheny entry at AllMusic.com

Pat Metheny profile, NNDB

Pat Metheny's guitar rig

Pat Metheny's artist file on the Montreal International Jazz Festival's website

Category:1954 births Category:Living people Category:People from Lee's Summit, Missouri Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Lead guitarists Category:American jazz guitarists Category:Jazz fusion guitarists Category:Post-bop guitarists Category:Berklee College of Music faculty Category:Grammy Award winners Category:University of Miami alumni Category:University of Miami faculty Category:Musicians from Missouri Category:ECM artists Category:Geffen Records artists Category:Nonesuch Records artists

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