A DVD, short for "digital versatile disk" or "digital video disk", is an optical disk capable of storing media content, including data, audio and video. In many cases, DVDs are capable of storing all three.
DVDs come in multiple types and storage capacities. DVDs can be single-sided, double-sided, single-layer and double-layer, all of which dictate the amount of media content the DVD can store. Storage capacities of DVDs range from 1.46 GB in a single-sided, single-layered DVD to a 17.08 GB dual-sided, dual-layered DVD.
DVD variations also consist of DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-Ram, which describe the way in which media content is stored on the disk. DVD-R and DVD+R are able to be written with data (audio, video, data) only once, whereas DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-Ram are able to written, deleted and re-written multiple times.
DVDs also come in focused formats, such as DVD-Audio and DVD-Video, that cater to only one type of media content. DVD-Audio disks are capable of including more music, at a higher audio quality. DVD-Video disks have higher resolution capabilities than traditional video cassettes, making them more exciting and engaging to view media on. DVD-Video disks also have more storage space than video cassettes, allowing more extras, such as commentary, additional endings and special features, to be included.
Aside from home entertainment, DVDs are frequently used in academic and professional settings. Proposals, presentations, audio files and video files can all be stored on a DVD. A DVD's compact nature makes it ideal to send across the country, pack in a backpack or be stored away for future use.