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Who Invented DVD?
The notion of a high density optical video disc was toyed with by numerous companies in the late '80s and early '90s, but it wasn't until 1993 that the germ of what we know now as DVD began to grow. That year British company Nimbus Technology and Engineering demonstrated a slightly modified dual-speed Red Book (the standard used by the CD format) disc using the recently introduced MPEG-1 video compression system. This approach was a step up from single-speed MPEG-1 devices such as CDV (White Book) and CD-i (Green Book), but video quality was still low and it was clear the future of video didn't lie with the decade old Compact Disc platform.
Later that year Nimbus joined a consortium of other companies, headed by giants Toshiba and Time Warner, seeking to develop this next-generation video platform. All parties had a definite interest in the future of home video, whether from the hardware or software side. If you've ever seen a CDV or CD-i in action you can probably understand why the studios weren't overwhelmed with the thought of a next-generation video system that offered little more performance or copyright protection than standard VHS and considerably lower video and audio quality than the (even then) well-worn analogue LaserDisc system.
The following year the goals of this proposed disc became clear following the recommendations of an advisory committee established by Hollywood's major players. This committee recommended a system capable of producing 133 minutes of high quality video, stereo and multichannel (six-channel) capability, multiple audio and subtitle capabilities, dual aspect ratio compatibility (1.78:1 and 1.33:1) and advanced copy protection systems.
Things began to heat up in December 1994 when Sony and Philips announced the development of the MMCD (Multimedia CD) disc to meet these requirements. MMCD discs held up to 3.6GB per layer and used the better MPEG-2 video compression format. The MMCD format also used numerous technologies that were covered by Philips and Sony s existing technology patents, which would ensure a handy income for both parties if adopted. One month later in January 1995 Toshiba and Warner Brothers announced their response, a format called SD (Super Density). SD's data capacity was greater, up to 18Gb compared to MMCD's 7.4GB, and it used technologies that weren t covered by Sony or Philips' patents.
In light of the potential profits involved, neither consortium were willing to endorse the others' system and for the following nine months there was a real possibility the introduction of a new high-quality digital video/data format might dissolve into another VHS/Beta war, or even grind to an unceremonious halt. Luckily for all of us, growing press and industry concern eventually led to IBM and several of Hollywood's major studios stepping in and exerting pressure on both sides to settle on a common format.
The studios had a vested interest in ensuring the format was brought to the market and IBM were keen to ensure that any format chosen was compatible with future IBM optical devices. This pressure prompted a new round of talks resulting in a compromise that satisfied all parties, and the new hybrid format was settled on in September 1995 at the IFA in Berlin. At the same time an industry regulatory body was established called the DVD Consortium, consisting of all companies involved in the SD and MMCD formats.
The new format was formally announced in December 1995. The new high density disc was officially dubbed (drum-roll please) 'DVD', although exactly what these initials stood for was still up in the air. The format's specifications weren't finalised until September 1996 when the DVD-Video and DVD-ROM specifications version 1.0 was published. The following month DVD-Video's copy protection was finalised.
The new DVD format was much closer to the Toshiba SD proposal than the MMCD system (the DVD format is, essentially, a tweaked variant of the SD format), incorporating multiple bonded layers, dual sided disc capability and up two data layers per disc side. Several Sony/Philips elements, such as their MMCD format's signal modulation system were added to the format, ensuring that all parties would get a piece of the royalties pie, but little of MMCD's fundamental technology was transferred into the DVD format.
In November 1996 the first DVD players went on sale in Japan, and a few months later in March 1997 made their US debut. As two of the major players behind the new format were also major content producers, discs from Warner Home Video and Columbia TriStar (owned by Sony) were available for the format's introduction and bolstered the format while the other studios dithered about support for DVD. The rest, as they say, is history as the DVD went on to become the most successful consumer electronics launch in history, far exceeding the sales chalked up by the original CD format back in 1982/3.
Adam
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