A standard CD-Rom could hold only 700 MB of data. Later on CDs with more storage space were manufactured but they failed to attract the attention of the buyers. Additional storage space meant an increase of 50 to 60 MB, which was not much considering the data requirement of the end user. So, a new removable storage medium was required to satisfy the need of the consumers. DVD technology or digital video disk simply transformed the whole data storage concept. Computers played all forms of DVD with compatible player but DVD players played only a selected format.



What is a DVD player? It is simply the player or device that is able to play two different standards, DVD video and DVD audio. The player has to be connected to the TV for the display. Some devices come with mini LCD screens which are there as a smaller counterpart of the TV set.

The new age DVD players succeeded the present breed of DVD media. Blu-ray disk player and HD DVD player are the two trying to capture the consumers with their upgraded quality and high storage space.

DVD players run on the MPEGII standard of video compression. For a standard VCD compression, the CODEC used was MPEGI technology also known as MPEG format. 1 minute of video took 10 MB space. The MPEGII format supports much higher bit rate to give a constant quality both for video and audio.

New age DVD players support more formats like DivX, Xvid and x264. All are compressive technologies giving sharper pictures at lower bit rates. Another compression catching on is the h264 standard also known as MPEG IV part 10 with advanced video coding. New age DVD players are the ones that are capable of playing the next generation of DVDs. A standard single channel DVD can hold roughly 4.7 GB. However, a DVD can be dual channel or double layered; the storage capacity can be up to 17 GB.

The latest in the technology is the HD DVD brought out by Toshiba. Media Control Gfk International reported that out of the total number of next generation storage medium sold in the year 2007, 27 per cent are HD DVD. Therefore, it is obvious that the new age DVD players are fast becoming market leaders. The main problem in creating the next generation standard is availability of two different media, Blu-Ray and HD DVD. Both Sony and Toshiba are trying to upgrade their products to suit the standard for the next generation.

This continuous competition among the manufacturers for upgraded DVDs is creating a problem for the new age DVD players. When the format is not finalized, it is not too good a prospect to make a device; so, the manufacturers are looking on the media sale to finalize their next step. Samsung, Sony, LG, Phillips, Sharp and APEX are the popular ones. All the gaming consoles PS2, Xbox, PSP, GBA, PSX and others also support playing DVDs. Sony Play Station 3 is also supporting their latest Blu ray disk.