Video and Picture Discs

Video CD

Video CD, or VCD, was introduced in 1993 as a way of storing digital MPEG-1 video on an ordinary 12 cm compact disc. A standard disc could hold about 74–80 minutes of video at roughly VHS-like quality, and the format became particularly popular in Asia.

DVCD (overburned Video CD)

DVCD was a non-standard variation of Video CD designed to squeeze significantly more data onto an ordinary CD-sized disc. By reducing the spacing between tracks and pushing the physical limits of CD technology, some DVCDs could store around 90–100 minutes of video, although compatibility with players was less reliable.

SVCD

Super Video CD was introduced in the late 1990s as a higher-quality successor to Video CD, using MPEG-2 compression and a resolution of 480 × 576 for PAL or 480 × 480 for NTSC. The improved picture quality came at the cost of shorter playing time, typically around 35–60 minutes per disc.

Movie CD (CD-ROM)

Before DVD drives became standard equipment, movies were also distributed as computer files on ordinary CD-ROMs. Unlike Video CD, these releases did not necessarily follow a dedicated video-disc standard and instead relied on software and codecs installed on the computer for playback.

DVD

DVD was introduced commercially in 1996 and quickly became the dominant home-video format of the early 2000s. A standard single-layer DVD holds 4.7 GB, while dual-layer and double-sided versions increased capacity sufficiently for long movies, multiple audio tracks and extensive bonus material.

Shaped DVD

Shaped DVDs use the same basic optical technology as conventional DVDs but are manufactured in unusual decorative forms instead of the standard circular shape. Mostly produced as promotional or collectible items, their irregular geometry means they cannot safely be used in every type of DVD drive.

FlexPlay DVD

FlexPlay was a self-destructing DVD designed primarily for movie rentals without the need to return the disc. Once its airtight package was opened, oxygen gradually reacted with a special layer inside the disc until it became unreadable after approximately 48 hours — although some releases were marketed with shorter viewing periods.

DIVX (Digital Video Express)

DIVX was a controversial pay-per-view DVD system launched in the United States in 1998 by Circuit City and entertainment partners. A low-cost DIVX disc could initially be watched for a limited period, after which additional viewing required electronic authorization through a special Internet-connected DIVX player; the system was abandoned in 1999.

DualDisc - Hybrid CD / DVD

DualDisc combined a CD-compatible audio layer on one side with a DVD layer on the other. Introduced commercially in the mid-2000s, it allowed a single disc to contain a conventional music album together with DVD video, surround sound or other bonus material.

DVD Plus - Hybrid CD / DVD

DVDplus was another double-sided hybrid format combining CD and DVD technology in a single disc. Developed independently from DualDisc, it could provide standard CD audio on one side and DVD content on the other, allowing both formats to be distributed as one physical medium.

HD DVD

HD DVD was one of the two main competing high-definition optical video formats launched in 2006. Developed primarily by Toshiba and supported by Microsoft and others, it offered 15 GB per layer but lost the format war to Blu-ray in early 2008.

Hybrid - DVD / HD DVD

HD DVD Combo discs combined a conventional DVD on one side with high-definition HD DVD content on the other. This allowed the same movie to be played in ordinary DVD players as well as HD DVD equipment, making the transition to the new format easier for consumers.

Hybrid - DVD / HD DVD (single side / dual layer)

An even more unusual hybrid combined DVD and HD DVD layers on the same side of a disc. Different laser wavelengths and optical depths allowed compatible players to access the appropriate layer, demonstrating how sophisticated optical-disc construction became during the HD format war.

CBHD (China Blue High-Definition Disc)

China Blue High-Definition Disc, or CBHD, was a Chinese high-definition video format based partly on technology derived from HD DVD. Commercially introduced around 2009, it was intended as a lower-cost domestic alternative to Blu-ray and was supported by several Chinese manufacturers and film distributors.

Blu-Ray Video

Blu-ray Disc was commercially introduced in 2006 and eventually defeated HD DVD to become the standard physical format for high-definition movies. Its blue-violet laser allows much greater data density than DVD, providing 25 GB on a single-layer disc and 50 GB on a conventional dual-layer disc.

Hybrid - DVD / Blu-Ray

Hybrid DVD/Blu-ray discs combine standard-definition DVD and high-definition Blu-ray content in a single physical disc. Although never common, the concept allowed one copy of a movie to remain compatible with both older DVD equipment and newer Blu-ray players.

VideoNow

VideoNow was a portable video system introduced by Hasbro in 2003 and aimed mainly at children. Its proprietary PVD discs resembled CDs but contained low-resolution monochrome video designed exclusively for the inexpensive handheld VideoNow player.

VideoNow Color

VideoNow Color was introduced in 2004 as an improved version of Hasbro's VideoNow system, adding a colour LCD screen and colour video playback. The proprietary discs remained deliberately simple and low-capacity compared with DVD, but allowed television programmes and cartoons to be carried in a pocket-sized player.

UMD Video & UMD Music

Universal Media Disc, or UMD, was developed by Sony for the PlayStation Portable and stored up to 1.8 GB on a tiny optical disc enclosed in a protective shell. Besides PSP games, hundreds of movies and even a small number of music releases were commercially distributed on UMD.

Mini DVD

Mini DVD uses the same basic technology as a conventional DVD but on a smaller 8 cm disc. Commonly used in DVD camcorders and occasionally for commercial releases, a single-layer Mini DVD stores about 1.4 GB compared with 4.7 GB on a standard 12 cm DVD.

Laser Disc

LaserDisc was the first commercially successful optical video-disc format, launched as DiscoVision in the United States in 1978. Its huge 30 cm discs stored analogue video together with analogue or digital audio and offered excellent picture quality for their era, but never replaced VHS as a mass-market format.

VHD

VHD was a Japanese videodisc system commercially introduced by JVC in 1983. Unlike LaserDisc, it was not read by a laser: the disc remained inside a protective caddy and a stylus detected variations in electrical capacitance while physically tracking the disc surface.

VHD 3D

JVC later adapted VHD for stereoscopic home video using a field-sequential 3D system. Alternating images for the left and right eyes were displayed through synchronized LCD shutter glasses, making VHD one of the earliest consumer formats capable of delivering full-length 3D movies at home.

Blu-ray 3D

Blu-ray 3D brought high-definition stereoscopic movies to home cinema systems from 2010. Separate full-resolution images for the left and right eyes could be stored using efficient MVC compression, with compatible televisions and active or passive 3D glasses recreating the stereoscopic image.

Vinyl Video

VinylVideo is an experimental format introduced in the late 1990s that stores low-resolution analogue video in the grooves of an ordinary vinyl record. A special decoder connected to a conventional turntable reconstructs the moving image, making it perhaps the closest thing to literally watching a vinyl record.

TED

Television Electronic Disc, or TED, was a short-lived European video-disc format introduced by Telefunken and Teldec in 1975. Its extremely thin flexible discs stored analogue video mechanically in microscopic grooves and spun at an astonishing 1,500 rpm, providing only around ten minutes of video per side.

CD Video

CD Video, introduced in 1987, combined digital Compact Disc audio with analogue LaserDisc-style video. The most common 12 cm version typically contained up to about 20 minutes of CD audio plus approximately five minutes of analogue video, recognizable by the characteristic gold-coloured disc.

Photo CD

Kodak introduced Photo CD in 1992 as a way of storing high-quality scanned photographs on recordable compact discs. Although intended mainly for still images rather than movies, Photo CDs could be viewed on compatible CD-i players, computers and specialised Photo CD equipment.

Sanyo iD Photo

Sanyo's iD Photo was a miniature magneto-optical disc system introduced around 2000 for digital cameras. Its tiny 50 mm discs stored up to 730 MB and were intended to provide removable high-capacity storage for photographs and short digital video clips.

Video Floppy Disk

Video Floppy was an analogue magnetic still-image format used by early electronic still-video cameras during the 1980s and early 1990s. The small 2-inch disks could typically store up to 50 field images or 25 higher-quality frame images, with pictures recorded as analogue video signals rather than digital image files.

CED

RCA's Capacitance Electronic Disc, commercially launched in 1981, stored analogue video as microscopic grooves on a conductive vinyl disc. Like VHD, it was read with a physical stylus and remained protected inside a plastic caddy until inserted into the player; despite years of development, RCA abandoned the system in 1984.

CD-ROM Stamp with Video

CD-ROM stamps were miniature optical discs manufactured in shapes and sizes resembling oversized postage stamps or business cards. Despite their unusual appearance, they could contain ordinary computer data including short video clips and promotional multimedia, making them a memorable novelty from the CD-ROM era.

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