When recordable DVDs were first being developed, there were two groups of companies working solutions. These two groups were called the DVD Consortium and the DVD Alliance. As they could not agree on certain technical aspects of the recording process, both groups developed a recordable DVD standard. Each group was backed by a number of large electronics and computer companies.

DVD Consortium quickly changed its name to DVD Forum. They developed the DVD-R and DVD-RW standards. DVD Forum founder members included:

Hitachi
Matshushita (owners of Panasonic and Technics)
Mitsubishi Electric
Pioneer
Philips
Thompson
Time Warner
Toshiba
Victor Company of Japan (JVC)

For a full list of current members of the DVD Forum, click here.


DVD Alliance developed the DVD+R and DVD+RW standards. Their members included:

Dell
Hewlett Packard (HP)
Mitsubishi Chemical (Verbatim)
Philips
Ricoh
Sony
Thompson
Yamaha

For a full list of current members of the DVD Alliance, click here.


Fortunately, unlike what happened with VHS and Betamax, a DVD+R and a DVD-R could both be played back in the same player. As almost all DVD recorders on the market now support both DVD+R and DVD-R, it is often just a matter of personal preference as to which type of disc you choose. Historically, the DVD Alliance has been first to market with faster speed discs and drives. At present 8x is the most popular speed for both standards.


High Capacity DVDs

Both groups have been working on a high capacity 8.5Gb standard, using two layers on the same side of the DVD. DVD Alliance have developed Double Layer DVD+R which is available now. DVD Forum are finalising the standard for Dual Layer DVD-R. These should be available soon.


Below you will find a key to the various logos used to identify the various DVD formats...