A DVD (digital versatile disc) is similar to an audio CD, but has a storage capacity far greater (up to 17Gb) and a higher transfer rate (up to 1.3MBps) than a standard CD-ROM.

Due to the bigger capacity, higher transfer rate and the use of MPEG compression, DVDs are commonly used as a medium for digital video.

Some DVDs can store data on both sides of the disc (4.7Gb per side / 133 mins of video with sound). Double sided, dual layer discs can hold up to 17Gb of data.

DVD Writers (DVD-R/RW) allow the home user to back up any old video, or create back-up copies of DVDs. They come designed for either internal or external use, the former requiring physical installation, the latter usually having a USB interface.

DVD Writers are often advertised as 20X-6X-24X, this means it will burn (write) at 20X, ReWrite (write again over an existing rewritable DVD) at 6X, and read at 24X the normal DVD speed.

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