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"Entymology"

Right, which is it?

Some sources say that DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc, and others say Digital Video Disc.

Even the dictionaries are rowing about it. Which came first, the DVD or the DVD? (If you see what I mean.)

I feel it's important, because in generations to come, the actual meaning of the acronymn could be lost, and if we don't do something about it now and set the record straight, future generations will be in trouble.

That's if DVD is still around in the next generation.

So, post your definitions here, and I want proof, you have to quote your sources.

:-)

Did you try clicking Digital Video Disc as well to see if that said correct? That's what got me asking this in the first place. A few months ago I did a similar quiz which said Video was the answer, and when I mailed them to let them know that the quiz setter was possibly incorrect in this assumption, they mailed back and said both answers were right, so either option would have done.

Versatile it is then......

Well I just entered a competition to win a DVD Player.

Upon clicking on Digital Versatile Disk as an answer to what does DVD stand for, the word "correct" flashed up on the screen.

In its infancy DVD stood for Digital Video Disc because the intention was for it to be used as a medium for storing digital video on a disc (sort of like calling a CD a Digital Audio Disc, but DAD sounds a bit daft).

As time moved on it was realised that there were many more uses for the medium than storing simply high quality video, as was originally intended, such as data or information (and yes there is a difference between the two).

The correct term to use now is Digital Versatile Disc and anywhere that says otherwise is either out of date or just plain wrong.

Source: Me. 'Nuff said.
(I know about these things)

I thought i would try and clarfiy that to my knowledge the definition for DVD is actually Digital Versatile Disc.Now I say this because everybody knows why it is a Digital Disc but the meaning for Versatile would be that it is portable and lightweight. The difinition therefore would be to have something which u can take round with you or just in fact use without hassle. There u get what u want including extras within a small and very efficient little CD.

That's my view as well, but I'm just going to sit on the fence and lean towards it rather than propose it as concrete fact.

FantasyMeister: Sitting on fences at 03:04am

Considering most of the film companies and manuals for DVD players seem to refer to it as Digital Versatile Disc then that's what I'm going for.

Hmmmmmm......

Definition of DVD

Main Entry: DVD
Pronunciation: "dE-(")vE-'dE
Function: noun
Etymology: digital video disc
Date: 1993
: a high-capacity optical disk format; also : an optical disk using such a format and containing especially a video recording (as a movie) or computer data

Source: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.

See? One source says it's one thing, another says it's both, and another says it was first one THEN the other.

Hmmmm.

Definition of DVD

(DVD, formerly "Digital Video Disc") An optical storage medium with improved capacity and bandwidth compared with the Compact Disc. DVD, like CD, was initally marketed for entertainment and later for computer users.

Source: FOLDOC (Free Online Dictionary of Computing)