A Description of the Technology:  DVD (digital versatile disc) represents a revolution in digital media. It is the most sophisticated, highest quality audio and video and data format available today. It offers capacity and quality far surpassing video CD-ROM, laser disc or CD. With MPEG video, greater data storage and speed than CD-ROM, and more flexibility than CD-XA or enhanced CD (CD-EXTRA). DVD is the next generation of five-inch digital optical disc technology and sets a new standard for consumer video and data storage.

Along with broadcast-quality video and state-of-the-art multi-channel audio, DVD offers the capability for soundtracks in multiple languages, closed captioning and subtitling in multiple languages, viewing from multiple camera angles, viewing multiple versions of a program, parental control sensitive programming and interactive menu-driven navigation of a program, all with a potential capacity of 17 gigabytes on a single disc. The possibilities are phenomenal. 

AVS is pleased to be one of the leaders in DVD production. AVS has been manufacturing superior quality prerecorded media for the entertainment and corporate communities. We are one of the leading manufacturers in the United States, having built our reputation on quality, service, fast turnaround,  flexibility and value. We are committed to helping fulfill the potential of DVD.

AVS addresses the reproduction, packaging and dissemination needs of corporations relating to audio, video and CD based products. As your partner in media solutions, AVS can help you get the most out of DVD technology. 

Capacity:   Incredible capacity is one of the principal benefits of DVD technology. Unlike the lasers used for CD or CD-ROM, DVDs use a laser that emits light in a shorter wavelength. This "thinner" beam can read smaller pits which means more data can be packed on a disc.

A DVD can also have multiple data layers (potentially up to four) and use both sides of the disc. This is the result of a bonding process that seals two '½ thickness 0.6 mm discs back to back to create what looks like a "regular" CD. A single-layer has the capacity of 4.7 gigabytes. A second layer will boost the storage capacity to 8.5 gigabytes for one side. The second layer is separated from the first by half the width of a human hair, with the laser reading the first layer and then passing through a semi-transparent coating to play the second layer. Therefore, a double-sided, double-layered DVD will have a capacity of 17 gigabytes. This compares to 0.65 gigabytes for a "regular" CD-ROM.

Consider that:
A single-sided, single-layered DVD: 

will store as much music as seven CDs (nine hours of music) Has seven times the capacity of a CD-ROM. Is the equivalent of 3,400 computer floppy disks.

A double-sided, double-layered DVD can store: 

All three Godfather movies All the original Beatles and John Lennon albums combined A stack of novels taller than the Empire State Building Most movies up to 135 minutes with multiple audio and subtitled tracks will  fit on one DVD.

Quality:  DVD video is distinguished by superior viewing quality, significantly better than VHS or laser disc.

Picture quality:  Is marked by nearly 500 lines of horizontal resolution which is twice the resolution of a conventional videotape and almost 20 percent better than a laser disc.

Audio quality: Is enhanced by Dolby Digal AC-3 encoding, which allows for the storage of much more CD-quality audio in much less space than traditional audio CD. There are six discrete, digitally seperated channels for theatre-like surround sound. It offers the same soundtracks optimized for mono, stereo, of Dolby Pro Logic reproduction. 

Multimedia benefits: DVD-ROM offers smooth, real-time MPEG-2 compressed video and discrete multi-channel surround sound for computer multi-media applications. This replaces the grainy, jerky snippets of video currently experienced when stretching the capacity limits of conventional CD-ROM. Software created for DVD-ROM will offer new levels of interactivity through increased data capacity and retrieval speed. MPEG-2 is a more powerful and faster video process than MPEG-1. MPEG-2 is a type of video compression system that conserves storage space by scanning successive frames and pixels within a frame for repetitious information, discarding data not needed. Only information that changes from pixel to pixel or frame to frame is re-encoded digitally.

DVD players: A DVD player is a (television) set top device designed to play video titles such as movies, music videos and instructional videos; it offers high quality video and audio with limited interactive capabilities. A DVD-ROM drive for computers offers similar capabilities with additional complex features, including interactivity. A DVD audio player is yet to be defined, but will offer higher quality audio than a traditional CD. Backward compatibility is being, incorporated in the development of DVD players. Most all DVD players will offer the ability to play standard audio CDs and some will play video CDs. Combi-players are being manufactured that will play DVDs, audio CDs and laser discs. 

AVS set for the future with DVD: DVD production facilities are state-of-the-art, the most advanced in the industry, including fully computerized quality and mastering control centers. Our product and service offering includes: