What's a hybrid DVD?

Do you really want the answer to this one? Ok, you asked for it... • A disc that works in both DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM PCs. (The most common use of the term hybrid, but more accurately called an enhanced DVD) • A DVD-ROM disc that runs on Windows and Mac OS computers. (More accurately called a cross-platform DVD.) • A DVD-ROM or DVD-Video disc that also contains Web content for connecting to the Internet. (More accurately called a WebDVD or Web-connected DVD.) • A disc that contains both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio content. (More accurately called a universal DVD.) • A disc with two layers, one that can be read in DVD players and one that can be read in CD players. (More accurately called a legacy or CD-compatible disc.) There are at least three variations of this hybrid (none were commercially available as of 12/99): • A 1.2mm CD substrate bonded to the back of a 0.6mm DVD substrate. One side can be read by CD players, the other side by DVD players. The resulting disc is 0.6mm ...  more

A hybrid DVD is a broad category that encompasses all of the following: • A disc that works in both DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM PCs is called an enhanced DVD. • A DVD-ROM disc that runs on Windows and Mac OS computers is called a cross-platform DVD. • A DVD-ROM or DVD-Video disc that also contains Web content for connecting to the Internet is called a Web DVD or enhanced DVD. • A disc that contains both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio content is called a universal or AV DVD. • A disc with two layers, one that can be read in DVD players and one that can be read in CD players, is called a legacy or CD-compatible disc. • A disc with two layers on one side and one layer on the other is called a DVD-14. • A disc with an embedded memory chip for storing custom usage data and access codes is called a chipped DVD. • A disc that has a foreign language dubbed audio track and also has subtitles in that language.  more

Do you really want the answer to this one? Ok, you asked for it... • A disc that works in both DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM PCs. (More accurately called an enhanced DVD) • A DVD-ROM disc that runs on Windows and Mac OS computers. (More accurately called a cross-platform DVD.) • A DVD-ROM or DVD-Video disc that also contains Web content for connecting to the Internet. (More accurately called a WebDVD or Enhanced DVD.) • A disc that contains both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio content or SACD content. (More accurately called a universal or AV DVD. The DVD-Audio standard allows this. The SACD standard does not officially allow video, so it's unclear what a given SACD player will do with a hybrid SACD+DVD-Video disc.) Other variations of this hybrid would be a disc with both DVD-Audio and SACD content, or a disc with all three formats. • A disc with two layers, one that can be read in DVD players and one that can be read in CD players. (More accurately called a legacy or CD-compatible disc.) ...  more

Hah, hah, hah! Do you really want the answer to this one? Ok, you asked for it • A disc that works in both DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM PCs. (More accurately called a multizone DVD, but probably the most common use of the term hybrid.) • A DVD-ROM disc that runs on Windows and Mac OS computers. (More accurately called a cross-platform DVD.) • A DVD-ROM or DVD-Video disc that also contains Web content for connecting to the Internet (More accurately called a WebDVD or Web-connected DVD.) • A disc that contains both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio content. • A disc with two layers, one that can be read in DVD players and one that can be read in CD players. (More accurately called a legacy or sandwich disc.) • A disc with two layers, one containing pressed (DVD-ROM) data and one containing rewritable (DVD-RAM) media for recording and re-recording. (More accurately called a mixed-media or rewritable sandwich disc.) Did I miss anything?  more

Do you really want the answer to this one? Ok, you asked for it... A disc that works in both DVD-Video players and DVD-ROM PCs. (More accurately called an enhanced DVD) A DVD-ROM disc that runs on Windows and Mac OS computers. (More accurately called a cross-platform DVD.) A DVD-ROM or DVD-Video disc that also contains Web content for connecting to the Internet. (More accurately called a WebDVD or Enhanced DVD.) A disc that contains both DVD-Video and DVD-Audio content or SACD content. (More accurately called a universal or AV DVD. The DVD-Audio standard allows this. The SACD standard does not officially allow video, so it's unclear what a given SACD player will do with a hybrid SACD+DVD-Video disc.) Other variations of this hybrid would be a disc with both DVD-Audio and SACD content, or a disc with all three formats. A disc with two layers, one that can be read in DVD players and one that can be read in CD players. (More accurately called a legacy or CD-compatible disc.) There are ...  more

This article is from the DVD Formats FAQ, by jtfrog@usa.net (Jim Taylor) with numerous contributions by others.  more