DVD History

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During the early 1990s there were two high density optical storage standards in development:

•	Multimedia Compact Disc (MMCD) backed by Philips and Sony

•	Super Disc (SD) supported by 8 major consumer electronics giants including Toshiba, Matsushita and Time-Warner.

IBM led an effort to unite the various companies behind a single standard to avoid the format war between VHS and Betamax

DVD format was announced in September of 1995. The official DVD specification is maintained by the DVD Forum, formerly the DVD Consortium

Founding members

Hitachi

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Pioneer

Royal Philips

Sony

Thomson (RCA, Grass Valley, Technicolor)

Time Warner

Toshiba

Victor Company of Japan (JVC)

Today, membership includes more than 230 companies.