At its recent Steering Committee meeting in Los Angeles, the DVD Forum approved the DVD Download/DL logo and specification for downloadable video content, in response to the growth of internet-based electronic sell-though (EST) and manufacturing-on-demand (MOD) delivery transactions.

Work for the formulation of specifications for ‘DVD Download Disc for CSS Managed Recording’, its full name, started in April 2006. The multifold purpose is (a) to provide the recording capability of CSS-encrypted DVD-Video content downloaded via internet, (b) to ensure a high level of playback compatibility with existing DVD players and (c) to secure and protect the DVD business.

Under DVD Forum regulations, until now, recordings of CSS-encrypted content were prohibited on DVD recordable media by the Recordable Media Playback Control rule (CSS compliance rule). Therefore conventional DVD playback devices were so far designed not to play CSS-encrypted video contents on current DVD-R discs.

Recently, the CSS compliance rule has been changed to permit the "CSS Recordable DVD" (DVD-Download disc). In order to achieve high playback compatibility, it was necessary to change the DVD-R physical specifications related to disc identification (bit setting in the Control Data zone, groove wobble specifications and modifications necessary to keep consistency with read-only DVD-Video).

In March 2007, DVD-Download Specifications rev.1.0 became a new Main Book, in the DVD Forum parlance, separate from the DVD-R for General Book.

The recent announcement expands the single-layer DVD-Download Specifications into the dual-layer specifications now that technical aspects have been ironed out.

Story filed 10.07.08