FAQs > Forum FAQ

Updated May 18, 2009

DVD Forum FAQ

GENERAL BACKGROUND

DVD FORUM ACTIVITIES

FORMATS/LOGOS

LICENSING / REGION CODES


GENERAL BACKGROUND

When was the DVD Forum founded?

The DVD Forum commenced on August 7, 1997.

What is the Forum's purpose?

The Forum is a voluntary association of hardware manufacturers, software firms and other users of digital versatile disc (DVD) formats. The Forum has two major purposes:

1. To establish a single format for each DVD application product, including revisions, improvements and enhancements for the benefit of consumers and users

2. To promote broad acceptance of DVD products on a worldwide basis, including the entertainment, consumer electronics and IT industries as well as the general public.

How many members does it have?

About 220 companies participate in the DVD Forum.
[http://www.dvdforum.org/about-memberlist.htm]

The geographic distribution of our members, as of January 2007, was as follows:
37% Japanese, 27% American, 24% Asian, and 12% European.

What are the qualifications for membership?

Membership in the Forum is open to any corporation or organization which is, or will be, engaged in research, development and/or manufacture of any DVD product, and any software firm or other users of DVD products that are interested in developing and improving the DVD formats.

There are two classifications of membership: Principal and Associate.

What's the difference between a Principal Member and an Associate Member?

Principal members are entities deemed to be making a significant contribution to the development, promotion or improvement of the DVD formats and who pay the required membership fee.

Principal members are entitled to participate in format-making activities in Working Groups, and to accept technical information developed through format-making activities, providing they enter into a non-disclosure agreement to protect the confidentiality of technical information disclosed in the Working Groups.

Associate members are entitled to access Working Group activity reports which shall be issued from time to time.

What are the membership fees?

The annual fee for Principal members is Yen 1 million.

The annual fee for Associate members is Yen 300,000.

Members who join after June 30 are entitled to reduction of the annual fee for that year by one-half.


DVD FORUM ACTIVITIES

How many Working Groups are there?

The Forum has Working Groups on the following themes:

WG-P: Physical Format & Test Specifications
WG-L: Logical Format
WG-A: Application Format & Test Specifications
WG-C: Content Protection
WG-V: Verification

Who is eligible to join a Working Group?

Each Working Group is open to any Principal member. Participants of WGs except WG9 are requested to enter into a non-disclosure agreement to protect the confidentiality of technical information disclosed within a Working Group.


FORMATS/LOGOS

How can we purchase a format book?

Information can be found at this site: www.dvdfllc.co.jp

What qualifications are necessary to use the DVD Forum logo?

Information can be found at this site: www.dvdfllc.co.jp


LICENSING / REGION CODES

How can we get information about patent licenses and region codes?

Please contact the appropriate licensor directly.

How can we apply for a CSS license?

Information can be found at this site: www.dvdcca.org


THE FUTURE OF DVD

What new DVD formats are in the pipeline?

Among formats now under development are DVD Stream Recording and DVD Audio Recording. For more Information, see: DVD Book Construction (DVD FLLC's page)

 

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