When CD-ROMs were introduced more than a decade ago, optical storage technology—the basis for laser-written data storage—was still in its infancy. Since then, recurring breakthroughs have pushed the technology's capabilities past CD-ROM's limits and on to a more advanced medium, DVD-ROM.

Though only a few years old, digital video disc technology (or DVD, for short) has flashed potentially wunderkind-like qualities, already delivering crisper, higher-quality video playback and more spacious multimedia storage capacity than the most advanced CD-ROMs and CD-Rewritable Drives. In fact, DVD shows so much promise, many PC experts are predicting it will revolutionize both home-video and business industries in the not-so-distant future.

So what exactly can DVD technology do? Combine movies and high-quality sound, push gaming software to its upper limits and thanks to a feature called MPEG2 video compression, store up to 135 minutes of studio-quality video material on a single 4.7 GB DVD disc. And before long, DVD's storage capacity will be upgradeable to 17 GB. Hard to believe when you consider CD-ROMs' storage capacities currently top out at 650 MB. Let's face it, there's just no comparison.

DVD is also what experts call "backwards compatible" with (that is, able to read) compact discs. That feature, combined with DVD's monstrous storage capacity, means that information currently stored on multiple CD-ROMs can be consolidated onto a single DVD disc. How does that translate into real-life applications? High-volume chunks of info—such as encyclopedias or other educational materials—that were typically crammed onto a CD-ROM (or two or three), can be stored on one DVD-ROM instead, allowing room for more detailed reports, bigger audio files and larger video clips.

As if the door to the future wasn't opened far enough, DVD promises bigger multimedia breakthroughs down the road, like user-selectable camera angles, subtitles in multiple languages and PC censorship controls. And as video and software applications continue to integrate, businesses will benefit from creative outlets such as video sales brochures, advanced presentation software, video training and video help screens. And at home, the collision of software and DVD technology will continue to thrill avid gamers with even more stunning graphics and sound effects.

Granted, software manufacturers, like consumers, are still making the transition from CD- to DVD-ROMs, but as the technology becomes more popular, so will the demand for better DVD-based games, movies, educational and business applications.

Going where no multimedia product has gone before, digital video disc technology picks up where the CD-ROM left off—and takes it to higher ground.