DVDROM, short for Digital Video Disc-Read-Only Memory, is a new type of compact disc that can hold a minimum of 4.7GB, enough for a full-length movie. The DVD-ROM specification supports disks with capacities of 4.7GB to 17GB and access rates of 600KBps to 1.3MBps. DVD-ROM players can play old CD-ROMs, CD-I disks, and video CDs, as well as new DVD-ROMs.

DVD-ROMs use MPEG-2 (short for Moving Picture Experts Group) to compress video data. MPEG achieves high compression rates by storing only the changes from one frame to another, instead of each entire frame. MPEG-2, offers resolutions of 720x480 and 1280x720 at 60 frames per second (fps), with full CD-quality audio. This is sufficient for all the major TV standards.