
A red laser reads these pits from the other side, so it sees them as bumps. A DVD stores information as a series of microscopic pits arranged in a very long spiral.

If you already know how DVDs work, then you already know a lot about HD-DVDs. A DVD holds about two hours of standard definition video, but an HD-DVD can hold about 4 to 8 hours.

The basic idea behind the HD-DVD is really simple - it looks like a DVD and acts like a DVD, but it holds more information. In this article, we'll explore how HD-DVDs differ from DVDs and what happened in the struggle between HD-DVD and Blu-ray. To store and play HD movies, you need a disc that holds more information, like an HD-DVD.

DVDs look best on screens that are smaller than 36 inches (91.4 centimeters), so they're not always up to the challenge of today's high-definition (HD) sets.
