DVD drives come in a variety of speeds and options. The original drive (1x) transferred data at 1.35MB per second. By doubling the spindle speed (RPMs) for 2x drives, the transfer rate increased to 2.7MB/sec and has been increasing ever since. Each DVD x speed is equivalent to nine CD x's because DVD 1x is 1.35MB and CD-ROM 1x is only 150KB.

Most DVD drives can play DVD movies (DVD Video) and music CDs as well as read DVD-ROMs and CD-ROMs. Other drives may also support all, or some combination of, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD-R or CD-RW media.

Drives and media that use the dash or minus sign (DVD-R, DVD-RW) are endorsed by the DVD Forum. A competing technology uses a plus sign (DVD+R, DVD+RW). Many DVD drives support both formats. See CD-ROM drives, DVD+R/RW drive, DVD-RAM and DVD.

      X        Data Transfer
      Rating   Rate

      1x       1.35 MBytes/sec
      2x       2.70 MBytes/sec
      2.4x     3.17 MBytes/sec
      3x       4.05 MBytes/sec
      4x       5.40 MBytes/sec
      5x       6.75 MBytes/sec
      8x      10.80 MBytes/sec
      10x     13.50 MBytes/sec
      12x     16.20 MBytes/sec
      16x     21.60 MBytes/sec
      24x     32.40 MBytes/sec