ISO/IEC 17592:2004

Information technology - 120 mm (4,7 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm (1,46 Gbytes per side) DVD rewritable disk (DVD-RAM)

ISO/IEC 17592:2004 specifies the mechanical, physical and optical characteristics of an optical disk, identified as DVD Rewritable Disk (DVD-RAM), to enable interchange of such disks. It specifies the quality of the recorded signals, the format of the data and the recording method, thereby allowing for information interchange by means of such disks. The data can be written, read and overwritten many times using the phase change method. Two Types are specified that differ only by their diameter of 120 mm and 80 mm, and the resulting difference of capacity.

Technologies de l'information — Disque DVD réenregistrable (DVD-RAM) de 120 mm (4,7 Go par face) et 80 mm (1,46 Go par face)

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 07-Jul-2004
• ICS: 35.220.30 - Optical storage devices
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 23 - Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 23 - Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage
• Current Stage: 9093 - International Standard confirmed
• Start Date: 21-Aug-2020
• Completion Date: 30-Oct-2025

Overview

ISO/IEC 17592:2004 - Information technology - DVD rewritable disk (DVD‑RAM) defines the mechanical, physical and optical characteristics, data format and recording method for DVD‑RAM media. The standard covers two disk types (120 mm and 80 mm) with per‑side capacities of 4.7 Gbytes and 1.46 Gbytes respectively. It specifies requirements to enable interchangeability between media and drives, including signal quality, sector/track formats, error control and the phase‑change recording method used for read/write/overwrite operations.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Mechanical & dimensional characteristics: overall disk dimensions, clamping zones, rim and transition areas, mass, moment of inertia, runout and balance requirements to ensure reliable spinning and handling.
• Optical characteristics: substrate thickness, index of refraction, reflectivity and birefringence requirements that affect laser reading and compatibility.
• Reference drive & servo: definition of a reference optical head, read channels, rotation speed, axial and radial servo transfer functions to standardize drive behavior.
• Data format & sector structure: frame and sector layouts, Data ID and error detection codes (IED, EDC), scrambled frames, ECC blocks and NRZI/recording code conversion.
• Track & recording rules: track pitch, track path, radial alignment and rotation speed controls that determine data placement and read/write accuracy.
• Recording controls: DC component suppression (DCC), recording polarity randomization and PID/PED fields to preserve signal integrity.
• Information zones & defect management: lead‑in, data and lead‑out zones, buffer areas, disk identification zones and Defect Management Areas (DMAs) for reliable sector remapping and media health.
• Environmental & safety: test, operating, storage and transportation environments plus safety and flammability considerations for media handling.

Applications and who uses this standard

ISO/IEC 17592:2004 is practical for:

• Optical media manufacturers designing DVD‑RAM discs to meet interchangeability and quality specs.
• Drive and optical head engineers implementing servo, read/write channels and reference drive behaviors.
• Firmware and file‑system developers that implement sector formats, ECC and defect management.
• Test laboratories and QA teams performing conformance, environmental and signal quality tests.
• Archivists and IT managers choosing archival/rewritable optical storage for data retention policies.

Related standards

• Complementary ISO/IEC standards exist for other optical media types (CD, DVD family) and for general optical storage test methods; consult ISO/IEC catalogues for cross‑references when designing interoperable systems.

Keywords: ISO/IEC 17592:2004, DVD‑RAM, DVD rewritable disk, 4.7 Gbytes, 1.46 Gbytes, optical disk standard, phase change recording, data format, ECC, defect management, reference drive.

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 17592
First edition
2004-07-15
Information technology — 120 mm
(4,7 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm
(1,46 Gbytes per side) DVD rewritable
disk (DVD-RAM)
Technologies de l'information — Disque DVD réenregistrable
(DVD-RAM) de 120 mm (4,7 Go par face) et 80 mm (1,46 Go par face)

Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2004
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©  ISO/IEC 2004
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or
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ii © ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Section 1 - General . 1
1 Scope . 1
2 Conformance . 1
2.1 Optical Disk. 1
2.2 Generating system. 1
2.3 Receiving system. 2
3 Normative references . 2
4 Terms and definitions . 2
5 Conventions and notations . 4
5.1 Representation of numbers . 4
5.2 Names. 4
6 List of acronyms . 4
7 General description of the optical disk . 5
8 General requirements . 6
8.1 Environments . 6
8.1.1 Test environment . 6
8.1.2 Operating environment. 6
8.1.3 Storage environment.6
8.1.4 Transportation. 6
8.2 Safety requirement. 6
8.3 Flammability . 6
9 Reference Drive . 7
9.1 Optical Head. 7
9.2 Read channels. 8
9.3 Rotation speed . 8
9.4 Disk clamping . 8
9.5 Normalized servo transfer function. 8
9.6 Reference Servo for axial tracking . 8
9.7 Reference Servo for radial tracking . 10
Section 2 - Dimensional, mechanical and physical characteristics of the disk. 11
10 Dimensional characteristics. 11
10.1 Overall dimensions .12
10.2 First transition area . 13
10.3 Second transition area. 13
10.4 Clamping Zone . 13
10.5 Third transition area. 13
10.6 Rim area . 14
10.7 Remark on tolerances . 14
10.8 Label. 14
11 Mechanical characteristics . 14
11.1 Mass . 14
11.2 Moment of inertia . 14
11.3 Dynamic imbalance.15
11.4 Sense of rotation . 15
11.5 Runout. 15
11.5.1 Axial runout. 15
© ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved iii

11.5.2 Radial runout.15
12 Optical characteristics.15
12.1 Index of refraction.15
12.2 Thickness of the transparent substrate .15
12.3 Angular deviation.15
12.4 Birefringence of the transparent substrate.16
12.5 Reflectivity .16
Section 3 - Format of information.17
13 Data format.17
13.1 Data Frames.17
13.1.1 Data ID .18
13.1.2 Data ID Error Detection code (IED) .18
13.1.3 Reserved bytes .19
13.1.4 Error Detection Code (EDC) .19
13.2 Scrambled Frames .19
13.3 ECC Blocks.20
13.4 Recording Frames .21
13.5 Recording code and NRZI conversion .22
13.6 Recorded Data Field.23
13.7 DC component suppress Control (DCC).24
13.7.1 DCC for the data in the Rewritable Area.24
13.7.2 DCC for the data in the Embossed Area .24
13.7.3 PID and PED recording.25
14 Track format.25
14.1 Track shape.25
14.2 Track path .25
14.3 Track pitch.26
14.4 Track layout.26
14.5 Rotation speed.26
14.6 Radial alignment .28
14.7 Sector number.28
15 Sector format .29
15.1 Sector layout .29
15.1.1 Sector layout in the Rewritable Area .29
15.1.2 Sector layout in the Embossed Area .30
15.2 VFO fields.30
15.3 Address Mark (AM).31
15.4 Physical ID (PID) fields .31
15.5 PID Error Detection code (PED) fields .32
15.6 Postamble 1 and Postamble 2 (PA 1, PA 2) fields .32
15.7 Mirror field.34
15.8 Gap field .34
15.9 Guard 1 field .34
15.10 Pre-Synchronous code (PS) field.34
15.11 Data field.34
15.12 Postamble 3 (PA 3) field .34
15.13 Guard 2 field .34
15.14 Recording polarity randomization.35
15.15 Buffer field.35
16 Format of the Information Zone.35
16.1 Division of the Information Zone.35
16.2 Lead-in Zone.38
16.2.1 Structure of Lead-in Zone .38
16.2.2 Initial Zone.39
16.2.3 Reference Code Zone.39
16.2.4 Buffer Zone 1 .39
16.2.5 Buffer Zone 2 .39
iv © ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved

16.2.6 Control Data Zone . 39
16.2.7 Connection Zone. 52
16.2.8 Guard Track Zones 1 and 2 . 53
16.2.9 Disk Test Zone . 53
16.2.10 Drive Test Zone . 53
16.2.11 Disk Identification Zone. 54
16.2.12 DMA 1 and DMA 2.56
16.3 Data Zone . 56
16.3.1 Structure of Data Zone and of the Defect Management Areas (DMAs). 56
16.3.2 Guard Track Zones.57
16.3.3 Partitioning. 57
16.3.4 Number of blocks in the supplementary spare area . 60
16.4 Lead-out Zone. 61
16.4.1 Structure of Lead-out Zone. 61
16.4.2 DMA 3 and DMA 4.61
16.4.3 Reserved Zone . 61
16.4.4 Guard Track Zone 1 . 61
16.4.5 Drive Test Zone . 61
16.4.6 Disk Test Zone . 61
16.4.7 Guard Track Zone 2 . 62
17 Defect management.62
17.1 Defect Management Areas (DMAs). 62
17.2 Disk Definition Structure (DDS). 63
17.3 Spare sectors. 65
17.4 Slipping Algorithm .66
17.5 Linear Replacement Algorithm. 67
17.6 Primary Defect List (PDL) . 68
17.7 Secondary Defect List (SDL) . 69
17.8 Formatting of the disk. 72
17.8.1 Initialization . 72
17.8.2 Re-initialization . 73
17.8.3 Data field number resulting from Initialization and Re-initialization . 73
17.9 Write procedure. 74
17.10 Read procedure. 74
17.10.1 Read procedure. 74
17.10.2 Blank ECC Block. 74
Section 4 - Characteristics of embossed information. 75
18 Method of testing . 75
18.1 Environment. 75
18.2 Reference Drive . 75
18.2.1 Optics and mechanics. 75
18.2.2 Read power. 75
18.2.3 Read channels. 75
18.2.4 Tracking channel . 75
18.2.5 Tracking . 75
18.3 Definition of signals.75
19 Signals from lands and grooves . 80
19.1 Push-pull signal. 80
19.2 Divided push-pull signal. 80
19.3 On-track signal . 80
19.4 Phase depth. 81
19.5 Wobble signal . 81
20 Signals from Header fields . 81
20.1 VFO 1 and VFO 2. 82
20.2 Address Mark, PID, PED and Postamble . 82
20.3 Signals from Header 1, Header 2, Header 3 and Header 4. 83
20.4 Phase depth. 84
© ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved v

21 Signals from Embossed Area.84
21.1 High Frequency (HF) signal .84
21.1.1 Modulated amplitude .84
21.1.2 Signal asymmetry.84
21.1.3 Cross-track signal .84
21.2 Jitter .84
21.3 Servo signal.84
21.3.1 Differential phase tracking error signal.85
21.3.2 Tangential push-pull signal .85
Section 5 - Characteristics of the recording layer.87
22 Method of testing.87
22.1 Environment .87
22.2 Reference Drive.87
22.2.1 Optics and mechanics.87
22.2.2 Read power .87
22.2.3 Read channel.87
22.2.4 Tracking .87
22.3 Write conditions.87
22.3.1 Write pulse.87
22.3.2 Write power .88
22.3.3 Adaptive write control table .89
22.3.4 Adaptive write pulse control mode .90
22.4 Definition of signals.90
23 Write characteristics .91
23.1 Modulated amplitude and Signal asymmetry.91
23.2 Jitter .91
Section 6 - Characteristics of user data.92
24 Method of testing.92
Annex A (normative)  Measurement of the angular deviation αααα.93
Annex B (normative)  Measurement of birefringence.95
Annex C (normative)  Measurement of the differential phase tracking error .97
Annex D (normative)  Reflectivity calibration and measuring method .101
Annex E (normative)  Tapered cone for disk clamping.103
Annex F (normative)  Measuring conditions for the operation signals.104
Annex G (normative)  8-to-16 Recording code with RLL (2,10) requirements .106
Annex H (normative)  Definition of the write pulse .116
Annex J (normative)  Burst Cutting Area (BCA) .119
Annex K (informative)  Guideline for randomization of the Gap length, the Guard 1 length and the
recording polarity .127
Annex L (informative)  Transportation.128
Annex M (informative)  Guideline for sector replacement.129

vi © ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 17592 was prepared by Ecma International (as ECMA-330) and was adopted, under a special “fast-
track procedure”, by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, in parallel with its
approval by national bodies of ISO and IEC.

© ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved vii

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 17592:2004(E)

Information technology — 120 mm (4,7 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm
(1,46 Gbytes per side) DVD rewritable disk (DVD-RAM)
Section 1 - General
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the mechanical, physical and optical characteristics of an optical disk,
identified as DVD Rewritable Disk (DVD-RAM), to enable interchange of such disks. It specifies the quality of
the recorded signals, the format of the data and the recording method, thereby allowing for information
interchange by means of such disks. The data can be written, read and overwritten many times using the phase
change method. Two Types are specified that differ only by their diameter of 120 mm and 80 mm, and the
resulting difference of capacity.
This International Standard specifies
− two related but different Types of this disk (see clause 7),
− the conditions for conformance,
− the environments in which the disk is to be tested, operated and stored,
− the mechanical, physical and dimensional characteristics of the disk, so as to provide mechanical interchange
between data processing systems,
− the format of the information on the disk, including the physical disposition of the tracks and sectors, the
error correcting codes and the coding method,
− the characteristics of the signals recorded on the disk, thus enabling data processing systems to read the data
from the disk.
This International Standard provides for the interchange of disks between optical disk drives. Together with a
standard for volume and file structure, it provides for full data interchange between data processing systems. The
optical disks specified by this International Standard may be enclosed in cases according to ISO/IEC 17594 as
specified therein.
2 Conformance
2.1 Optical Disk
A claim of conformance with this International Standard shall specify the Type implemented. An optical disk
shall be in conformance with this International Standard if it meets all mandatory requirements specified for this
Type.
2.2 Generating system
A generating system shall be in conformance with this International Standard if the optical disk it generates is in
accordance with 2.1.
© ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved 1

2.3 Receiving system
A receiving system shall be in conformance with this International Standard if it is able to handle both Types of
optical disk according to 2.1.
3 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated references,
only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including
any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 10646-1:2000, Information technology — Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS) —
Part 1: Architecture and Basic Multilingual Plane
ISO/IEC 17594:2004, Information technology — Cases for 120 mm and 80 mm DVD-RAM disks
ECMA-287:2002, Safety of electronic equipment
4 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following definitions apply.
4.1
Case
The housing for an optical disk, that protects the disk and facilitates disk interchange.
4.2
Channel bit
The elements by which the binary values ZERO and ONE are represented by marks and pits on the disk.
4.3
Digital Sum Value (DSV)
The arithmetic sum obtained from a bit stream by allocating the decimal value 1 to Channel bits set to ONE and the
decimal value -1 to Channel bits set to ZERO.
4.4
Disk Reference Plane
A plane defined by the perfectly flat annular surface of an ideal spindle onto which the clamping area of the disk is
clamped, and which is normal to the axis of rotation.
4.5
Dummy substrate
A layer which may be transparent or not, provided for the mechanical support of the disk and/or a recording layer.
4.6
Embossed mark
A mark so formed as to be unalterable by optical means.
4.7
Entrance surface
The surface of the disk onto which the optical beam first impinges
4.8
Land and Groove
A trench-like feature of the disk, applied before the recording of any information, and used to define the track location.
The groove is located nearer to the entrance surface than the land. The recording is made either on the centre of the
groove or on the centre of the land.
2 © ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved

4.9
Mark
A feature of the Recording layer which may take the form of an amorphous domain, a pit, or any other type or form that
can be sensed by the optical system. The pattern of marks and spaces represents the data on the disk.
4.10
Phase change
A physical effect by which the area of a recording layer irradiated by a laser beam is heated so as to change from an
amorphous state to a crystalline state and vice versa.
4.11
Polarization
The direction of polarization of an optical beam is the direction of the electric vector of the beam.
NOTE The plane of polarization is the plane containing the electric vector and the direction of propagation of the beam. The
polarization is right-handed when to an observer looking in the direction of propagation of the beam, the end-point of the electric
vector would appear to describe an ellipse in the clockwise sense.
4.12
Recording layer
A layer of the disk on, or in, which data is written during manufacture and/or use.
4.13
Sector
The smallest addressable part of a track in the Information Zone of a disk that can be accessed independently of other
addressable parts.
4.14
Space
A feature of the recording layer which may take the form of a crystalline domain, a non-pit or any other type or form that
can be sensed by the optical system. The pattern of marks and spaces represents the data on the disk.
4.15
Substrate
A transparent layer of the disk, provided for mechanical support of the recorded layer(s), through which the optical beam
can access a recording layer.
4.16
Track
A 360° turn of a continuous spiral.
4.17
Track pitch
The distance between centrelines of adjacent tracks (a groove and a land), measured in a radial direction.
4.18
ZCLV
A disk format requiring Zoned Constant Linear Velocity operations.
4.19
Zone
An annular area of the disk.
© ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved 3

5 Conventions and notations
5.1 Representation of numbers
A measured value is rounded off to the least significant digit of the corresponding specified value. For instance,
it implies that a specified value of 1,26 with a positive tolerance of + 0,01 and a negative tolerance of - 0,02
allows a range of measured values from 1,235 to 1,275.
Numbers in decimal notations are represented by the digits 0 to 9.
Numbers in hexadecimal notation are represented by the hexadecimal digits 0 to 9 and A to F in parentheses.
The setting of bits is denoted by ZERO and ONE.
Numbers in binary notations and bit patterns are represented by strings of digits 0 and 1, with the most
significant bit shown to the left.
Negative values of numbers in binary notation are given as Two’s complement.
In each field the data is recorded so that the most significant byte (MSB), identified as Byte 0, is recorded first
and the least significant byte (LSB) last.
In a field of 8n bits, bit b shall be the most significant bit (msb) and bit b the least significant bit (lsb).
(8n-1) 0
Bit b is recorded first.
(8n-1)
A binary digit which can be set indifferently to ZERO or to ONE is represented by “x”.
5.2 Names
The names of entities, e.g. specific tracks, fields, zones, etc. are given a capital initial.
6 List of acronyms
AM Address Mark MSB Most Significant Byte
BCA Burst Cutting Area NRZ Non Return to Zero
BPF Band Pass Filter NRZI Non Return to Zero Inverted
DCC DC Component Suppress Control PA Postamble
DDS Disk Definition Structure PDL Primary Defect List
DMA Defect Management Area PED P(ID) Error Detection code
DSV Digital Sum Value PI Parity of Inner-code
ECC Error Correcting Code PID Physical Identification Data
EDC Error Detection Code PLL Phase-Locked Loop
HF High Frequency PO Parity of Outer-Code
ID Identification Data PS Pre-Synchronous Code
IED ID Error Detection Code RS Reed-Solomon Code
LPF Low Pass Filter SDL Secondary Defect List
lsb least significant bit SLR Status of Linear Replacement
LSB Least Significant Byte SYNC Code Synchronous Code
LSN Logical Sector Number VFO Variable Frequency Oscillator
msb most significant bit ZCLV Zoned Constant Linear Velocity
4 © ISO/IEC 2004 – All rights reserved

7 General description of the optical disk
The optical disk that is the subject of this International Standard consists of two substrates bonded together by an
adhesive layer, so that the recording layer(s) is on the inside. The centring of the disk is performed on the edge
of the centre hole of the assembled disk on the side currently read. Clamping is performed in the Clamping Zone.
The area of the inner diameter of the Clamping Zone to the outer diameter of the Lead-out Zone shall be glued.
The two Types of disk specified by this International Standard are
Type 1S consists of a substrate, a single recording layer and a dummy substrate. The recording layer can be
accessed from one side only. The nominal capacity is 4,7 Gbytes for a 120 mm disk and
1,46 Gby
...