That was then burned to either a DVD disc or a VCD disc, a CD format popular in Asia but which has never really taken root in the U.S. From there it was uploaded to the Internet, where it was promulgated.

FORBES: Piracy Of The Clones

Nine consumer electronics firm agreed in February to standardize and promote a new format called "Blu-ray Disc" that uses a shortwave blue-violet laser to read more than two hours of high-definition content stored on a DVD-size platter.

FORBES: What's Coming

But Verbatim claims the 4420 will completely format a 650MB CD-RW disc in less than 30 seconds.

CNN: Verbatim to ship first 4X CD-RW drive

So if you pop in a DVD "infected" with Protect DVD-Video, it can't be read by Windows Media Player, Media Center Edition, or any DirectShow-based software, thanks to a Universal Disc Format that tricks your machine into believing that the IFO file is zero bytes long.

ENGADGET: Protect DVD-Video prevents discs from playing on your PC

It all started when Hasbro released the portable, disc-based VideoNow player, which used a proprietary format to play back grainy low-resolution monochrome video at a low frame rate.

ENGADGET: Switched On: Mattel's Juice Box Enters The Matrix

After The Format's first disc, EP, generated significant music-industry buzz, a major label released Interventions and Lullabies in 2003.

NPR: The Format: Refreshingly Shimmering Pop