Disc Description Protocol

DDP identifies and describes collections of data that will be recorded onto a High Density (HD), DVD or CD optical disc. DDP was invented by Doug Carson and DCA to help manufacturers have a consistent and complete description of the input media for use in glass mastering of CD. DDP was extended to DVD in 1996, with High Density formats added in 2006, and continues to be licensed and kept current by DCA. The DDP license is free of charge, and requires only the completion of a license agreement and your commitment to keeping the standard consistent.

Effective March 2004, DCA was granted a registered trademark for DDP. DDP® is a registered trademark of Doug Carson & Associates, Inc. and is protected by U.S. Copyright. Disc Description Protocol and the DDP Logo are trademarks of DCA, Inc. Copyright© DCA, Inc. 2004-2008. All Rights Reserved.

DDP and CMF Comparison
The DVD Forum also sanctions CMF (Cutting Master Format), which is a derivative of DDP. This remains the case for HD-DVD ROM: CMF 2.0 is a subset of DDP 3.0.

CMF for Blu-Ray (BD CMF) is not related to DDP, though it is DCA's hope that it also eventually will resolve under the existing industry standard DDP.

DDP License for CD and DVD
DDP 1.x - 2.10 License Agreement (Acrobat PDF): Complete and and return the entire agreement to DCA Sales for a copy of the DDP Specification.

DDP License for HD DVD and China HD
DDP 3.0 License Agreement (Acrobat PDF): Complete and and return the entire agreement to DCA Sales for a copy of the DDP Specification.

DCA has created SDK (Software Developer Kits) for creation and verification of DDP 3.0 filesets. For information regarding licensing DCA's DDP SDKs or to obtain a preliminary specification, please contact your local Sales Manager.