What is a MultiPlay DVD or CD drive?

You may encounter the term "MultiPlay" when reading about CD drives or DVD drives. You may also see the MultiPlay logo when shopping for a drive. What does this mean?

MultiPlay basically is a compatibility logo program. It means the DVD or CD player in question can read all the physical CD formats: CD-ROM, CD-DA, CD-R, and CD-RW. MultiPlay is like MultiRead, except it is for consumer devices (as opposed to CD or DVD drives designed for computers). So, if you want know if that CD player for your automobile or home stereo will play recordable CDs (CD-R and CD-RW), you would look for the MultiPlay logo.

Note that MultiPlay only signifies compatibility with different CD formats. So the MultiPlay logo on a consumer DVD player means it can read various CD formats -- it does not say anything about whether the DVD player can read various DVD formats (such as DVD-R, DVD+R, etc.).

The MultiPlay specification is sponsored by the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA). Their website offers more information

FAQ