Short answers, pulled from the story.
DVD was first released on the 1st of November 1996, in Japan. The format launched in the United States on the 24th of March 1997, in seven test markets, with a nationwide rollout following on the 22nd of August 1997.
DVD originally stood for digital video disc, but Toshiba switched to digital versatile disc in 1995 after computer companies objected that the video-only name excluded their applications. The DVD Forum's official materials use digital versatile disc, but the companies agreed the official public name would simply be DVD.
A standard single-layer DVD holds 4.7 GB of data. A dual-layer single-sided disc holds up to 8.5 GB, and a dual-layer double-sided disc can store up to 17.08 GB.
Five computer companies, IBM, Apple, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft, issued a joint press release on the 3rd of May 1995 threatening to boycott both formats unless the two camps merged. Philips and Sony formally agreed to unify with the Super Density group on the 15th of September 1995, and the final specifications were locked on the 8th of December 1995.
DVD players outsold VCRs in the United States for the first time in 2001, the same year one in four American households owned a DVD player. Weekly DVD rentals overtook weekly VHS cassette rentals on the 15th of June 2003.
Manufacturers claim lifespans of 30 to 100 years for DVD-R and DVD+R discs and up to 30 years for rewritable types. A 2005-2007 NIST and Library of Congress study found that seven of the 15 DVD products tested had estimated life expectancies above 45 years under ambient storage conditions.