There is no completely accurate answer to this question. The terms "2nd generation" and "3rd generation," and so on refer both to DVD-Video players and to DVD-ROM drives. In general, they simply mean newer versions of DVD playback devices.

According to some people, second-generation DVD players came out in the fall of 1997 and third-generation players are those that came out in the beginning of 1998. According to others, the second generation of DVD are HD players that didn't appear in the market until 2003.

If you buy a player or drive from outside your country (e.g., a Japanese player for use in the US) you may not be able to play region-locked discs on it.