Weapon 117
09-11-2007, 11:45 AM
Just when you realized the war between Sony and Toshiba is plain stupid, comes a new, third player with an innovative solution that because of its simplicity and low price could make this -gen optical disc war much longer.
New Medium Enterprises (NME) has announced that is ready to ship its HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) player and disc into the U.S. market. Although the MSRP of the player is $199, it is expected that large stores such as Amazon and Costco could offer the new HD player as low as $150.
So, what exactly is the Versatile Multilayer Disc? Instead of using a new, shorter wavelength laser like HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc, the VMD uses the same red laser of the DVD format but puts more layers in the same size and thickness of a DVD disc.
The Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD) is an optical storage device in the traditional DVD format, except that it can hold about 10 times the quantity of a standard DVD, or roughly 5 times the quantity of a DVD9. This is achieved quite simply through a multilayer technology that exploits the unused or wasted space, as we like to call it, within the disc itself.
http://www.nmeinc.com/images/disc-illus01.jpg
This way, the VMD technology allows discs that have the same dimensions of a standard CD or DVD but with up to a maximum of 20 layers, resulting in a new format that can hold as much as 40GB per disc.
To help spread the new format, the company is launching several HD VMD players that can read the Multiple layers of Versatile Multilayer Discs as well as DVDs and VCDs. These players cost only a third of a HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc player.
http://www.nmeinc.com/images/product_img_ml6225.jpg
These players can play true HD format with 1920 x 1080i/p resolution, up to 40 Mbps bit rate playback, DVD up-scaling (up to 1080i) support existing optical disc formats: CD, DVD (DVD 5 & DVD 9). The ML622S features an HDMI 1.3 port as well as the Ethernet port. The ML775S adds a media card reader and USB ports to connect flash drives and external hard drives.
http://www.nmeinc.com/images/product_img_ml777s.jpg
Both players use the Sigma Designs EM8622L chip set these two players will output the native 1080p resolution from the disc rather than adding a second conversion process by breaking it down to 1080i and de-interlacing back to 1080p.
It remains to be seen if this new format will come and go before anyone notices or its low price will force Sony and Toshiba to lower the price of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, in particular overseas.
HD VMD is currently being adopted by content providers and distributors in more than a dozen regions worldwide, including Australia, Brazil, Central Europe, China, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Japan, Scandinavia, Middle East, Russia and the United States.
Source: http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/14466/Move-Out-HD-DVD-and-Bluray-Here-Comes-HD-VMD/
New Medium Enterprises (NME) has announced that is ready to ship its HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) player and disc into the U.S. market. Although the MSRP of the player is $199, it is expected that large stores such as Amazon and Costco could offer the new HD player as low as $150.
So, what exactly is the Versatile Multilayer Disc? Instead of using a new, shorter wavelength laser like HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc, the VMD uses the same red laser of the DVD format but puts more layers in the same size and thickness of a DVD disc.
The Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD) is an optical storage device in the traditional DVD format, except that it can hold about 10 times the quantity of a standard DVD, or roughly 5 times the quantity of a DVD9. This is achieved quite simply through a multilayer technology that exploits the unused or wasted space, as we like to call it, within the disc itself.
http://www.nmeinc.com/images/disc-illus01.jpg
This way, the VMD technology allows discs that have the same dimensions of a standard CD or DVD but with up to a maximum of 20 layers, resulting in a new format that can hold as much as 40GB per disc.
To help spread the new format, the company is launching several HD VMD players that can read the Multiple layers of Versatile Multilayer Discs as well as DVDs and VCDs. These players cost only a third of a HD DVD or Blu-ray Disc player.
http://www.nmeinc.com/images/product_img_ml6225.jpg
These players can play true HD format with 1920 x 1080i/p resolution, up to 40 Mbps bit rate playback, DVD up-scaling (up to 1080i) support existing optical disc formats: CD, DVD (DVD 5 & DVD 9). The ML622S features an HDMI 1.3 port as well as the Ethernet port. The ML775S adds a media card reader and USB ports to connect flash drives and external hard drives.
http://www.nmeinc.com/images/product_img_ml777s.jpg
Both players use the Sigma Designs EM8622L chip set these two players will output the native 1080p resolution from the disc rather than adding a second conversion process by breaking it down to 1080i and de-interlacing back to 1080p.
It remains to be seen if this new format will come and go before anyone notices or its low price will force Sony and Toshiba to lower the price of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc, in particular overseas.
HD VMD is currently being adopted by content providers and distributors in more than a dozen regions worldwide, including Australia, Brazil, Central Europe, China, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Japan, Scandinavia, Middle East, Russia and the United States.
Source: http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/14466/Move-Out-HD-DVD-and-Bluray-Here-Comes-HD-VMD/