http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6307

A red laser based HD format with up to 48GB capacity. If they can crank out a player at the $100 level in the next year, could they end up the hi-def winner. If nothing else, the two-sided format war may soon be three-sided.

With no studios backing it? What are people, uh, going to... watch on it?

It's a vaporware format as it is... a better question is:

"Will it even make it to market?"

Let's wait til it does that before we act like it's even a contender in this war, completely ignoring the fact that it has no content.

Is that vapor I see...

Maybe they will convert them into HD DVD players and sell them for 199.99

No ned to let there investment goto waste. :D

Looks interesting. I'd like to know more.

With no studios backing it? What are people, uh, going to... watch on it?

It's a vaporware format as it is... a better question is:

"Will it even make it to market?"

Let's wait til it does that before we act like it's even a contender in this war, completely ignoring the fact that it has no content.


What do you mean? From the article:

"With [our] HD media format quietly adopted by content providers and distributors..."

"NME has signed content and distribution deals..."

How sure can you be about studio support with comments like that?

I'm also not sure that it is just vaporware since they have the patents, they have developed prototype discs and hardware, they have a deal with a replicator to build disc replication lines, and the first player is supposed to street this summer for $199 MSRP. It sounds a bit more than vaporware.

Would be nice considering the price but the support is likely from foreign film makers. Are there any major studios that might back this format as well. The only one that I could see doing this would be Paramount due to the amount of titles they have published in HD recently. Maybe microsoft will use it in their 360 for game content above DVD-9. All speculation I guess we will just have to wait and see....

Would be nice considering the price but the support is likely from foreign film makers. Are there any major studios that might back this format as well. The only one that I could see doing this would be Paramount due to the amount of titles they have published in HD recently. Maybe microsoft will use it in their 360 for game content above DVD-9. All speculation I guess we will just have to wait and see....


More formats, give me more formats!

Seriously though, if it does what they say, and had come out before or near Blue-laser, it would have stopped them in their tracks. Now I think it would be tuff to make a ripple.

Sounds like a fun little toy though.

What I found the most interesting in this article is the following paragraph:

For cost reasons, NME says that its technology works best with red-laser discs. However, the company believes that its multilayer technology is also applicable to blue-laser discs for 200GB of storage. Toshiba has said it has achieved a triple-layer HD DVD capable of storing 51GB, while Ritek claims it has designed HD DVD and Blu-ray media with 10 layers for up to 250GB of storage.

What I found the most interesting in this article is the following paragraph:

I wonder if it is 10 layers for either format; ie 150 GB HD-DVD and 250 GB BD. Either way, I would think that would give both formats more than enough storage for movies.

I wonder if it is 10 layers for either format; ie 150 GB HD-DVD and 250 GB BD. Either way, I would think that would give both formats more than enough storage for movies.

How much space do they need. We already see the laziness of studios with releases like The Departed and Babel BARE BONES.

If it means stopping this crap created by Sony and Toshiba, I'm all for it.

More formats, give me more formats!

Seriously though, if it does what they say, and had come out before or near Blue-laser, it would have stopped them in their tracks. Now I think it would be tuff to make a ripple.

Sounds like a fun little toy though.

I'm not sure it is still too late. Let's say the player comes out this summer for $199 and is on the shelf at a big box next to a $499 HD-DVD or BD player. Then Christmas comes and HD-DVD and BD drop to $299, and the VMD drops to $150. If they have a decent amount of content from major studios, then I think it could still compete.

Basically this thing is a regular DVD player, that can also play multi-layers discs (up to 10 layers). If they make a version of a writable disc, this thing could become a pirates dream. Get a cheap $100 burner and burn a cracked HD-DVD or BD to a 10 layer red laser DVD, instead of paying $500+ for the HD-DVD or BD burner.

Basically this thing is a regular DVD player, that can also play multi-layers discs (up to 10 layers). If they make a version of a writable disc, this thing could become a pirates dream. Get a cheap $100 burner and burn a cracked HD-DVD or BD to a 10 layer red laser DVD, instead of paying $500+ for the HD-DVD or BD burner.

Well whats all this about playing on a regular DVD player, are they proposing one layer house an SD version, and the multi-layer readers will use the others? Isn't that what HD DVD and BD were trying for at one time?

Also is this going to mean a half-dozed perceptible layer shifts every 20 minutes? That wouldn't be too keen.

The playing on standard SD is the wild-card IMO.

More formats, give me more formats!

Seriously though, if it does what they say, and had come out before or near Blue-laser, it would have stopped them in their tracks. Now I think it would be tuff to make a ripple.

Sounds like a fun little toy though.
Exactly.

Two words sum up VMD:

TOO LATE.

Exactly.

Two words sum up VMD:

TOO LATE......not for managed copies! :D

and I'm the manager.

.....not for managed copies! :D

and I'm the manager.

That's why we love the 3X standard that is in HD DVD.

Really though guys, you can add as many layers as you want to a BD or HD DVD, but the more you do, the poorer your yields go in mass production. It's not hard to make prototypes with insane layers.

Pump them out at above 50% yield and then we are talking.

I hope if there's one thing the format war has told is, is the bits are more important than what the bits are on.

A new physical format is about 5% of what you'd need to have something competitive.

It has been mentioned that HD-DVD has a Redlaser HD spec.
It suprises me that DVD-Forum have not jumped on the possibility to implement the HD-VMD redlaser in the HD specs. Besides HD-VMD it also reads the Chinese EVD.

And if the the multi layer VMD 2P replicator technology is all that the replicator producer VDL ODMS says it is. Why have not the DVD-Forum gotten a exclusive deal with NME for using this technology for blue laser?
That would leave the BD capasity behind in the dust.
The HD-VMD multilayer player will have H.264 decoding from Sigma Design. No VC-1?
Maybe someone from Sigma Design can give us some insight into how this format is performing?

HD-VMD at Media Tech (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=19926)

It has been mentioned that HD-DVD has a Redlaser HD spec.
It suprises me that DVD-Forum have not jumped on the possibility to implement the HD-VMD redlaser in the HD specs. Besides HD-VMD it also reads the Chinese EVD.

And if the the multi layer VMD 2P replicator technology is all that the replicator producer VDL ODMS says it is. Why have not the DVD-Forum gotten a exclusive deal with NME for using this technology for blue laser?
That would leave the BD capasity behind in the dust.
The HD-VMD multilayer player will have H.264 decoding from Sigma Design. No VC-1?
Maybe someone from Sigma Design can give us some insight into how this format is performing?

HD-VMD at Media Tech (http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=19926)

"NME's HD VMD PC technology will enable consumers to make their current PC DVD drives compatible with VMD playback format through a simple download of firmware..."

Very interesting that you can turn any current red laser PC-DVD drive into a VMD drive with a simple firmware update (at least to read 20 GB discs). Wouldn't that imply that about every household in America already has a hi-def player on their PC just waiting to be unleashed with a firmware upgrade and software player download?

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6307

A red laser based HD format with up to 48GB capacity. If they can crank out a player at the $100 level in the next year, could they end up the hi-def winner. If nothing else, the two-sided format war may soon be three-sided.

However, as we've seen, without formidable CE and studio support, a format has problems ... I don't think this is going anywhere here in NA. Maybe it has a chance elsewhere (e.g., China) with non-royalty implementations of codecs, etc.

HD-DVD and Blu-ray are sooo old technology! I think I'll wait on the next generation of disk. How about 3.6 terabytes optical disks? ;) :rolleyes: :p

http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18295/

"NME's HD VMD PC technology will enable consumers to make their current PC DVD drives compatible with VMD playback format through a simple download of firmware..."

Very interesting that you can turn any current red laser PC-DVD drive into a VMD drive with a simple firmware update (at least to read 20 GB discs). Wouldn't that imply that about every household in America already has a hi-def player on their PC just waiting to be unleashed with a firmware upgrade and software player download?

Thats true. I overlooked that. Very interesting indeed.
NME's HD VMD PC technology will enable consumers to make their current PC DVD drives compatible with VMD playback format through a simple download of firmware, and will also offer PC manufacturers VMD drives for future VMD technology formats. The company demonstrated its HD VMD 20GB disc playback (4-layers) with an "off the shelf" DVD drive equipped with HD VMD PC playback software, along with its new HD VMD media player. The proprietary PC drives will go on sale in Q3 07.

What do you mean? From the article:

"With [our] HD media format quietly adopted by content providers and distributors..."

"NME has signed content and distribution deals..."

How sure can you be about studio support with comments like that?

I'm also not sure that it is just vaporware since they have the patents, they have developed prototype discs and hardware, they have a deal with a replicator to build disc replication lines, and the first player is supposed to street this summer for $199 MSRP. It sounds a bit more than vaporware.

The fact that they don't name names generally implies the studios/content providers are very small time ones. I'm not sure if you're joking or not, but they don't have any of the big 8 studios behind them, which is rather obvious... which means, no content, as far as the public is concerned.

It wouldn't matter of these drives/players were $29... they still wouldn't be able to sell them. The reality is, most people don't buy stuff they have no idea about just because it's cheap, unless they have friends/news/etc. telling them to do it -- and nobody is going to be telling people to buy this format backed by nobody. They seem to think that "if we make it, people/content will come" and that's not really how things work.

Also, you can have patents on vaporware -- I'd say the majority of patents are for vaporware these days.

I'd be very surprised if this stuff ever hits the market... and if it does, I'd love to see what kind of content they actually got. I'd actually be tempted to buy a player, just to have a relic that nobody will remember a year after it came out.

They first aim is the Bollywood marked and east Europe/Russia
They also have hardware distribution deal in US with PC Rush.
http://www.nmeinc.com/index.aspx
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=19850
http://www.engadgethd.com/tag/vmd
http://newsblaze.com/story/2006120411482800001.pz/newsblaze/HIGHTECH/High-Tech.html
http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/news.html?d=114629

I would say SED has all those things and it disappointed me by turning out to be vaporware.

Maybe this is another scheme by MS to delay adoption and push downloading when it is viable many years from now. :eek:

Maybe this is another scheme by MS to delay adoption and push downloading when it is viable many years from now. :eek:
Hey, how did we come into this?

Although my first big HD project was a 1080p24 MPEG-2 version of "Gods and Generals" for the D Data Florescent Multi-Layer technology, what 3.5 years ago?

The VMD threat continues to grow:

http://www.sys-con.com/read/352709.htm

299 Euros with 5 Free VMD-DVDs is about $400, which is more than the A2 + 5 HD DVDs from Toshiba on amazon (i don't have my handy dandy currency converter on me).

never the less, if they do corner the Bollywood market, than I will be getting one.

...If they make a version of a writable disc, this thing could become a pirates dream...
A $200 writer with $1 media that will hold a BR/HD-DVD movie will succeed.

HD VMD continues to March on, this time putting down some Asian roots:

http://hd.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=119379

How long before the "format war" becomes a 3-way battle?

I hate to say this, but it seems there is a VMD fanboy?

At any rate, it won't have a chance in the US or most of Europe if there isn't any studio support. Asian roots are not a big deal. VCD put down Asian roots and did quite well there, but never became close to a standard anywhere else. At best, I think VMD will become a HD VCD.

HD VMD continues to March on, this time putting down some Asian roots:

http://hd.broadcastnewsroom.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=119379

How long before the "format war" becomes a 3-way battle?


I'd never say never at this point. If they can also play on DVD players, you talking zero risk here. I pick them up just for $hits and giggles.

I hate to say this, but it seems there is a VMD fanboy?

At any rate, it won't have a chance in the US or most of Europe if there isn't any studio support. Asian roots are not a big deal. VCD put down Asian roots and did quite well there, but never became close to a standard anywhere else. At best, I think VMD will become a HD VCD.

Not a fanboy, but I would find it extremely ironic if the format war dragged on long enough to allow a 3rd format to get a foothold. It seems like in just a few months VMD has went from a complete unknown to having distribution deals for the UK, Europe, and Asia. Could the US be the next stop on their world tour?

Not a fanboy, but I would find it extremely ironic if the format war dragged on long enough to allow a 3rd format to get a foothold. It seems like in just a few months VMD has went from a complete unknown to having distribution deals for the UK, Europe, and Asia. Could the US be the next stop on their world tour?
Some might end up seeing VMD as not so much a third party, as a cost effecrive antidote to blu-war-blues ;)

Inevitably, it would supplant dvd and hdvd before even that.

microsoft already tried something similar with their red laser WMV-DVD format. it failed to take off, and that with only D-VHS as competition. this new prototype format isn't going to do anything spectacular.

Wouldnt this be a boon to the 360, allowing the 360 to use higher capacity discs with just firmware updates?

Looks perfect for Asia to rip off studio titles and mass produce on a cheap format. This could be huge.

Looks perfect for Asia to rip off studio titles and mass produce on a cheap format. This could be huge.

Not just that but if a CE produced VMD recorders, cheaply, that could record HD content with a built in QAM tuner and/or Component inputs, I'd buy it.

I'd probably get a VMD burner before I got a bluray/hddvd disc burner (for the PC).

Check out the dvd-recorder forum. You will find that a consumer recording device with QAM tuner, component, or hdmi inputs is nearly as rare as Unicorns. This is not by accident. The industry is not hyped about giving the consumer the ability to record broadcast sd "too perfectly", let alone hd. Already, there are restrictions in place for certain programs to specify "copy once" or "no copy" restrictions in the recorder. Unless a radical shift in philosophy occurs, we are truly nearing the end of the "fair-use" recording age. It will only get more draconian, here out...

The only things that will be left, where you could actually make use of a recording device, is your personal videocam footage and legacy media formats.