Topic: HD VMD Players Make US Debut
Two high-def disc formats not enough for you? The long-awaited Versatile Media Disc (VMD) is now officially available in the United States.
The third high-def disc format was originally announced back in 2006, but had evaded US release until now.
Gadget blog Technabob was first to note the inconspicuous US market debut for VMD on Amazon.com, where three VMD players are being sold direct from the manufacturer, with prices starting at only $189 [actually, none of the players exceed the $199.00 price tag].
As we've previously reported, the upstart format's red laser multilayer disc is currently capable of storing 15 to 20 GB on a single layer, with plans to grow that number to 30GB.
But according to New Medium Enterprises, the UK technology company that developed VMD, the format's real sell is its ability to deliver the same high-quality video and audio as Blu-ray and HD DVD at a fraction of the cost -- both to the consumer, and the content creator.
While disc production costs for Blu-ray and HD DVD are said to run somewhere between $2 to $3 a unit, VMD discs reportedly cost just over a $1/unit to produce, only slightly more than standard-def DVD.
Cost aside, VMD is likely to face an uphill battle both for recognizable high-def content -- and for shelf space at retailers.
The company has yet to announce any US-based content partners, and it seems highly unlikely that any of the major studios will make their films available on VMD disc, at least in the short term. (Overseas, the company has partnered with a number of indie film distributors, most notably including Eastern Europe's Monolith Films which owns regional rights to films like 'Apocalypto,' 'Lord of War,' and '16 Blocks.')
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/ … Debut/1053
I remember hearing about these a while ago, but thought they never went into production - apparently, I was wrong. But that is just more of the information blackout that both BDE and HPG have locked down over the HD marketplace in their key markets of North America, Japan and Western Europe. Pretty much, if it's HD related and not concerning either format, you just don't get to hear about it often.
Anyway, did a little checking to beef up my info on HD VMD and they support up to 1080p24, supports a higher bitrate playback than either HD DVD or blu-ray at 40Mbps and are region-free. On the downside, they do not support any of the new HD audio codecs (Dolby HD, DTS Master HD, etc.). Why they do not, I am not sure, afterall, it is not like they do not have enough space on the disc. Of course, if you are in the market, it is of little to no matter, as most owners of HD DVD and blu-ray never get to hear the HD audio tracks on those discs either, as only within the last few months have proper a/v receivers have shown up on the market that fully supports any of the advanced audio codecs; and most of those cost more than blu-ray players, so it is not like very many owners of HD DVD or blu-ray are even able to take full advantage of the HD audio codecs missing from HD VMDs.
Of course, if you are a died in the wool fan of either HD DVD or blu-ray, no need to feel threatened by a new challenger to the ongoing, fictional format war. NME, the UK company responsible for HD VMDs are primarily targeting emerging and developing markets with their player - and for good reason. Not only could they probably not get proper support for their players in the big three markets, but their players simply cost less, and most likely could be sold for even less than they are currently selling for. Having spent quality time actually living in some of the same emerging markets that NME is targeting the HD VMD players, I can tell you right now that neither HD DVD nor blu-ray could stand a chance of ever grabbing a foothold in any of those markets, anytime within the next five to ten years (at the very least). Both technologies simply cost too much, and none of the emergent markets are important enough to either Sony or Toshiba to bother subsidizing the adoption of their technologies in these markets. So you when you so see HD DVD and blu-ray players in these markets, not only are they selling at cost as you might expect, but actually in most of these markets they are selling with an extremely hefty markup over cost, as evidenced in places like Brasil where low end blu-ray players like the PS3 are selling for almost $4000USD; not a typo and not R$4000 (Brazilian Reals), but literally almost $4000USD. In order to own one, you have to put it on a 12 month purchase plan of $600 per month, which is an amount that is more expensive than a house note for most people in the region. Prices like those are outrageous to say the least, even by our standards, but almost every major electronics manufacturer from North America and Japan, practices this type of pricing policy, subsidize to the rich in the three major markets (North America, Western Europe and Japan), make the poor in the rest of the world pick up the tab. Which is why in most emergent territories, lesser known, and often enough, completely unknown (at least in the major markets) brands are the order of the day for all but the richest citizens.
The low price of entry for HD VMD makes it the perfect candidate for a HD solution in these markets. The technology itself is just standard, red laser DVD player with a few extra bits for decoding HD video and upscaling SD video all the way up to 1080p. I have little doubt that NME could sell these for half their current price and still pocket a sizable profit. Which makes it also the most flexible solution for emerging markets around the world. Think of HD VMD as the Nintendo Wii of HD movie players. Nintendo pockets a tidy profit for every Wii they sell, and the Wiis are cheap enough to manufacture that Nintendo could lower the price and still be pocketing a profit. This compared to something like the Playstation 3, which is losing Sony ~$250 for every unit they sell. There is no flexibility with the pricing of the PS3, which is why even in places like Mexico, they cost more than $1000 each - it's cheaper for Mexicans to just cross the border into San Diego or El Paso and purchase a PS3 at Best Buy, than to purchase one in their homeland.
Anyway, a short trip to New Media Entertainment's corporate site and you find there is even a sizable library of titles available in the HD VMD format. Granted quite a few of these are Bollywood pictures, which probably means that NME is doing good business in India, but you'd really be surprised at just how many really good movies, that you'd recognize by name are available on this format. Films that would do well on the international market, considering the players and discs are region-free. Very interesting stuff.
* Hostage
* We Were Soldiers
* Apocalypto
* Lucky Number Slevin
* Valiant
* Saw II
* Saw III
* Lord of War
* Fireplace & Aquarium
* The Ark
* Help I'm A Fish
* El Cid
* Mid Summer Dream
* Passion of The Christ
* Angeles Ashes
* Babel
* 16 Blocks
* Set up
* Hoodwinked
* Oliver Twist
* Princesse
* La Planete Blanche
* Pulp Fiction
* Sahara
* Demande A La Poussiere
* Gosford Park
* The Descent
* Miss Potter
* The Queen
* Butterfly Effect 1
* Butterfly Effect 2
* Hitcher
* Black Sheep
* Lord of the Rings
* Diario De Um Novo Mundo
* Inside Out
* Avion
* Welcome to LazyTown
* Dr. Rottenstein
* Hero for a Day
* Defeated
* Rottenbeard
* Cry Dinosaur
* Secret Agent Zero
* Sleepless in LazyTown
* Happy Brush Day
* Pixelspix
* LazyTown’s New Super Hero
* Sports Day
* Crystal Caper
* Lazy Scouts
* My Treehouse
* Swiped Sweets
* Sportafake
* The Laziest Town
* Soccer Sucker
* Dear Diary
* Miss Roberta
* Sports Candy Festival
* Remote Control
* Sportacus Who?
* Zap it
* Records Day
* Ziggy’s Alien
* Play Day
* Prince Stingy
* Robbie’s Greatest Misses
* Dancing Duel
* LazyTown’s Greatest Hits
* Sportacus on the Move!
* LazyTown’s Surprise Santa
* Sailor et lula
* Scorpion
* Le caïman
* Spy kids
* Scarie movie 2
* Les chansons d'amour
* Khakar Khakar
* Alaipayuthey
* Pammal K Sambantham
* Panchathanthiram
* Ghilli
* Boys
* Kandukondain Kandukondain
* Water
* Bheja Fry
* Bridge to Tarabitha
* Hanuman
* Malamal Weekly
* Constant Gardner
* Jo Jeeta Wohli Sikander
* Page 3
* Parzania
* Iqbal
* China Town
* Sholay
* Andaz Apana Apna
* Hum Aapke Hai Kaun
* Padosan
* Maine Pyaar Kiya
* Kashmir Ki Kali
* Pyaasa
* Sapoot
* International only
* Khanna & Iyer
* Inquilab
* Namak Haram
* Dil Ek Mandir
Anyway, doubtless this will ever catch on in the states, until at least after the death of HD DVD and blu-ray (I kid, I kid), but I have soooooo many friends all around the globe who live in countries where they can expect to never be able to purchase one of the big two hi-def players, and frankly it is nice to know there is a company out there who is providing a product that they can get into at a price they can afford. Because of technologies like HD VMD, they do not have to be left out of the hi-def revolution for another decade as they wait for whatever will replace HD to come along as an incentive for the world's major OEMs to lower the prices of HD in their regions.