Possible HD DVD and Blu-ray Killer on the Horizon

Although HD DVD and Blu-ray seem to dominate the market of next-gen DVD media, their "rule" might be over a lot sooner than we think, if the HD VMD from New Medium Enterprises really hits it big, that is. The reason? High disk capacity and very low prices (both for the players and the disks themselves).

According to the company promoting it, the HD VMD's production and retail costs are very affordable due mainly to the fact that the format uses the same red lasers encountered in the case of most DVD products, with the drives being actually "juiced-up" versions (firmware enhanced, if you prefer) of the old DVDs.

However, the technology seems to be a last-gen one, namely MPEG2 based, with the data transmission rates reaching, according to various reports, values between 40 and 45 Mbps, namely right between those of Blu-ray and HD DVD. Moreover, the disks and players will support THX DTS and Dolby Digital 7.1 audio, but, unfortunately, won't be able to "cope" with the higher end HD audio formats, as for example Dolby TrueHD or DTS Master Audio.

There's little info on the capacity these disks will provide, but they will certainly have at least 20 GB, in order to make them at least competitive on the market (the company's website mentions something about 30 GB, but it's not yet sure that this value is correct). However, what we do know for sure is that the company's going to launch in the near future the ML622S HD VMD player, which provides 1080p output, HDMI v1.3 connectivity (besides the already "classical" output interfaces), as well as DVD upscaling capabilities (up to 1080i).

As mentioned earlier, one of the main selling points of the new HD VMD format (as well as of the compatible players) is represented by the retail prices. Thus, even if the player currently has a MSRP of around 200 US dollars, rumor has it that it will retail for around $150, thus making it one of the cheapest HD-compatible solutions currently available. However, it remains to be seen whether the 20 titles launched with the initial HD VMD players will stand any chance against the more established names, Blu-ray and HD DVD, but, with a little support and help, this thing could really turn into a very serious competitor for the formats backed by Sony and Toshiba.

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