New Medium Enterprises, developers of the HD VMD format, claims that their format is now ready to be embraced by the industry.

"The way is now clear for VMD to be embraced by the industry, our technology is robust and our format is clearly equal to the quality required to deliver a true HD experience for the consumer at a price they are prepared to afford," said chief executive officer Geoff Russell.

Though there are over 100 titles currently available for the format, with several distribution deals having been put in place, there aren't any major Hollywood studios or hardware manufacturers supporting the format.

I struggle to see why anyone would want to invest in the format, given the painful experience of anyone who sided with HD DVD.

"NME has developed the VMD technology independently and are poised to come to market in several territories in the next quarter. All indications are that VMD can fill the void left by HD DVD for a hungry production industry and rapidly growing HD-screen enabled consumer market," said Michael Solomon, chairman of NME.

I'm not so sure.

(Via X-Bit Labs)

With the furore surrounding the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray, the "third format" — HD VMD — has been quietly getting on with doing hardware and content deals around the world.

NME has done an exclusive worldwide distribution deal with SFM Entertainment, which will see a number of rare and classic film and TV titles being released to the global market.

NME's "Bundle Box" will include Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book," "Sudden Death" staring Robert Conrad, "Instant Love," "Wilma," "Bud Greenspan's Favorite Stories of Olympic Glory," "Bud Greenspan Remembers the 1936 Olympics," and the four tele-features based upon the Emmy-winning TV series "Cagney & Lacey."

NME has announced that all 53 episodes of BAFTA-winning LazyTown will be released in HD VMD format to Scandinavia and Iceland, in 12 episode box sets.

OK, it may not be as much of a draw as Lord of the Rings or Spider-Man 3, but kids might think differently.

(Via HDTV Magazine)

HD VMD, the third high definition disc format, continues to push into new markets, as it signs agreements with two independent Icelandic film distribution companies.

SENA and Myndform will distribute high definition titles by Christmas 2007. NME will release a bundle box with each company which will feature its full high definition 1080p HD VMD Player bundled with five HD VMD titles.

Bundled titles from Myndform will include blockbuster hits Lucky Number Slevin, Saw I & II, and Butterfly Effect II. From SENA, bundled titles will include hits Apocalytpo, We Were Soldiers, The Hitcher, Spy Kids and Scary Movie. Bundle boxes will be available for 16,999 ISK (equivalent £137)

One of the main talking points at this year’s show was the growing popularity of IPTV, or ‘television on the basis of Internet protocol’. It refers to new forms of television services that offer genuine in interactivity including video on demand and individual access to programmes.

IPTV offers a new way of watching television without being restricted by the time sequence of programme schedules. Instead, viewers can access programmes of interest from the Internet, irrespective of the schedules drawn up by broadcasting networks

ABD has unveiled a number of new technology solutions designed to open new opportunities for digital TV broadcasters. These include the company’s latest range of IPTV, Advanced Video Coding and high-definition set top boxes – providing a complete portfolio for cable, satellite and terrestrial broadcasters.

ADB has become established as the leading supplier of hybrid IPTV set top boxes in Europe, including the world’s first single chip, high-definition set top box based on advanced video coding (AVC), the award winning ADB3800W.

Just two weeks after the BBC’s iPlayer video-on-demand software has become publicly available, Internet service providers are threatening to restrict services to save bandwidth.

So-called ‘traffic shaping’ measures, where excessive downloaders are restricted to retain the speed of most broadband connections, are already being used. But the threat to control a public service like iPlayer has caused controversy.

Apple TV hacks have recently provided a software patch that allows external storage devices to be connected via a USB port to the stylish set top box - with increased storage paving the way for high-definition.

The newly released patch is for version 1.0 of Apple TV software – so it won’t work on version 1.1.

There’s no official support for the hacks but forums at Apple TV hacks could be useful for anyone interested in installing or uninstalling the patch.

TiVo, pioneers of digital video recording, has slashed the price of its HD recorder set top box in an attempt to attract new high-definition buyers in the US. The new TiVo HD was announced today at the affordable price of $300 – that’s $500 less expensive than the preceding TiVo Series 3 model.

"It's a great HDTV complement," says Jim Denney, TiVo vice-president of product marketing. "You get a truly broadband-based home entertainment experience, but we're making sure we do that at a price point that it isn't something you have to think about hard before buying."

The good news is that HD video is finally available on Apple's iTunes, but the bad news is that it's only a video podcast from the Washington Post.

Up until now all the movies and TV shows on iTunes are encoded using standard resolution 480p. But the system is capable of streaming high-definition 720p, which was used to shoot he new vidcast.

Lionsgate films believe that next-generation home entertainment could swell Hollywood coffers by more than half a billion dollars by the end of the year.

The company predicts that US consumers will spend $350m buying Blu-ray and HD-DVD software and another $88m on renting high-definition discs – that's up $34m and $9m respectively since the formats were launched last year. And, another $109m is expected to be spent on downloading films over the Internet.

Evesham has unveiled the revamped e-box HD that includes Dual Core processing, high-definition capabilities and Windows Vista. It's a fully functional set top recorder and all round entertainment system that combines PC, TV, DVD and audio features in a single system.

Dual integrated TV tuners allow you to record one programme while you watch another and an HDMI output means you can display upscaled images using a high-definition display.

Walt Disney Studios has struck up a partnership with Microsoft to deliver feature films to US members of the Xbox Live marketplace - the leading high-definition download service.

As of today, US gamers will be have access to a growing catalogue of new and classic films from Walt Disney Studios, which includes Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax films.

A survey of 2,400 Internet users has revealed that only a few download full-length films on demand. Most people blame slow internet connections, but say they would be prepared to watch downloaded movies if the performance was better.

According to the survey taken by CacheLogic, 85% of Internet users have never downloaded a full-length film or TV programme while only 15% have downloaded a TV programme and 14% a feature film.

The red-laser alternative to HD DVD and Blu-ray — HD VMD — continues to push out worldwide, with the news that Icon Film Distribution will release movies in the format in Australia and New Zealand.

Films to be released include Apocalypto, Gosford Park, Miss Potter, The Queen, and We Were Soldiers.

Related posts
NME seals two content deals in France for HD VMD format
HD VMD continues push into Europe
HD VMD signs first US distributor, 2Q launch of Duo and Quattro players

New Medium Enterprises has inked another deal with a European distributor, as it seeks to get consumer recognition for their HD VMD format.

At the Cannes Film Festival, NME signed a deal with Scanbox, making it the leading distributor of HD VMD films across Scandinavian countries.

The HD VMD format continues to infiltrate Europe as New Medium Enterprises has announced two major deals with content distributors supplying the French market: Seven 7 and Metropolitan FilmExport.

The deals mean that there should be 20 titles available by September 2007, with five new titles added every month thereafter.

New Media Enterprises, developers of the HD-VMD format, continue to push into Europe by striking a deal with MCA Technology, an established distributor, and targeting the French consumer market.

With similarities to their US deal with PC Rush, MCA will have exclusive distribution rights for the HD VMD technology.

We've been reporting on the HD VMD format since August last year, and it does appear to be gaining traction in both emerging and developed markets. Last month New Media Enterprises inked a deal with PC Rush to distribute its Duo and Quattro disc players.

DailyTech has provided more insight into the format: