The prolonged HD battle is over, a war of attrition that left Sony’s pricey Blu-ray as the undisputed victor in the eyes of consumers while Toshiba’s more pocket-friendly HD DVD format slumped in eventual defeat.
Is HD DVD being replaced in the HD format war by New Medium Enterprises\' pocket-friendly HD VMD? Credit: HD VMD.
Sadly for Toshiba, its belief that a cheaper HD option would lead the format to victory did not pan out (mainly due to the Blu-ray coverage provided by Sony’s hugely popular PlayStation 3 videogame console), but that hasn’t stopped yet another format from springing up waving the same pennywise flag.
Specifically, while not a high-definition platform in the same vein as Sony’s newly crowned industry standard, the new HD VMD format is being billed as providing the same performance as Blu-ray at a distinctly lower price.
Format creator New Medium Enterprises hopes that its new HD Versatile Multilayer Disc technology will resonate with those prospective HD customers with less disposable income who are not able to meet the (still relatively) lofty prices that accompany Blu-ray, reports the New York Times .
The London-based company is able to undercut Blu-ray by utilising the same red-laser technology used in conventional DVD hardware, while Blu-ray is -- somewhat predictably -- reliant on the more expensive blue laser technology.
Although New Medium Enterprises has stated that it is not rekindling the HD format war and that HD VMD is not meant to be a direct rival to Blu-ray, the company it touting the reduced retail pricing of its format while labelling VMD as “a natural extension of [the] mass market DVD product enhanced to HD capabilities.”
In pricing terms, HD VMD hardware is expected to retail for around $199 when its hit’s the likes of Amazon next month, which is a marked difference compared to the more than $300 generally attached to a typical Blu-ray player.
However, although HD VMD might boast comparative HD performance while wielding a sizeable price advantage over Blu-ray, the recent demise of HD DVD has shown that consumers are not necessarily swayed by lower prices and that studio/retail support is perhaps the ultimate deciding factor.
HD DVD folded soon after the Blu-ray defection of media giant Warner Bros. and leading retailers Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
From that pivotal perspective, New Medium Enterprises’ chairman Michael Jay Solomon believes that his considerable industry standing and prior positioning as president of Warner Bros. International Television will help HD VMD to secure support from Hollywood heavyweights -- all of whom are currently remaining silent about the new format.
So far, HD VMD has failed to make much of an impact in the United States, with only a mere 17 movies available from the likes of independent studios such as Anthem Pictures, Eros Entertainment and SFM Entertainment. But Mr. Solomon believes that HD VMD’s grounding in success lies outside of the US.
According to Mr. Solomon, the related low production costs and retail prices connected to HD VMD will see the format attracting the owners of movie rights in regions such as Australia, Central Europe, China, India, Russia and Scandinavia, all of which he sees as potentially major markets.
Andy Parsons, chairman of trade group the Blu-ray Disc Association, begs to differ with Mr. Solomon’s outline of success for HD VMD. From Blu-ray’s standpoint, any traction experienced by the format will be short lived in light of steadily falling Blu-ray prices.
“When you mass produce blue lasers in large quantities, hardware costs will absolutely come down,” commented Mr. Parsons with regard to Mr. Solomon’s suggestion that HD VMD players could turn a profit alongside a mere $90 price tag. “I’m sure we’ll eventually be able to charge $90 for a Blu-ray player,” he added.
DarioMar 11th, 2008 - 10:23:33
BlueRay prices are not falling, they are going up. Sony is a very gready company and will kill BluRay with there high prices. Download direct to HD, that is the way to go.
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