Just when the members of the Blu-ray Disc Association were settling down to enjoy the fruits of victory, another challenger has entered the ring -- oh wait, it's just NME, makers of VMD, so it's really more like "remained in the ring and basically ignored." The company just issued a press release saying "All indications are that VMD can fill the void left by HD DVD," and that "The way is now clear for VMD to be embraced by the industry." We suppose that's true -- the Asian bootlegging industry really hasn't weighed in with a format choice yet, has it? In any event, VMD players have apparently been shipping to the US for a month now, so all you HD DVD fans out there looking to back yet another losing horse can probably find one -- start at the shadiest retailer you can think of, and then move downwards.

[Thanks, Chris]

New Medium Enterprises has been trying to get its VMD platform for high def optical discs out the door since late 2004, but we haven't heard much solid. In the grand tradition of vaporous, cut-rate consumer electronics, NME's publishing some puffy PR with terms like "The New Definition of High Definition" and "True High Definition". What are they offering? Well, supposedly a budget player's in the works that will play 1080i/p video for €179 ($250), upscale DVDs, and offers 45Mbps video (codecs go unmentioned) and 7.1 surround, region-free media, and a totally blockbuster lineup of Bollywood and Hollywood titles, including Mel Gibson classic "Apocalypto," and "Passion of the Christ". Color us totally impressed. No, really.

NME, the same company that recently claimed to solve the Blu-ray / HD DVD debate by creating a disc that holds both, has now specifics of, and hardware for, its alternative HD format. VMD is targeted as a low cost high definition DVD, using red lasers -- just like DVD and CD -- instead of the blue lasers in Blu-ray and HD DVD. Much delayed, the standalone player is now expected to launch at CES in January, with a price of just $175, compared to the $500+ price of competing formats. With all the major studios backing Blu-ray and/or HD DVD, we hope you like Bollywood's greatest hits and old Broadway performances, as NME is targeting Eastern markets first. Unlike the US, Video CDs and other delivery options have flourished alongside DVD internationally and VMD hopes take the same route for HD. No word on if it has achieved the multilayer 100GB+ discs promised, but at this price, we'll keep an eye out for NME in Las Vegas.

The end of the HD DVD / Blu-ray format war has been declared again, but from a most unlikely source. Recently Warner patented an all-in-one disc to contain a movie in both competing formats plus DVD, and now New Medium Enterprises has followed that up by claiming it's patented a technology capable of actually manufacturing it. Making its claim even more incredible is the fact that NME is the architect of a third competing format, Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD), that already consists of multiple DVD layers. It claims the discs will cost 9 cents apiece to make, compared to 6 cents for standard DVDs -- of course that doesn't include the potential licensing cost for three versions of a movie and three different disc formats, along with the new players NME indicates you may also need to read these multilayer discs. The company still hasn't gotten its 100GB VMD to market after many exhibitions, but with prototypes slated for availability in the first quarter of 2007, we should find out soon enough if this is just hype or if we can finally buy high-def DVDs without picking the next Beta.