New HD Video Format to Enter the Fray

A couple days ago Slashdot had an article about HD-VMD, a new contender in the High Def video market brought forward from until now unheard of New Medium Enterprises.  They promise capacity of 40 GB (right in the middle of what HD-DVD ad Bluray can support) at a price point only slightly higher than standard DVD media.  This price is possible thanks to reusing existing technology to manufacture the disks and lasers in the players.  Rather than a blue laser, VMD disks use the same red lasers as current DVD players.

Only a few titles will be available at launch here in the US, although with the players coming in under $200 (with $150 being the number that seems to be going around) and availability through Amazon, this could quickly be a major figure in the HD wars.

I like the idea of cheaper HD, but I’m afraid this will draw out the resolution of this media format war even longer, and make it even more complicated for us, the consumers.