With Blu-ray and
HD DVD hogging most of the spotlight, most people don't realize that there are other, affordable high-def formats available. One of the
more promising alternatives is HD VMD from NME. The company recently announced plans to target PC users by offering affordable HD VMD
drives and downloadable playback software.
NME Creative and Software Division announced today that it has successfully
trialled its HD VMD playback software as well as VMD multilayer PC drives.
The company will release the HD VMD playback software
for download in February 2007, initially in 10 regions worldwide. The software will also be offered to hardware manufacturers as a
bundling solution.
The proprietary Multilayer PC drives will go on sale in the 2nd Quarter to playback the 4-layer VMD discs. The
VMD multilayer drives will be made available at an affordable price and can replace all existing PC disc drives.
While NME
has yet to break into the US market, they've signed distribution deals in India and parts of Europe. If you'd like to read more, their
entire press release can be found here.
