20GB High-Def VMD disc launched
 

New Medium Enterprises Inc. announced the public unveiling of the highly anticipated pre-industrial VMD (Versatile MulitLayer Disc), the next generation HD Disc & Drive containing 20GB of storage capacity on the current Red Laser technology platforms.

The company is set for launching production and sales of 15 GB, 20 GB, 25 GB and 30 GB Discs & Drives by Fall 2005. The drives will be inherently backward compatible with the existing pre-recorded and recordable DVD and CD formats.

Invites for the public demonstration will include financial newspapers, magazines, wire services and feature syndicates trade periodicals covering the optical storage industry, as well as selected members of the investment community and key players in the media and optical storage industries. Demonstration will be held in London, United Kingdom, in January 2005. The scope and the detailed schedule of the event will be announced at a later date. Thereafter, the company plans to conduct a series of road shows across the globe to demonstrate the VMD products to select groups at various times and locations to be announced.

VMD was recently demonstrated to enthusiastic groups of industry leaders in several countries and was hailed and embraced as a breakthrough and compelling solution for cost effective High-Definition pre-recorded discs and players.

``We are thrilled with the opportunity of unveiling this remarkable technology to the public,'' says Ethel Schwartz, CEO of NMEN. ``We anticipate a similar resounding response from the attendees as we have seen from the enthusiastic industry leaders that have already viewed our VMD products demonstration.''

The pre-recorded VMD has four layers on one side for an initial capacity of 20 GB and is entirely based on the current Red Laser DVD industrial infrastructure. VMD is designed for viewing High Definition (HD) content requiring high storage capacity and high bit rate (up to 40 Mbs), such as full-motion pictures, sports entertainment and other demanding video content and data. Pre-recorded HD VMD's are capable of playing next-generation, high-definition movies and other video content, catering to the vast consumer base of owners of HDTV Television and large screen sets.

NMEN anticipates that by spring 2005 it will achieve pre-production 30GB of storage capacity with bit rates up to 60 Mbs, capable of playing even higher quality High-Definition content for HDTV and Digital Cinema on a single pre-recorded VMD.

In 2006, the company will start manufacturing cost-effective 50 GB VMD's on Red Laser, for HDTV and Digital Cinema. With minimal changes of its technology, the company can manufacture recordable VMD as well. With future applications in sight, the company has begun developing Blue Laser VMD systems with up to 1 Terabyte capacity for high-end Digital Cinema and Video-On-Demand (VOD) applications.

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