Third Format to Enter HD-DVD/Blu-ray War

As Blu-ray and HD-DVD continue to wage war another format looks to be entering the fray.

According to Yahoo! News, New Medium Enterprises, Inc. announced on Monday that James Cardwell, the former President of Warner Home Video, is to join the NME board as a media and content advisor.

NME are launching their High Definition Versatile Multilayer Disc (HD VMD) platform this Autumn and James will work with the NME Board and Senior Management Team to establish and develop relationships in the global home entertainment market. James was responsible for achieving major growth whilst at Warner Home Video and for building the largest film library of any of the major Hollywood studios.

The new VMD platform uses a multilayering technology to create multiple layers and much greater storage within the thickness of a standard optical disc. It uses the existing red laser platform, which DVD uses. This makes VMD extremely attractive to content vendors, disc replicators and consumer electronics manufacturers, as little retooling is required for mass production. Benefits to the consumer will be VMD's true HD viewing quality, affordability, proven technology and compatibility with their existing DVD collections.

"As NME enters the HD marketplace, having James on the board ensures that NME will become a major force in the HD entertainment systems market place,'' said Mahesh Jayanarayan, the NME CEO. "I look forward to working with Jim and his talents and experience will enable NME to establish a strong market presence."