Retailer to sell third high-def format

Online store PC Rush will offer HD VMD players

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 2/26/2007

FEB. 26 | New Medium Enterprises, marketer of a third high-definition DVD format, has signed PC Rush as the first U.S. retailer to carry its HD Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD) players.

Online electronics superstore PC Rush will distribute and market two NME products, the HD VMD Media Player Duo and the HD VMD Media Player Quattro, for three years. These players will up-convert standard-definition DVD to high-def quality and are compatible with the high-def VMD disc, an alternative to Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD.

The Media Player Duo is priced at $199 (MSRP) and the Media Player Quattro is priced at $249 (MSRP), and both will be available at www.pcrush.com by the second quarter.

BD and HD DVD are better known high-def formats in the U.S. Yet VMD has been one of several high-def disc formats in development in Europe and China.

New Medium Enterprises has not announced any content licensing deals for the VMD format in the U.S., but it has a “content distribution deal” with German distributor VCL, covering Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland and including VCL’s entire 800-title catalog. The catalog includes German-language rights to a large number of titles released by major studios in the U.S., including the three Terminator films, Dances With Wolves, Basic Instinct, The Sixth Sense, American Pie and Seven.

In August, former Warner Home Video president James Cardwell joined NME’s board as a media and content advisor.

VMD uses red-laser technology, helping manufacturers use much of the same equipment they use in producing standard-definition DVDs. NME wants its high-def technology to be sold at the same prices as regular DVD players.

“We are committed to providing U.S. consumers with an affordable and high-quality [high-def] experience via the HD VMD solution. The red-laser-based VMD format and players are a natural successor to the DVD market, allowing customers to get high-definition for a fraction of the cost of today’s HD DVD or Blu-ray discs and players,” said Mahesh Jayanarayan, CEO of NME. “Our partnership with PC Rush represents a strong step toward our goal to bring HD VMD to a wide consumer base in the U.S.”

PC Rush management is happy to widen consumer choices for high-def.

“Market forces demand solutions that couple true high-definition video playback with existing DVD technology,” said Frank Khalili, chair and chief operating officer of PC Rush. “For the past few years, the U.S. customer base has eagerly awaited a product that addresses the desire for high-quality [high-def] playback without abandoning existing investment in conventional formats. PC Rush stands ready to satisfy that pent-up demand.”