It’s hardly been that long since Toshiba’s HD DVD bowed out of the market but a new disc format is about to take its place. The Blu-ray is no longer the only format that will be available in the market, the new HD VMD by New Medium Enterprises will be offered through Amazon in five weeks time (VMD means versatile multilayer disc).

What are HD VMD’s qualities that can make it a threat to Sony’s Blu-ray disc format?
One, HD VMD is more affordable. First and foremost is the price. A Blue-ray cost over $300 but the HD VMD is only $199. This aspect alone shows a big gap and I’m sure practical buyers will opt for the more affordable one. The production cost of the player is also quite low enabling the company to Second difference is what’s inside the player. HD VMD makes use of a red-laser technology that is commonly used in standard DVD players.

Major studios have yet to use this new format. And the question now is would they be willing to use this for their films? For the time being, only a handful of non-major films use this format. New Medium Enterprises is counting on its chairman, Michael Jay Solomon, to step up the use of the HD VMD.