The format wars have been probably one of the most unexciting battles in recent history. Not only do we not have a clear winner, but both sides are vying for the crown of a technology that is not well understood by the market, not readily available, and frankly not even really supported. So hey, why not add one more name into the ring? That's exactly what China is hoping for with its EVD technology.
If you think you've seen that acronym before, you may not be mistaken. EVD, or Enhanced Versatile Disc, is not entirely a new concept. The format was created back in 2003 for Chinese producers to use DVD-like technology, without paying the royalty and license fees to brand their media as DVD. On paper, it's been much the same concept as DVD, though it's not really taken off.
Of course, that was until recently, when a London firm by the name of New-Media Enterprises developed a way to use the EVD setup to store HD-DVD amounts of storage. The method was discovered when the company attempted to create its own format, the VMD (Versatile Multi-layer Disc). The beauty of the system is that it still uses the same red laser that a DVD player would, meaning the drives and players could be incredibly cheap in comparison to either of the other formats.
In order to promote the technology as a genuine way forward, over twenty different consumer electronics manufacturers released a whopping 54 players yesterday. Though it's no guarantee of success, the list of companies is pretty impressive - even the owner of the fabled RCA brand is on board.
Apparently, the EVD dark horse will not go out quietly. And as consumers, if we can get cheaper storage that's got just as much space for high-def content as HD-DVD, that's a pretty good thing. The only question is, is it too late to enter the competition now?
Tell us your thoughts in our forums.
If you think you've seen that acronym before, you may not be mistaken. EVD, or Enhanced Versatile Disc, is not entirely a new concept. The format was created back in 2003 for Chinese producers to use DVD-like technology, without paying the royalty and license fees to brand their media as DVD. On paper, it's been much the same concept as DVD, though it's not really taken off.
Of course, that was until recently, when a London firm by the name of New-Media Enterprises developed a way to use the EVD setup to store HD-DVD amounts of storage. The method was discovered when the company attempted to create its own format, the VMD (Versatile Multi-layer Disc). The beauty of the system is that it still uses the same red laser that a DVD player would, meaning the drives and players could be incredibly cheap in comparison to either of the other formats.
In order to promote the technology as a genuine way forward, over twenty different consumer electronics manufacturers released a whopping 54 players yesterday. Though it's no guarantee of success, the list of companies is pretty impressive - even the owner of the fabled RCA brand is on board.
Apparently, the EVD dark horse will not go out quietly. And as consumers, if we can get cheaper storage that's got just as much space for high-def content as HD-DVD, that's a pretty good thing. The only question is, is it too late to enter the competition now?
Tell us your thoughts in our forums.
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