New Medium Enterprises’ (NME) proprietary HD VMD (Versatile Multilayer Disc) format uses standard red lasers, but crams in 4 layers per disc to handle the data needs of full high-definition content. VMD’s cost advantage comes from the fact that discs and players can be produced using much of the already existing infrastructure that’s set up to produce standard DVDs. First generation VMD will store up to 24GB, but there are already plans in the works to expand this capacity further using more layers, and potentially thinner wavelength blue lasers as prices come down.

The manufacturer claims the format supports full 1080i and 1080p resolutions, as well as bit rates up to 40 Mbps (about half way between the two competing HD formats). The players support video compressed in MPEG- 2, MPEG-1, VC-1, H-264(AVC) formats. As an added bonus, HD VMD is region free, so you don’t have to worry about where you bought your discs. Audio support includes Dolby Digital and DTS, but none of the more advanced audio formats you might find on Blu-Ray and HD DVD players. Even the least expensive HD VMD players offer HDMI and component outputs, and will scale old-school DVDs up to 1080p over the HDMI connection.

The most obvious downside to the budding format is the current lack of available content. NME has only scored distribution rights to a a handful of movies that I’ve ever heard of. Launch titles include: Hostage, Apocalypto, Pulp Fiction, Babel, Saw II and Saw III. Most of the other movies are either lesser-known independents, older films or Bollywood features from India. It’s doubtful that the company will be able to garner support from most major studios, given their already significant investments in the other HD formats. With HD DVD and Blu-ray prices on the decline, HD VMD will face a serious uphill fight.

The DV-980H supports Dolby Digital Surround EX, which adds the surround back speaker channels, giving the player a leg up over traditional 5.1 surround. The player’s video processing circuitry can crank out 1920×1080 full frame images, letting you take advantage of the native pixel resolution of today’s top of the line 1080p displays.

This is a true “universal” player, supporting DVD, DVD-Audio and SACD format discs. Of course, it doesn’t play today’s high definition formats like Blu-ray or HD-DVD, but it’ll sure make your old DVDs look as good as they possibly can. The player also handles DivX format video files with ease.

In terms of connectivity, the 980H offers an HDMI (v1.2a) digital output, as well as component video, optical, coax, and discrete analog outputs for each of the eight audio channels too.

The only real gotcha here is that this player doesn’t include the stellar Genesis/Faroudja video chipset that was found in the classic DV-971H and DV-981HD models. But if you’re looking for both 1080p output and 7.1 channel audio, this new model is the way to go.

As is always the case with OPPO’s players, the DV-980H offers a ton of bang for the buck, retailing for just $169.

[via SlipperyBrick]

Sony’s DAX-X10 is a complete home theater system that looks perfect for living rooms and other places where you don’t want a lot of equipment and wiring cluttering up the place. It features a solid 480W of amplification power, with much of that (160W) going to the system’s powered subwoofer.

For your viewing and listening pleasure, it offers a front-loading DVD player which can handle DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, ACD, Video CD, DivX and MP3 format discs. Audio decoding from Dolby Digital, Pro-Logic II and DTS are all there. And thanks to its Digital Media Port, it can even be expanded with options such as media player docks and Wi-Fi streaming bridges. It’ll even play music wirelessly from many Bluetooth devices out of the box.

The system also acts as an HDMI switcher, and includes upscaling to 720p or 1080i from analog video sources. It even has an automated setup system that takes care of calibrating the system for optimal acoustic performance in about 30 seconds.

Initially planned for release this September in Europe, the DAX-X10 is likely to hit other markets in the near future. Pricing wasn’t officially announced, but it looks like Amazon (affiliate link) already has them available for pre-order for $899.99.

[Sony Europe via Electronista]

The impending version 1.80 upgrade adds a couple of new features, but the most significant one purportedly adds upscaling of DVD, Playstation and PlayStation 2 games to as much as 1080p resolution. I’m very interested to see how this all works, especially to see if the game upscaling works on US and Japan (hardware backwards compatible) consoles or only on the European (emulation-based) versions of the system.

In addition, the new release will add remote PSP play across the internet, and playback of media content stored on DLNA3 (Digital Living Network Alliance V3) enabled PCs and other devices.

The update should start rolling out on May 24th (at least in Europe). Sony’s PS3 system update page should have more details once the firmware is released.

Given the current dearth of games for Sony’s big black box, I’m beginning to feel like I spend more time downloading firmware updates than actually playing games.

[via MaxConsole]

The new LG J10HD system is a full-featured home entertainment system complete with DVD player, 2.1 channel sound and an onboard 80GB hard drive for media storage. CD music can be ripped to the hard drive or MP3, WMA and JPEG files can be copied from a PC via USB.

The system’s 2.1 sound system offers 5.1 virtual surround (Dolby, DTS and XTS) and a total of 300W of amplification (75W x 2 + 150W subwoofer), which should be more than sufficient for a small home theater. The DVD player features 1080i upscaling and can play back a wide variety of formats including DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW and DivX formats. Outputs include HDMI, Component, Optical Audio and SCART.

The LG J10HD can be found online in Europe for about

The Ambisound system features virtual 5.1 surround sound from a single 5-inch deep box and a single subwoofer. It features a complete 5-channel amplification system and a built-in upscaling DVD player with HDMI 1080p output. Video processing is provided by a Faroudja DCDi chipset, so upscaling quality should be excellent. The Ambisound HTS8100 lists for $799, but can be found on Amazon for as little as about $650.

[Order From Amazon]

The $229 OPPO DV-981HD is an updated version of the award-winning DV971H player. For starters, the 981 includes an HDMI digital output, rather than the DVI output featured on the original model. In addition, the player features true 1080p output and adds multi-channel SACD audio support. Both the 971 and 981 feature some of the best video scaling and deinterlacing capabilities out there, using a Genesis/Faroudja chipset which produce excellent image quality.

For those of you keeping score, the original DV971H scored a record-breaking 98 in the Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity DVD Benchmark, a widely respected benchmark in the home theater enthusiast community. What’s even more amazing is that OPPO’s players are very reasonably priced when compared to other high quality DVD players. Assuming that the DV-981HD is built on the same core technology, and simply adds new features and higher resolution output, OPPO could be going for a perfect 100 score this time. If you have a large DVD collection, and don’t think that HD DVD or Blu-Ray are ready for prime time yet, you owe it to yourself to check out one of these players.

(BTW, if you don’t have an HDMI connection on your television, you’ll need to go with the $199 DV971H model, which still includes component analog outputs.)