New Medium Enterprises Inc. and Global MediaCast Ltd. have reached an agreement to launch a new Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD)-integrated High Definition (HD) IPTV Box offering a complete triple-play solution for digital television in the 4th quarter of 2005. The new IPTV Box will be the first ever to include the versatile functions of receiving broadcast and satellite transmissions, storing and playing films & programs in both Standard Definition (SD) and HD formats.

Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) has become a common denominator for systems where television and/or video signals are distributed to subscribers or viewers using a broadband connection over Internet Protocol. Many of the world's major telecommunications providers are exploring IPTV as a new revenue opportunity for their markets. As Informa Telecoms & Media put it, "rapid growth over the next five years will see 25.9 million IPTV subscribers by end-2010--around ten times the 2005 figure. At the same time the sector will start to generate significant revenues and will be worth $10.4 billion in 2010."

The HD IPTV Box will have two radically new integral built-in elements: the HD VMD drive and a new HD player/decoder, built around a recently released powerful ST7710 chip created by ST Microelectronics.

The VMD discs playable on Global MediaCast's HD IPTV Box provide a storage capacity of 40 GB, sufficient for the playback of over five hours of HD movies and content and over 20 hours of SD content. The HD player/decoder copes with any video stream of up to 40 Mb/sec, therefore allowing receipt and play-back of the highest quality HD content. Any channel may be recorded onto the hard drive while viewing a second channel, or two channels may be viewed simultaneously, using picture-in-picture (PIP).

Stand alone VMD drives, at retail prices similar to current DVD-9 drives, are a major advance in optical disc technology. Currently DVDs provide the major studios with revenues almost equal to the total revenues returned to the studios from all other sources, including the cinema box office, television broadcast and cable & satellite distribution. The current growth of program production in true High Definition format of 1920:1080 (progressive scan) demands a much greater storage capacity than present DVDs can provide. The ability of VMD to store five hours of continuous true HD content on a single disc and play it back, fills the need.

The application of VMD as an integral part of the IPTV Box opens another fast growing market for NME. The sales of IPTV Boxes and integrated digital TVs are projected to grow 38% in 2005 to reach 68 million units. Very soon, most IPTV Boxes and integrated digital TVs will be HD enabled. The cooperation between NME, ST Microelectronics, and Global MediaCast is a pioneering endeavor to bring IPTV Boxes with versatile functions and true HD quality to the consumer market at affordable and realistic prices now.

Global MediaCast will start the marketing of the HD IPTV Box immediately worldwide. The company has already entered into an agreement to launch their HD IPTV Box with a London-based global telecommunications company for distribution this autumn.

In other applications, the VMD products, with their large storage capacity and high bit rate in playback, are ideal components of digital intermediate and post production systems, and the authoring of HD content for worldwide distribution. Other applications include video-on-demand and video games where all processing is performed in HD. For the new generation of Digital Cinemas, the VMD will be used for in-cinema storage and playback.

NME's VMD will be a major contributor to the expanding world of High Definition and the new world of IPTV.

This will allow the home viewer to not only experience true HD on command; but, to also provide a complete triple-play home entertainment and Telco solution to every home.