Look out BluRay + HD-DVD... here comes HD-VMD!

[shams]

Lingyis said:
i was typing up a long response... and then i realized all that i was saying is that stuff like this buys time for online delivery. i think bandwidth actually isn't as big of an issue, but the businesses haven't gotten the distribution deals quite set up yet. technologically speaking online distribution is all set.

I was having the same chat with a friend today.

BW may not be an issue in the US - and parts of Europe - but trust me, it is for a majority of the world. 

The majority of Australian broadband owners have 1Mbit or less - HD-DVD/BluRay both rely on roughly 40Mbps. Even the fastest connections here are not sufficient for "true" HD.

(over the air works fine though)

Normal definition TV shows (especially with a better codec) is fine though. And I do see these channels going through the roof - thanks to the 360 & PS3.

...

@Ivader - noise should be purely a function of the quality/design of the drive bay/system - not the underlying architecture. There is no reason a VMD player couldn't be really quiet.