I'll say this for the folks at New Medium Enterprises: They're nothing if not persistent. The British company has continued to put out press releases and pester reporters for years with tales of imminent developments and breakthroughs for its red-laser based HD VMD disc format despite few of its promises actually being borne out. And yet the company refuses to give up, recently going so far as to hire Michael Solomon, a well-regarded TV industry veteran, as its new chairman to try, once again, to attract interest in the format from U.S. program suppliers.

Las Vegas - Consumer electronics firm New Medium Enterprises (NME) on Wednesday announced that its HD VMD players, which deliver 1080p resolution using standard red-laser technology and multi-layered discs, are now shipping in the U.S. market. Unlike the next-generation Blu-ray and HD DVD formats, which utilize blue lasers, NME's red laser multilayer discs can store up to 30GB of content on s single side disc. The company said the $199 devices will ship with the films "Mother Ghost" and "Cutting Room," adding that it recently signed a deal with SFM Entertainment to offer rare and classic film and TV titles on HD in NME's new format.

Los Angeles - New Medium Enterprises, the developer of a red-laser-based HD disc technology called HD VMD, announced on Wednesday that Icon Film Distribution will release movies on HD VMD in Australia and New Zealand. Icon titles available at launch will include "The Queen," "Apocalypto," "The Descent" and "Gosford Park." NME's HD VMD format offers 20GB storage capacity per disc by combining 4 layers of 5GB each, offering space for three hours of 1080p content per side.