Via DesignTechnica

New Medium Enterprises Inc. today announced it will unveil its highly anticipated pre-industrial VMD (Versatile MultiLayer Disc), the next generation HD Disc and Drive containing 20GB of storage capacity on the current red laser technology platform, before investors and news media in the United States. The HD content will be shown in genuine HD formats (MPEG-2, 1920x1080 interlaced and progressive scan).

The company plans to launch production and sales of 20GB and 40GB Discs and Drives in the fourth quarter of 2005. The drives will be inherently backward compatible with existing pre-recorded and recordable DVD and CD formats.

New Medium will demonstrate and describe this revolutionary new technology before significant investment bankers, portfolio managers, research analysts, retail brokers and special situation investors in New York City. In addition to one-on-one meetings with the financial community, New Medium will preview its technology for content providers and members of the news media during showings at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m. in Mid-Town Manhattan at the Broadway Screening Room located at The Brill Building, 1619 Broadway, 5th floor (between 49th & 50th) on Thursday, May 5, 2005.

The pre-recorded VMD has four layers on one side for an initial capacity of 20 GB and is entirely based on the current red laser DVD industrial infrastructure. VMD is designed for viewing High Definition content requiring high storage capacity and high bit rate (up to 40 Mbs), such as full-motion pictures, sports entertainment and other demanding video content and data. Pre-recorded VMDs are capable of playing next-generation, High Definition movies and other video content, catering to the vast consumer base of owners of HDTV television and large screen sets.
I think the Gizmodo.com response is very fitting:

With the blue laser capturing everyone’s attention, this technology will probably become a buffer between current storage systems and future systems. Backwards compatibility is always nice, but having the backing of major industry players is much nicer. Sounds like another LaserDisc—at best.