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Nuon (DVD technology)

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"Nuon" redirects here. For other uses, see Nuon (disambiguation).
Nuon
File:NUON logo.png
DeveloperVM Labs
ManufacturerMotorola, Samsung, Toshiba, others
TypeVideo game console
GenerationSixth generation
Release dateLate 2000
Discontinued2003

Nuon (oftentimes stylized as NUON) was a microchip developed by VM Labs. It would give DVD players the ability to double as a gaming console. This is because addition to viewing DVDs, Nuon compatible machines gave users the ability to play video games and use enhanced DVD navigational tools, such as zoom or the smooth scanning of DVD video playback.

Referred to as Nuon Players, manufacturers were licensed to develop the systems according to VM Labs specifications, usually showing the Nuon logo on the side or top of the player. To compete with standard DVD players, Nuon Players were released at similar price points.

Development and Branding History

The Nuon was originally created with the concept that consumers would spend money on being able to play video games on their current media devices rather than buying a standalone game console that could only do one thing, play games. The project was announced in 1998 and would be made to compete with the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube.[1] The Neon technology itself is a microchip that would be compatible in Nuon branded DVD players that had the specifications to run games and use exclusive DVD features. VM labs wouldn't develop the hardware themselves, the plan was to use a similar licensing structure as the 3DO, Apple Pippin, and to a lesser extend CD-I by licensing the technology to notable electronic manufacturers under contract, and having them built the actual machines according to specifications provided by VM Labs.[2]

Coming up with the Nuon brand name was attempted for 18 months, going through names like "Intervision" and "Active DVD" before VM Labs decided to hire professionals to come up with a good marketing name. The idea was to have a brand name that was quick to say and easy to remember, and also could be printed on the edge of DVD devices since it would indicate which DVD players were compatible with the microchip technology.[1]

Launch and early impressions

The Nuon was originally announced in 1998, but would not be fully revealed until 2000.[2][3] The Nuon was shown at CES and E3 2000, with Samsung, Toshiba, and Motorola introducing their own machines along with other companies. The newly introduced Motorola machine was notable for having issues running Nuon compatible games compared with the other modesl at CES 2000, however, Motorola was working on improving compatibility. The Motorola system was the only system to launch with support for slim Ethernet cards and an ATM card allowing broadband internet access out the box.[4] At E3, the device was confirmed to support proprietary OpenGL graphics support along with compatibility with Mpeg-2 video decoding.[2]

Nuon manufacturers decided to price their systems around the price of standard DVD players in the market at around $499 in the North America to be more competitive in the marketplace.[5] The console was launched late 2000. Each company would release their own Nuon-compatible player with their own branding. Samsung's Extiva and Motorola's Streamaster are a few examples of this.

The First DVD to be compatible with the Nuon at launch with enhanced features was Bedazzled. Among the advantages were Viddies, which made the film into montages with exclusive commentary, Gamma Zooms which allowed a viewer to zoom in and around specific parts of a scene. Including objects far in the background, Hyper Slides posted production art on the side of the screen relevant to the current scene playing.[6]

Early impressions were mixed. IGN claimed that the Nuon project was questionable due to a similar controller to the Nintendo 64 (For the early models, later models would use a PlayStation-like controller), the lack of a release date despite reaching out to partners years earlier, and lack of consumer interest.[3]

DVDreview believed that, though Nuon had a promising future, it would on succeed if the developers had a true vision with it, saying that it could produce interesting results and they were aiming for a field the Sony and Microsoft were not interested in. They also noted that they did not believe that Nuon would replace DVD players but just become an extension.[7]

Competitive Features

Nuon players were unlike other DVD players and game consoles, they could not only play games, but also offer then innovative additions to media entertainment in an attempt to make them stand out from other competitors. Nuon Players allowed for better processing of Mpeg-2 video decoding for better quality and to make the images fit on most TV screens, as well as using anti-aliasing effects to make a cleaner picture. Another strength was the rewind and fast forward features, which where jerky on regular DVD players, but were smooth on Nuon Players. Nuon Players also have a very easy to use interface that would work fast, allowing most regular DVD features to be done in one or two clicks without long wait times.

Nuon players were also able to playback regular CD-ROMs and would use an analyzer called "Virtual Light Machine" using either bar or psychedelic images to give visuals while using the Nuon players for music playback, creating ambience

As video game features, all the user has to do is insert a DVD into the Nuon player and the device will instantly behave like a traditional video game console. Each Nuon model comes with their own controller as well at no extra charge. The Nuon players can play impressive 3D games up to that period, but were not made to compete with devices that had dedicated graphics such as the new PlayStation 2 and later video game consoles.[7]

Hardware models

  • Streamaster 5000 by Motorola. Supported official Broadband internet service at launch in NA and Australia.[8][4]
  • Samsung DVD-N501, N504, N505, N591, N705, and N2000. Came with a pack-in game called Balistic.[9][10]
  • Toshiba SD-2300. Features fast loading.[11]

Peripherals and accessories

Peripherals for Nuon-enhanced DVD players included the following:

  • Logitech Gamepad
  • Pro-elite controller
  • AirPlay wireless controller
  • Stealth controller
  • Warrior Digital-D pad
  • Controller extension cable
  • Port replicator to move the Nuon ports to anywhere desired

Released games

Eight games were released for the Nuon:

Homebrew development

During late 2001, VM Labs released a homebrew SDK which allowed people to be able to program apps/games for their Nuon system.[citation needed]

Homebrew releases

Several homebrew titles have been created for or ported to NUON. They are not commercially available and require the user to burn the material to a Nuon-compatible CD-R.

  1. Ambient Monsters
  2. Atari / C64 Video Game Music Player
  3. Atari 800 Emulator
  4. Atari 2600 PacMan (hacked version of VLM's Chomp)
  5. BOMB
  6. Breakout
  7. Chomp (sample game included with the second Nuon SDK)
  8. Decaying Orbit (port of the Yaroze game)
  9. Doom (port of the shareware edition)
  10. PacMan - Tournament Edition (hacked version of VLM's Chomp)
  11. SameGame - Colors
  12. SameGame - Shapes
  13. Sheshell's Sea Adventure
  14. Snake
  15. Synth Demo
  16. Yaroze Classics (features Katapila, Invs & BreakDown)

References

  1. ^ a b Herz, J.C. (November 26, 1998). "A Name So Smooth, the Product Glides In". New York Times. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Bock, Brian C. (June 4, 2000). "Video Game Industry Shows Latest at E3". Net4TV. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Nuon 64". IGN. September 12, 2000. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Trakulthai, Chai (January 16, 2000). "Lots More Cool Web Appliances at CES". Net4TV. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  5. ^ "DVDベースの新型ゲーム機「NUON」、ついに製品化へ～ Samsung、東芝がCESで実機を展示 ～". PC Watch. January 6, 2000. Retrieved March 12, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Nuon Gives Shine to 'Bedazzled' / Technology faces uncertain future". SFgateV. March 16, 2001. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "The Mystery About NUON Revealed". DVDreview. November 17, 2000. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  8. ^ "TransACT Capital Communications to Purchase Motorola's Streamaster 5000 Advanced Set-Top Box; Agreement Marks the Arrival of DSL Broadband Entertainment Services to Australia". The Free Library. Business Wire. January 3, 2001. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  9. ^ Page, Max (June 12, 2000). "Samsung DVD-N501 DVD Player Review". PC Stats. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  10. ^ http://www.gingerbeardman.com/archive/samsung/
  11. ^ "Toshiba SD-2300".
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