VM Labs was a

semiconductor A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...

and

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

company, founded in 1995 in Los Altos,

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The Nuon platform, developed by VM Labs, was a technology used in DVD players from Toshiba, Samsung, and RCA, as well as Motorola's Streamaster IP set-top box. It was known for its 3D video game capabilities and unique features like the Virtual Light Machine for music and real-time zoom. Despite initial support from Hollywood studios, only four enhanced DVD titles were released. VM Labs, founded in 1995 by former Atari Corporation VP Richard Miller, was sold to Genesis Microchip in 2002 after facing financial issues. Genesis Microchip integrated Nuon technology into HDTV chipsets, but as of November 2004, no new Nuon-enabled DVD players or software titles were being produced.

Products

The company's technology and NUON brand was used in DVD players from

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

and

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, as well as the Streamaster IP set-top box from

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorol ...

. The Nuon platform was featured in the specialized media for the 3D video game titles it would bring to DVD players and set-top boxes, as well as for the features that were not available on other DVD players when playing standard DVD-formatted titles. Notable embedded features included

Jeff Minter Jeff Minter (born 22 April 1962) is an independent English video game designer and programmer who often goes by the name Yak. He is the founder of software house Llamasoft and has created dozens of games during his career, which began in 19 ...

's Virtual Light Machine (VLM) for music, real-time zoom, gamma-correction and smooth reverse shuttle. Although Nuon DVD technology was initially supported by various Hollywood studios with plans to release several enhanced DVD titles, only four were ultimately released, including '' Bedazzled'' and ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

''.

History

The founder of VM Labs, Richard Miller, was a former vice president of

Atari Corporation Atari Corporation was an American manufacturer of computers and video game consoles. It was founded by Jack Tramiel on May 17, 1984, as Tramel Technology, Ltd., but then took on the Atari name less than two months later when Warner Communica ...

, and several prominent VM Labs employees (including

and John Mathieson) were also associated with Atari Corporation. After critical funding collapsed shortly after September 11, 2001, VM Labs was sold to

Genesis Microchip Genesis Microchip Inc. was a supplier of integrated circuits (ICs) for video processors in flat panel LCD TVs and Monitors. It was founded in 1987 by Paul Russo in Markham, Ontario, Canada and it became a public company in 1998 and employed over ...

after a brief period in

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

. Genesis Microchip planned to integrate the Nuon and

Faroudja Faroudja Labs was a San Francisco based IP and research company founded by Yves Faroudja. Faroudja Labs should not be confused with Faroudja Enterprises, Yves Faroudja's latest venture. Faroudja specialized in video processing algorithms and pro ...

technologies for the DVD market, and ultimately used the NUON technology in

HDTV High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

chipsets. As an expanded DVD format and video game platform, as of November 2004, there were no Nuon-enabled DVD players shipping and no new Nuon software titles.

Timeline

1995 – Company founded in Los Altos, CA. Seed financing and non-exclusive license agreement with Motorola for media processor design. 1996 – First Nuon Media Processor design delivered to

for layout 1997 – Prototype silicon received. Second silicon (Quad-core "Oz") delivered to customers. 1999 – Production shipments of quad-core "Aries-1" silicon, operating system and firmware to

and others. 2000 – "Aries-2" begins production 2001 – "Aries-3" silicon (first fully designed at VM Labs) begins production. This design was faster, lower cost, lower power and more highly integrated than the Motorola versions, and fabricated at TSMC. Feb 2002 –

acquires VM Lab's assets and hires 50 remaining employees

References

External links

VM Labs homepage (ARCHIVED)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vm Labs Defunct semiconductor companies of the United States Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct video game companies of the United States Companies based in Santa Clara County, California Los Altos, California Computer companies established in 1995 Video game companies established in 1995 Computer companies disestablished in 2002 Video game companies disestablished in 2002 1995 establishments in California 2002 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct computer companies of the United States