Constellation 3D

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Constellation 3D (C3D) was a company developing a medium for 3D optical data storage, using the product names fluorescent multilayer disc (FMD) and fluorescent multilayer card (FMC).[1][2]

History[]

Constellation 3D Technology Limited was formed in the British Virgin Islands, controlled by Irish company Constellation 3D Holdings Limited. Shares were listed on the Nasdaq "over-the-counter" or "bulletin board" service under the symbol CDDD starting April 8, 1999. During the dot-com bubble near the end of 1999, the company had millions of dollars in losses with no revenues, while Its share price rose 31 fold in less than a year after a few private demonstrations.[3][4] On October 1, 1999, a new company called C3D Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida acquired its assets.[5] The new C3D was formed with the name Latin Venture Partners on December 27, 1995.[6] The use of several shell corporations from several different countries raised some questions at the time.[7] By early 2000, the symbol for shares was changed to CDDDE after the company failed to comply with listing requirements, and its symbol was then changed to CFMD.[8]

Its chairman was former chief of defense research for Israel, Brigadier General Itzhak Yaakov, president and CEO Eugene Levich, interim chief operating officer Michael Goldberg, and general manager of products Ingolf Sander.[6] By early 2000, Yaakov was no longer chairman, and in 2001 (when he was 75 years old) it was reported that he had been arrested in Israel for espionage.[9][10]

The company announced a demonstration at the COMDEX trade show in November 2000.[11] Various numbers of layers were predicted, although some analysts remained skeptical.[12] Besides a disk intended to store feature-length films at high definition, the company planned a ClearCard the size of a credit card that would store 5 to 10 gigabytes for use on a computer or other device.[13]

By the of 2000, the company was losing over $20 million a year, and still had no revenue.[14] By early 2001, the company said it had offices in New York City and Massachusetts, with labs in California, Israel and Russia, and had an agreement with Lite-On for manufacturing.[15][16] On November 17, 2001, Target Invest Consulting LLC (TIC), based in Switzerland but registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis, had agreed to a debt financing of $15 million, with a bridge load of $2 million, through another entity called Constellation 3D Technology Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands.[17] By January, 2002, the financing was still not complete.[18] In March, 2002, a manufacturing joint venture was announced with Russia-based Sistema called OAO Kontsern Nauchny Tsentr.[1] However, about the same time the company started to cut staff after the funding was delayed.[19][20]

Constellation 3D was shut down following a failure to receive the committed investment, and failure to file financial reports, in April 2002 according to chief financial officer Leonardo Berezowsky.[21][22] The company stopped activities and on December 13, 2002, filed for bankruptcy, which was not completed until 2006.[23] According to Sander, the reason for the company shutting down "could have stemmed from their inability to overcome stability problems" in the fluorescent materials used to make FMDs.[24]

A company called D Data Inc. acquired the entire patent portfolio of Constellation 3D in 2003, and promoted the technology under the new name of Digital Multilayer Disk (DMD). The digital multilayer disk promised six layers and some compatibility with red laser DVD players around 2005.[25] D Data published a web site until about the time of the great recession of 2008.[26]

Competitors included InPhase Technologies, which started demonstrating its own storage using holographic techniques around 2002.[27][28] The high-definition optical disc format war resulted in a focus on the Blu-ray disk. Although some research on 3D disk formats continued, and the Versatile Multilayer Disc briefly promised ten layers, video streaming services eventually made the products no longer relevant by the 2010s.[29][30] Some even called this technology an example of vaporware.[31]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "C3D demonstrates multilayer high definition TV ROM FMD system". Press release. CDR Info. March 24, 2002. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  2. ^ Graeme Wearden (January 20, 2001). "Constellation 3D moves toward mega-storage". ZDNet UK. Archived from the original on December 11, 2006. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  3. ^ "C3D Shares Soar After High-Capacity Storage Discs Demonstration". Press release. Bloomberg. December 7, 2000. Archived from the original on February 11, 2000. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  4. ^ Craig Matsumoto (December 1, 1999). "C3D seeks help to bring optical system to market". EE Times. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "Form 10-12G: Registration of securities". US Securities and Exchange Commission. November 12, 1999. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Form 10K/A: Annual Report for Year Ending December 31, 1999". US Securities and Exchange Commission. March 31, 2000. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  7. ^ Sean Davis (December 17, 1999). "C3D's Dramatic Run Invites Questions". HPC Wire. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  8. ^ "Form 10K/A: Registration of securities Ammendments". US Securities and Exchange Commission. January 14, 2000. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  9. ^ "Alleged spy chaired C3D: He was fired over a vision thing, firm shrugs". The Street. April 24, 2001. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Deborah Sontag (May 2, 2001). "Israel Arrests Ex-General as Spy for Spilling Old Secrets". New York Times. Archived from the original on December 29, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Barry Willis (October 29, 2000). "Recordable Fluorescent Multilayer Discs Promise Huge Storage". Sound and Vision. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  12. ^ Richard Barry (April 18, 2000). "Massive storage discs unveiled". ZDNet. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  13. ^ Graeme Wearden (August 16, 2000). "Constellation 3D could be disc storage star". ZDNet. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  14. ^ "Form 10K/A: Annual Report for Year Ending December 31, 2000". US Securities and Exchange Commission. December 13, 2001. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  15. ^ "C3D Announces Participation In Institutional Investor Conf". HPC Wire. March 23, 2001. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  16. ^ "Fluorescent multilayer disks move closer to reality". Electronic Products. March 1, 2001. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  17. ^ "Form 8K: The C3D Financing Arrangement". US Securities and Exchange Commission. November 17, 2001. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  18. ^ "Bridge Note". US Securities and Exchange Commission. January 3, 2002. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  19. ^ Avishai Ovadya (March 25, 2002). "Constellation 3D fires 15 while waiting for private investment". Globes. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  20. ^ "TIC Target Invest Consulting LLC Delayed in Providing Funding but Remains Committed to C3D". Press release. February 19, 2002. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  21. ^ "Form 12b-25: Notification of Late Filing". US Securities and Exchange Commission. April 1, 2002. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  22. ^ "Constellation 3D Web site". Archived from the original on August 6, 2002. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  23. ^ "Commission order revoking Exchange Act registration Section 12(j)" (PDF). US Securities and Exchange Commission. June 6, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  24. ^ "Ingolf Sander's Professional Career webpage". Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  25. ^ "Blue-ray Versus HD-DVD: Other Storage Technologies". HWM. August 2005. p. 101. ISSN 0219-5607. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  26. ^ "D Data Inc. web site". Archived from the original on June 19, 2008. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  27. ^ "InPhase Moves To Holographic Storage". HPC Wire. April 5, 2002. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  28. ^ Rupert Goodwins (April 5, 2002). "Holographic DVD adds new dimension to storage". ZDNet. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  29. ^ Gail Overton (October 1, 2012). "Photonics Applied: Optical Data Storage: Can new techniques continue to densify optical data storage capacity?". Laser Focus World. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  30. ^ Dylan McGrath (January 22, 2007). "A fight for vanishing spoils". Laser Focus World. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  31. ^ Nate Lanxon (March 13, 2008). "Vapourware: The tech that never was". CNet. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
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