NEC Shipping Blu-ray/HD DVD chip
- October 10th, 2006
- 5 Comments
NEC announced today that it has begun shipments on a dual-format chip that can playback both Blu-ray and HD DVD. Although there is not yet an optical lens capable of reading both formats, the release of this chip could signal an end to the format war.
The chips will be available for roughly the same price as the current single-format chips, so it shouldn’t, at least, raise prices too greatly. NEC has promised that 300,000 units will be shipped by next April.
NEC moves toward a Blu-Ray-HD-DVD combo [Akihabara]
Ian (Who am I?)
2 years ago
How this matters at all is beyond me. Niether HD-DVD or Blu-Ray will allow any company to produce a duel format drive so the whole point is null, NEC realesed it in hopes that the companys would finaly agree to split the pie as many manufacterers have been trying to convence them to do for some time. it ain’t happinin though.
chris (Who am I?)
2 years ago
Hi Ian,
The point here is that this chip can play both formats either HD-DVD or Blu ray. So you need not worry wether to go for HD-DVD player or a Blu-ray player. But I hope the optical lens which could read both formats should be out soon. This is a good step . Thanks NEC.
Steven
2 years ago
But, as Ian pointed out, the licensing for the competing technologies is written such as to prohibit the manufacture of a dual format reader. NEC can make the chip, but nobody who pays for a license of one of the technologies is going to be permitted to build a machine that uses it.
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skylergisondo.com (Who am I?)
2 years ago
Yeah, there’s a point. A potential for NEC to go underground in mods. Stick it to both Microsoft and Sony in the videogamers unauthorized modifications and stick it to them again up the ass w/ their ho-hum “next-gen” DVD technology. Hey, maybe it’ll make ‘em play nice. Thanks, NEC!