Top Japanese chip maker NEC Electronics Corp. announced last Tuesday that it has began shipping a chip that is compatible with both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats that can be used in next generation DVDS. This is a move that can potentially bridge a fierce format war that has managed to create a strong division within the electronics industry.With the development of other hybrid technology, the new chip could potentially usher in lower costs to build dual format players. This could also help consumers as well as the movie industry limit its involvement in the current format rivalries between the two camps.
The chips will go on sale for about 10,000 yen or $84, about the same price as NEC Electronics’ chips that only read Blu-ray or only HD DVD formats.
The company is targeting a monthly shipment of about 300,000 during the business year beginning April 2007.
AT present a consortium of companies led by Sony Corp. are backing the Blu-ray format as the next generation optical disc standard. Toshiba Corp., on the other hand, is the leader of the consortium that is championing the rival HD DVD format.
[tags]Blu-ray, HD DVD, Sony, Toshiba, NEC[/tags]