First Blu-Ray laser controllers available

Company called Intersil who develops laser controller chips found inside various DVD and CD players and writers, has announced the availability of first Blu-Ray laser controllers.

Otherwise totally useless news blurp for Joe Average, but this is anyway a clear sign that the industry is preparing to ship first Blu-Ray devices in beginning of 2003 as promised. Blu-Ray, which uses blue-laser technology instead of red-laser technology (which is used with DVDs and CDs), can store 27GB of data per side on regular 12cm disc (yes, for imperial measurement users out there, 12cm is the size of a regular CD or DVD disc).

Blu-Ray will face tough obstacles on its way to be adopted as a next-generation storage media -- DVD Forum hasn't yet decided whether they will develop HD-DVD using blue-laser technology and MPEG-2 or do they stick with current red-laser DVD technology and start using MPEG-4 instead of MPEG-2. To add the possible confusion, NEC and Toshiba jointly announced a competing blue-laser technology in last month. Exactly the scenario everybody has been scared of.

Source: Intersil Press Release

Written by: Petteri Pyyny @ 11 Sep 2002 16:51

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5 comments

A_Klingon

To tell you the truth, in some ways, I'm glad I don't own a dvd burner just yet. Blu-ray is always in the back of my mind, and considering it's massive increase in data-density per disc, I'm (maybe) going to wait until the blu-dust settles on this one before I take any major plunges/committments.
Make sense?

(Actually, I'm holding out for Pink laser. It hasn't been invented yet, but when it is, I'm sure it will beat the pants off everything else). :-)

11.9.2002 22:54 #1

Ghostdog

Same here, I�m perfectly happy with my CD-burner. I don�t even have the time for "serious" DVD-backup and digital-video as a hobby.

It�s sad though how you were hopping not to have to face the same standards-mix-up as with red-laser and now we already have two manufacturers introducing a new "standard"

Then again, competition on the market is always good for the consumer.

12.9.2002 11:36 #2

A_Klingon

Yep, but the multi-standards coming up just underline the logic in waiting this one out a bit. I tend to 'sit on the fence' a little longer than I used to; I'm not the early-adopter-type so much anymore, not one to flash the credit-card around too much every time a pretty new format waves her long blonde hair at me.

I too, am perfectly happy with my current cd-burner, which has never let me down. You don't miss (much) what you don't have, and I wonder how many current-&-soon-to-be dvd burner-owners will regret their purchase(s) if blu-ray *does* catch on in a big way? Archiving a half-dozen dvds in native, mpeg2 form (without further compression) on a single blu-ray disc seems to me like something worth waiting for.

I'll let the formats flog it out for a while and let the companies sue themselves all over the place for a little longer. It's fun to watch this tech-fiesta as it unfolds in front of my very eyes on this website anyway!

-- Mike, The Procrastinator --

12.9.2002 19:35 #3

Ghostdog

uuhm... blonde hair.

13.9.2002 07:14 #4

chriso123

Yeah best to wait.

-Chris

13.9.2002 12:43 #5

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