Sony shrinks Blu-ray laser
Microscopes at the ready
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What do you get when you cross Sony with Japanese laser specialist Nichia? The answer’s a tiny blue-laser data reader module that paves the way for slimmer, cheaper and portable Blu-ray drives.
Sony/Nichia's Blu-ray head: tiny
Sony’s new laser unit measures 14 x 7.4 x 3mm and is expected to be built into slimline Blu-ray drives that can be fitted into skinny laptops, in-car entertainment systems and handheld disc players, although it hasn’t mentioned anything about introducing the laser to Blu-ray drive in the PS3.
The module can read dual-layer Blu-ray Discs, but it's not capable of forming the basis for disc writers.
Mass-production of the laser is expected to start sometime this year, Sony said, but the electronics giant wouldn't reveal when it expects the first Blu-ray products featuring the new laser to become available.
COMMENTS
re: Scott
This is just a laser element, it's not a decoding chip. So it's got nothing to do with Profile 2.0, Profile 3.0 or whatever; it just makes shoving a Blue laser in a laptop drive easier, and building any sort of drive cheaper in the long run. What happens to the data once it's off the disc is down to other stuff.
On another note, all films play on Profile 1.0 just fine anyway; it's just the snazzy bonus features are less snazzy there. So if you don't care about extras you're fine.
What on earth...
....are you on about.
How is it going to be cheaper? They've not even made any yet! Being new technology it's quite likely it'll be more expensive.... do we get to see it with Profile 3.0 do you think, so there's a whole new list of films you can't watch until you buy a new player?
Cheap seemingly isn't an issue in the market, that's clear from the fact that HD DVD players are half the price of Blu Ray players, yet BR is doing well because of the PS3, no one in their right mind would buy any other player currently on sale, upcoming Panasonic BD50 is about the safest bet.
There are no nails necessary - what's wrong with two formats? Personally i'd rather there were just HD DVD as it's technologically a superior format, the hardware is also... but sadly that doesn't seem likely so we'll stick with region coding, unfinished standards etc etc
well, if its true...
...and it does result in cheap blue-ray, then that surely is the final nail in the HD-DVD coffin.
If its not, then i propose that the entire blue-ray camp dons balaclavas, hobnail boots and grabs the nearest blunt instrument and makes its way to toshiba's hd-dvd labs and trashes the place.
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