NEC chip will cut Blu-ray players’ size and cost

NEC announced today the EMMA 3PF chip, which is the first large-scale integration (LSI) chip that contains all the major functions of Blu-ray including Profile 2.0, analog-to-digital conversion, HDMI output, and sound encoding/decoding. The EMMA 3PF also features a multicore CPU which allows for improved startup times and operation speeds. Most importantly, the chip will significantly reduce the physical size of Blu-ray players as well as reduce the overall cost. The chip will start shipping in September so expect players that use it to begin appearing in the near future.

[Gizmodo]

Tags: Blu-ray News, EMMA 3PF, NEC

SonyNEC: Sub $100 Blu-ray drives by year’s end

SonyNEC Optiarc, a joint collaboration between Sony and NEC, predicted that Blu-ray drives for PCs could go below the $100 mark by the end of 2008. Internal Blu-ray drives, capable of reading Blu-ray discs, which could do a lot for consumer adoption of the format.

PC Blu-ray burners, capable of writing to Blu-ray discs, will be in the $150-$200 price region. Notebook Blu-ray drives could also drop to the $150 level. These lower prices will make the format more accessible to computer manufacturers as long as customer demand keeps growing. Those wanting to add Blu-ray drives to their existing systems will have a more affordable option to do so.

[Yahoo! News]

Tags: Blu-ray Drives, Blu-ray News, NEC, Sony, SonyNEC