New tech for next-gen DVDs

Japanese Nichia Corp. has developed a blue-violet semiconductor laser diode, featuring a power high enough for burning Blu-Ray and HD DVD media at high speeds.

Nichia’s new laser diode is able to emit pulsed light at 320mW, while it offers a stable operation of 1,000 hours, according to the company. The diode could be used for optical discs including Blu-ray and HD DVD, allowing 10X speed recording with a double-layer disc and 2X speed recording with a four-layer disc. Currently blue-violet semiconductor laser diodes offer a pulsed output of 130 mW.

Why should you care? Well, if you’re considering purchasing a PS3, there’s been reports of PS3 owners in other overseas territories that are experiencing slow Blu-ray load times, causing game companies to cache data on the hard drive. With a faster laser (possibly in later iterations of the PS3), you’ll be able to hopefully stream that same data off the disc itself.

Nichia aims to start this product’s mass-production in the first half of 2008.

Source: CDRinfo

Related Links: Gizmodo, HD DVD Promotion Group, Blu-ray Disc Association