Handles both
ELECTRONICS GIANT NEC has developed a chip that can play Blu-ray or HD-DVD formats.
If the chip is adopted, it could mean that the format wars between the two standards would be over, and people could start buying the next generation DVD machines.
Broadcom has had a similar go at making a dual-format chip, but that beast had both standards encoded within it.
According to ArsTechnica, the NEC chip is handles the drive's internal logic beyond media stream decoding. Plans seem to be to tie it to Ricoh's quadruple-mode laser optics that can handle both high-definition format disks.
Apparently DVD players that use the chip will be a bit more expensive than buying one player, but a hell of a lot cheaper than having to buy a Blu-ray and HD-DVD machine, not that anyone would do that. Of course this is assuming that Sony backs down a bit and grants a few licences for dual mode boxes. So far there is little indication that the outfit is keen on doing that. More
here.