Sign Up for the Daily Filmfodder Newsletter       

DVD Releases and News

Ricoh Develops Dual Format Reader

With all the hullabaloo over the next-gen DVD formats circulating the news recently, your brain may have turned into a steaming pile of mush incapable of thought. Never fear - Ricoh is here, and they've announced a new optical component that promises to read both Blu-ray and HD-DVD disks!

TMCnet broke the news, running down a high-brow explanation of how the laser works, but all we care about is the result - a hybrid player, baby! Currently the laser will only read both formats, but Ricoh hopes to support dual-format writing in later iterations.

Of course, this could all be moot if the player companies end up having to pay royalties out the wazoo to both format owners. Only time will tell (we'll keep waiting for the download services to run them out of business).

Posted by on July 20, 2006 4:30 PM
Permalink | Email to a Friend | Add to del.icio.us | Digg This




dual format reader irrelevant if it's almost twice the price of a regular HD or Blu-Ray disc reader. It'll all eventually come down to pricing. HD-DVD is considerably less capable than Blu-Ray, however you pay about a hundred less. I still pick Blu-Ray (quality is much more appealing for my spoiled ass than frugality).

-- Posted by: Phil at July 20, 2006 7:50 PM

I agree for the most part. I am, however, a diehard Sony hater after all the snafus they've had with rootkits and whatnot. Let's hope, if they emerge the victor, that they do it right this time.

-- Posted by: Perrin at July 20, 2006 8:55 PM

I fear it's going to be a couple years before the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray battle finally settles down. And, unfortunately, that means it's going to be a while before my home theater is graced with the glory of high-definition DVD. This saddens me, but there's just NO WAY I'm hopping on a technology bandwagon before I'm convinced it's gonnna be around a while.

-- Posted by: mac at July 20, 2006 9:51 PM

More Recent Stories:
• Fresh Fodder: New DVD Releases – 12/4/07
• "Newhart" Coming to DVD
• DVD Review: "Grey's Anatomy: The Complete Third Season - Seriously Extended"
• Fresh Fodder: New DVD Releases - 08/08/07
• DVD Review: "The Muppet Show - Season 2"
• DVD Alert: "Serenity" - Special Edition
• Fresh Fodder: New DVD Releases - 07/31/07
• Fresh Fodder: New DVD Releases - 07/24/07
• Fresh Fodder: New DVD Releases - 07/17/07
• Some DVD News to Tide You Over