Broadcom Corp. might play the role of Switzerland after all.
The company makes chips that bridge the gap between dueling next-generation DVD formats, HD DVD and Blu-Ray.
This is one of the biggest format wars in recent memory,a sort of Beta vs. VHS for the modern home entertainment industry.
The new DVD players promise brighter, sharper pictures.
The discs offer more space for features or alternate versions of a movie.
On the HD DVD side is Toshiba Corp., Sanyo Electric Co. and Hitachi Maxell Ltd., among others.
On the Blu-Ray side is Sony Corp. and its allies, including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.’s Panasonic and Dell Inc.
Both formats are rolling out this year. Toshiba was first to the punch.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co., which is in the Blu-Ray camp, could go wobbly on Sony.
It’s reportedly mulling over a move to release a dual player that would handle Blu-Ray and HD DVD discs.
“We don’t have a plan to make an HD DVD-only player but are considering a universal player,” Samsung division assistant manager Kim Du-Hyon told IDG News Service. “We are preparing HD DVD (support) now. If we launch a universal player it will be the end of this year or early next year.”
As far as I can tell, Samsung would be the first major electronics maker to offer a dual player.
Irvine-based Broadcom could be in the right place at the right time for Samsung.
The company grabbed headlines early this year when it unveiled its dual-format chip at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Broadcom appeared to be the first and only chipmaker to have such a chip.
In early 2005, Broadcom released a chip that supported just the HD DVD format. At the time, standards for Blu-Ray weren’t nailed down, according to Broadcom officials.
The company has design wins for both formats. One is with Toshiba.
“Broadcom is going to be agnostic,” company spokesman Peter Andrew said earlier this year. “We’ll let the two camps fight it out.”
A dual player would need more than just a Broadcom chip.
But the company’s chip is a starting point.
Extreme Computing
A couple of first-year college students took top honors in a local technology competition.
Abhishek Amit and Robert Olson,both freshmen at the University of California, Irvine’s Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences,took first place at the school’s “Extreme Computing” competition.
They developed a tool for writing and compiling source code in different languages using a Web browser.
For their efforts, they landed $5,000, an award sponsored by Costa Mesa-based software maker FileNet Corp. and Unisys Corp., which employs about 750 in Orange County.
“The teams involved in Extreme Computing always impress us with their technical knowledge, level of creativity, dedication and enthusiasm for product design,” said Ted Smith, FileNet’s retired founder and competition judge.
The competition drew entries from nearly 40 students on 15 teams.
Disconnexion?
Things just got a little more interesting for Boeing Co. and its Connexion unit in Irvine.
The in-flight Internet unit could be sold or even shut down, Boeing said a couple of weeks ago.
Connexion’s prospects have been in question in the past year or so. But that Boeing is considering pulling the plug entirely is a bit of a surprise.
Already, Verizon Communications Inc. and other wireless carriers have emerged as potential rivals to Connexion in getting business from U.S. airlines.
Connexion offers passengers access to the Internet during flights using satellite technology, a business that has held more promise than results.
The wireless companies can tap their vast tower networks to provide cheaper, dependable online access during flights over the U.S.
Boeing has said the business was hurt by the downturn in the airline industry after Sept. 11, 2001.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Boeing has “reached out” to a number of suitors, including satellite operators, to buy or invest in Connexion.
If Boeing can’t find a deal for Connexion, the aerospace company is willing to close the operation, the company said.
Boeing has spent an estimated $1 billion on the operation, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Connexion may be worth $150 million, the story said.
The company has failed to pick up more than a handful of international carriers.
