Atmel Corp., a developer of semiconductors, announced availability of its new laser diode driver chip for use in combined Blu-ray/HD DVD, DVD, CD players and optical disc drives for personal computers. The chip may enable combined Blu-ray/HD DVD drives, however, it still requires a number of different lasers for different types of discs.

Up to now, a cost-efficient Blu-ray/HD DVD/DVD/CD system required the use of four devices: three oscillator chips and one transimpedance amplifier, whereas Atmel's new ATR0885 makes it possible "to build an extremely cost-efficient blue laser system with only one chip". While several makers have announced combined Blu-ray/HD DVD players, it is unclear how they are designed.