one said:
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Blu-ray laser diodes in tight supply
- Thread starter Arty
- Start date
...Qroach said:Excuse me if I choose to trust a few websites reporting informaiton about these companies invovled over some guy on the net that ust says " it's not true".
But you do believe "some guy" if he's running a website? Sheesh...
Until some serious source confirms that, it's a rumour, period.
_xxx_ said:
I agree, it is a rumor.
But there is a good question in here: BluRay/HD DVD are new technologies using expensive new diodes that have yet to be deployed on a massive scale. The first consumer products using them have just launched and they (a) were very small runs in the tens of thousands and (b) were very expensive.
But in a 6 month turn around we are expecting to go from tens of thousands of units to ~4M units (plus whatever standalone units).
Obviously this is not impossible, but it is most definately a technical hurdle. Color me impressed if Sony ships 4M units in calendar 2006.
And before anyone says, "BluRay has been out for over a year" I would just note that it has not been in production on this sort of scale and being available did not resolve the issues launch hardware/software had. This is still, by all measures, a very new technology that is just getting its feet wet in the consumer space.
From IMDB:
"Yet Another Delay for Blu-Ray Players, Says Chinese Paper
And the delays keep coming for Sony's Blu-ray high-definition DVD system. China's Commercial Times newspaper is reporting that Sony's production facilities have not been able to meet the demand for the diode that generates the blue laser at the heart of the HD system. Both Sony's own plants and those of Japan's Nichia Corp., the only two suppliers of the diodes, have been plagued by production problems, the newspaper said. The supply problem, it observed, could not only delay production of Blu-ray DVD players for Sony and other manufacturers, but could also delay the release of PlayStation 3 models, now scheduled for November. "
Luckily there's still a few months left to sort it all out and get back on track. We'll find out soon enough!
"Yet Another Delay for Blu-Ray Players, Says Chinese Paper
And the delays keep coming for Sony's Blu-ray high-definition DVD system. China's Commercial Times newspaper is reporting that Sony's production facilities have not been able to meet the demand for the diode that generates the blue laser at the heart of the HD system. Both Sony's own plants and those of Japan's Nichia Corp., the only two suppliers of the diodes, have been plagued by production problems, the newspaper said. The supply problem, it observed, could not only delay production of Blu-ray DVD players for Sony and other manufacturers, but could also delay the release of PlayStation 3 models, now scheduled for November. "
Luckily there's still a few months left to sort it all out and get back on track. We'll find out soon enough!
That's referring to the same article as in the OP.
I assume this is in reference to PS3, but this is the "track" they've been on for some time i.e. stockpiling blue laser diodes for it (which is good for PS3, but bad for other BD manufacturers supplied by Sony..funnily enough, those cited in the original article). That's not really news, nor is the fact that they're low yielding. If any component is going to constrain supply for PS3, it'll be Blu-ray IMO, but I don't think there's anything to sort out here except to keep making the diodes and improve yields over time.
RobertR1 said:
I assume this is in reference to PS3, but this is the "track" they've been on for some time i.e. stockpiling blue laser diodes for it (which is good for PS3, but bad for other BD manufacturers supplied by Sony..funnily enough, those cited in the original article). That's not really news, nor is the fact that they're low yielding. If any component is going to constrain supply for PS3, it'll be Blu-ray IMO, but I don't think there's anything to sort out here except to keep making the diodes and improve yields over time.
scooby_dooby
Legend
Titanio said:
If the launch is delayed due to limited BR diodes than that indicates yields are lower than Sony had initially planned, that is news.
Of course that would be news, but so would man on mars
My point is, applying the situation that someone like Benq finds themselves in to PS3 is inappropriate given that at least one of the major factors apparently contributing to that situation does not apply to PS3. One of the identified problems is that Sony is stockpiling for PS3 - not only is that not a problem for PS3, but it benefits from that. PS3 is probably by far the most well supplied Blu-ray product in the pipeline right now - what that amounts to in terms of numbers is impossible to tell without more information, which this article is not providing. But it's certainly not in the situation Benq and Liteon complain of.
I do think blu-ray will limit PS3 supply initially, but I've said that for a long time. Sony won't delay PS3 if it can't get 4m out in 06, though, you can be sure of that.
My point is, applying the situation that someone like Benq finds themselves in to PS3 is inappropriate given that at least one of the major factors apparently contributing to that situation does not apply to PS3. One of the identified problems is that Sony is stockpiling for PS3 - not only is that not a problem for PS3, but it benefits from that. PS3 is probably by far the most well supplied Blu-ray product in the pipeline right now - what that amounts to in terms of numbers is impossible to tell without more information, which this article is not providing. But it's certainly not in the situation Benq and Liteon complain of.
I do think blu-ray will limit PS3 supply initially, but I've said that for a long time. Sony won't delay PS3 if it can't get 4m out in 06, though, you can be sure of that.
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If OTOH Sony just isn't selling as many of the diodes as their customers could use, that's not news. That's expected. Sony obviously needs them for their own PS3 production.scooby_dooby said:
The Digitimes article linked in the OP doesn't support the gloom scenario here at all. I get the feeling not everyone who participated here has actually read it. To paraphrase, drive makers are not happy because they can't get as many blue laser diodes as they could use. And then comes the fluff.
scooby_dooby
Legend
Titanio said:Of course that would be news, but so would man on mars
My point is, applying the situation that someone like Benq finds themselves in to PS3 is inappropriate given that at least one of the major factors apparently contributing to that situation does not apply to PS3.
Why doesn't it apply to PS3? It indicates that they are not seeing the yields they had expected they would see. Maybe it won't impact the launch quantities promised by Sony, but if they are experiencing lower than expected yields the potential for a negative impact on launch quantities grows greater.
Have you read the article in the OP?scooby_dooby said:
http://www.digitimes.com/systems/a20060710PB205.html
BenQ and Lite-on share the optical drive business.
http://www.cdr-zone.com/news/liteon..._integration_in_optical_storage_products.html
It indicates a single Taiwanese company gets little supply for blue-laser diodes. No one knows how many blue-laser diodes Philips could secure for their higher-margin CE products, let alone how many Sony themselves could stock for the PS3.
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scooby_dooby
Legend
Surely these companies were in contact with Sony, their main supplier, when they scheduled the release dates for the blu-ray players?
serenity said:
I'm not saying the article is wrong. I'm say _xxx_ has no idea if it it wrong or not. him saying "there is no shortage there, plenty of manufacturers producing the stuff." is what really is wrong. he dodesn't have any credibilty or track record (no offense _xxx_) for anyone to take his word on the situation. certainly not over a website like digitimes.