Sony Corp. and its subsidiary Sony Computer Entertainment announced on Tuesday that they have developed a new laser for the next generation PlayStation system that can read both digital video discs (DVDs) and compact disks (CDs). This improves on current DVD drives that require separate lasers to read DVDs and CDs - Sony's new laser delivers both lasers in both wavelengths in one device. Using this new technology will reduce the number of components required for the DVD drive in the upcoming PlayStation.
Although not part of Sony's announcement, expect this technology to appear in the future in other DVD products from Sony.