HD-DVD players already 60% smaller, sort of

That's right, before they're even released, HD-DVD players are smaller than the previous generation, er, you know what we mean. Sanyo announced yesterday that they developed a new chip that will save 60%  of the current chip space. The new "all-in-one" chip handles the processing for reading and writing CD and DVD formats, as well as HD-DVD playback.

The new chip isn't expected out in mass production until the first half of 2006. Interestingly, Sanyo expects to release an HD-DVD player in their 2005 fiscal year. Will they bring a slightly smaller HD-DVD player to market when everyone else's first gen player is a few "sizes" bigger? It's likely this chip would also be used in HD-DVD drives for computers due to its smaller footprint.