NVIDIA, the graphics chip maker, has unveiled a new technology which it hopes will allow what it says "delivers outstanding HD-DVD and Blu-ray movie playback on PCs.

Called PureVideo HD, the new chip technology aims to combine hardware acceleration from an NVIDIA graphics processing unit, high-definition movie player integration and HDCP feature support to make it easy for manufacturers and consumers to build powerhouse PCs that can play HD-DVD or Blu-ray movies.

"Consumer interest in blue-laser DVD technology on the PC is growing - we project that more than 35 million high-definition optical disk drives will be integrated into PCs in the next 5 years", said Wolfgang Schlichting, Research Director at IDC.

PureVideo HD technology will use high-definition movie decode acceleration (using certain NVIDIA GeForce 7-series GPUs), HDCP circuitry and HD movie player integration to deliver cinematic-quality Blu-ray and HD-DVD movie playback on a PC.

A graphics card featuring PureVideo HD technology combined with an AACS HD disk drive, an HDCP-compliant display and a PureVideo-powered HD movie player from companies like CyberLink, InterVideo and Nero make it possible for consumers to enjoy superb HD movie playback on their PC.

Alienware has announced that the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX 256MB graphics cards is now being offered for its Aurora m7700 and Area-51 m7700 mobile systems so that users can experience "the most graphically demanding games and applications at blazing fast speeds."