Posted by David Z on 10/08/05 10:49

Microsoft have to also support Blu-ray. If you buy a Blu-ray drive for your
PC, Windows XP will have to recognize it. By that logic, Microsoft also
supports Blu-ray.

"Allan" <Spamstillsucks@buffyandkantica22arebrianlamb.net> wrote in message
news:ksbhj1pe6kbvlr0607bdpuv8ibt8f95o4e@4ax.com...
> http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_and_Intel_to_Support_HDDVD/1127787846
>
>
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> Microsoft and Intel to Support HD-DVD
> By Nate Mook, BetaNews
> September 26, 2005, 10:24 PM
>
> JUST IN Microsoft and Intel are expected on Tuesday to pledge their
> support for HD-DVD, the next-generation DVD format created by Toshiba.
> Microsoft had previously remained neutral in the standards war between
> HD-DVD and Sony-backed Blu-ray, as the company's VC-1 Windows Media
> Video codec will be included with both formats.
>
> The announcement isn't that surprising, however. Microsoft's Xbox will
> soon begin a fierce battle with Sony's Blu-ray capable PlayStation 3
> for living room dominance, and the company inked a deal in April for
> Warner Home Video to use VC-1 in its HD-DVD discs.
>
> Other Microsoft rivals, including Apple and Sun, have thrown their
> support behind Blu-ray. Sun's Java Virtual Machine technology will
> power the menus and multimedia features in the new format.
>
> In June, Microsoft also entered into a wide-ranging agreement with
> Toshiba that enables the two companies to share hardware and software
> technologies. At the time, Microsoft said it would investigate the
> feasibility of an HD-DVD player running Windows CE.
>
> But in the end, copyright controls may have been the deciding factor
> for Microsoft and Intel. As the companies push out more Media Center
> enabled PCs, the movement of protected content around the home becomes
> an important factor.
>
> Blu-ray will include advanced watermarking technology that favors
> standalone consumer electronics devices by requiring authorization
> codes built into the hardware to access content. Such security
> features could make it difficult for consumers bouncing video from a
> PC to a TV, or those streaming content between networked computers.
>
> Backing from "Wintel" and other PC heavyweights could prove an
> important boost for HD-DVD, which has been losing momentum to Blu-ray
> in recent months. Toshiba acknowledged in late August that its
> high-definition DVD format would not be ready by the end of the year
> as originally planned, pushing HD-DVD into early 2006.
>
> Still, it's unclear whether consumers will even express interest in
> high-definition DVD - especially with the confusion a fractured
> marketplace will bring. Movie studios could create hybrid discs that
> also contain original DVD content, but that won't encourage users to
> make the leap into HD.
>
>
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>
>
>
>
> "Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's game
> because they almost always turn out to be -- or to be indistinguishable
> from
> -- self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free
> time."
> - Neil Stephenson, _Cryptonomicon_

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