HD For Indies

EETimes.com - Fate of high-def DVD may lie with Microsoft

Great article updating on the whole HD-DVD vs. blu-Ray shindig. Microsoft, after first claiming agnosticity (??), now is so firmly pushing HD-DVD that they are reportedly offering financial incentives to computer manufacturers if they go HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray. As well as including HD-DVD support in Vista, their next gen
operating system, and ZERO support for Blu-Ray.

Why? Microsoft doesn't want Java to make any more headway into the market as a potential threat against MS IP, Microsoft may want to prologng a format war for them to have time to get a high def strategy into their XBox 360 in time, and Microsoft may want to advocate for downloadable, rather than disc based, movies in the future, to be the "telephone company of the living room" with the money going for the service/s, not the tangible product/s.

Eek. More reasons MS makes me nervous.

I think Blu Ray has a superior technology, but betting against Microsoft has historically not been a winning play.

Lots of good details in the article, I'm just summarizing here. Go read it, and weep at how MS continues to interfere in the market. It is one thing to advocate, another to not support the competition, but quite another to pay folks to pick your favorite rather than the other.

Hulllooooo, Justice Department? Is there any kind of restraint of trade case to be made here, starting now rather than 6 years from now? Oh, wait, there's a Bush in the White House, never mind, that'll never work.

-mike

Thanks to Mike of B-Scene Films for sending in this link!