"Microsoft and Intel have formally announced their support for the new HD DVD standard, joining the HD DVD Promotion Group headed up by Toshiba, NEC, SANYO, and Memory-Tech Corporation.
HD DVD

With the worldwide launch of the Xbox 360 looming, many are wondering whether this means a HD DVD drive will be included in the Xbox 360 and thus delay the launch. Microsoft have confirmed that the Xbox 360 will ship with a standard DVD-9 drive, but the announcement of their support for the HD DVD standard may mean that future versions of the Xbox 360 will include a HD DVD drive.

By contrast, Sony have already announced that the PlayStation 3 console will ship with a Blu-Ray drive capable of reading Blu-Ray discs containing up to 50 GB of data. The HD DVD standard is only capable of holding 30 GB of data, but HD DVD discs will be cheaper to produce as they can be manufactured using existing production facilities.

The Blu-Ray and HD DVD camps recently held talks in an attempt to settle on a single next-generation format, but this latest announcement from Microsoft and Intel may herald the beginning of a DVD “format war” similar to the one fought over Betamax and VHS.

Given Microsoft’s aggressive four-year console upgrade schedule, consumers may be waiting until November 2009 before the Xbox 360 is released with a HD DVD drive."