I’ve been trying to keep up with the HD DVD and Blu-ray battle, mainly because I think the competition is good and I want to see how far they are willing to go. Today I read that Microsoft was going to back the HD DVD format even more by adding its trademarked HDi™ logo to the brand. The HDi logo means that Microsoft’s Interactive TV feature will be supported by the players and movie releases.
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Microsoft has cut a deal with Toshiba, Paramount, and Universal to include the HDi logo on the HD DVD players and discs. So now when you’re watching the new Warner Bros. HD DVD release, “Blood Diamond†you might be able to go online and do things like download new trailers, buy ring tones or merchandise, and share your favorite scenes with other HDi HD DVD users.
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Jodi Sally, the vice president of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, has said “With Microsoft’s HDi technology, Toshiba is able to offer consumers a consistent movie-watching experience in a way that simply isn’t possible with today’s DVDs or available with any other format right now. Advanced navigation using Microsoft’s HDi technology has been offered on all of Toshiba’s HD DVD players — from the models introduced last spring to our third generation of models that are shipping today.”
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“For studios to truly enhance and change the way people watch movies, HD DVD provides the features and the flexibility we need to offer a personalized experience,” said Ken Graffeo, executive vice president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment and co-president of the North American HD DVD Promotional Group. He also added that “web-enabled network features made possible through HDi are particularly compelling because they bridge the gap between physical media and the Web-based world of the MySpace generation.”
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But we can’t forget about blu-ray. I’m sure their engineering team is working on a strategic plan to deal with the HDi feature.  Honestly, that’s what makes this so interesting. It’s safe to say that soon, watching movies at home will not be the same.