The Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD war over the next standard for Hi-Definition Media is already underway, with many swings for and against each camp.
Most consumers would probably choose to wait until the standards war (much like Betamax vs VHS) is over so that there will be no wasted money on players for the standard that loses.
Major players in Media and Hi-Tech however do not have that luxury. Hi Definiton TV programming is already available and prevalent on most cable/satellite systems. Hi-Definition Display adoption has been booming as most Plasma, LCD, and Projection TVs are now HD compatible (able to display Hi-Definition Resolutions).
With HD Content and HD Displays already on the market, companies must provide their customers with the means to fully embrace the new content or potentially lose their customers to competitors who have chosen a camp (Blu-Ray or HD-DVD) and are offering HD products/services.
Apple has been on the board of directors for the Blu-Ray standard since March 10, 2005, but as of yet has not incorporated Blu-Ray into any of its new products.Apple has updated and transitioned to Intel processors all but one of the hardware offerings in its line-up. The Macbook, Macbook Pro, iMac, and Mac Mini have all just hit the market and feature Apple's DVD Superdrive.
The sole unit Apple has yet to upgrade is their professional class desktop solution the Power Mac, which is still sold with the G5 processor. If Apple is to incorporate Blu-Ray into one of its units, this is the most likely choice as more early adopters will likely be found in the market targeted by Apple's professional series (Power Mac, MacBook Pro) rather than consumer series (iMac, MacBook, Mac Mini).
Additionally the latest version of Mac OS X, v10.5 codename Leopard is set to debut at the 2006 Worldwide Developers Conference on August 7, 2006 and will be a good entry point for Mac OS's to begin supporting the Blu-Ray format and coincide with a potential release for the new Power Mac.
Brief background: "HD" and "HD-DVD" are not synonymous. Hi-Definition (HD) is commonly defined as content that has resolution of at least 720p or 1080i. Both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are specific media standards. They support up to 1080p resolution (higher than 720p and 1080i). HD is media standard agnostic and refers to media resolution.
While DVD+R vs. DVD-R ended in something of a stalemate as most drives eventually were capable of playing both and hence became DVD±R, the same will not likely be true for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD in the near future as Blu-Ray discs and players are more expensive to manufacture and so HD-DVD will likely try to capture market position with low price marketing.
