It’s almost like watching two bears fighting bitterly for a fish and seeing a little cub quietly sneaking the fish away. Everybody’s watching Toshiba and Sony position themselves for the HD disc war. A press release here, a bit of information there, a denial. Meanwhile, Microsoft is making deals to see WMV (Windows Media Video) HD on more and more red-laser based DVDs. This is the HD format Microsoft is supporting on their upcoming Xbox 360, and it looks like more and more people are jumping into the creek for a nibble at the fish.

Just a few WMV/HD titles are available, but that is expected to increase.

Microsoft has been walking a fine line between encouraging use and adoption of the format, and not wanting to appear to be competing with either Blu-ray or HD DVD.

“We saw an opportunity to use WMV 9 to deliver HD content to the PC in a way that added value to a traditional DVD and meets some of the growing consumer demand for high-definition content,” said Kevin Unangst, director of Windows Digital Media at Microsoft.

Link: Video Business Online (free subscription) - Microsoft Markets PC HD