HP says change Blu-ray or we will go HD-DVD

MAKER of printer ink HP is threatening that unless there is a change to the new Blu-ray standard it may support HD-DVD.

HP has been backing Blu-ray from the beginning, but as the standards war between the two standards hots up, HP says it wants Blu-ray to include more features for PC makers and users.

Maureen Weber, general manager of personal storage in HP's personal systems group said that was not the same thing as withdrawing support for Blu-ray, but she said the company was serious that these technologies should be included in the standard.

She told Reuters that if in the end, they're supported in one and then not the other, HP will "have to make a choice".

One of the things HP wants is mandatory managed copy, which allows users to copy high-definition movies onto PCs from discs and distribute them on home networks.

Another is a feature called iHD, which provides for new interactive features and is slated to be implemented in Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system.

Not surprisingly the call has the backing of Microsoft. More here. µ