Hardware and Software Vendors Rally Behind HD DVD at WinHEC 2006

At the Microsoft Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2006, Microsoft Corp. announced various PC manufacturers, independent hardware vendors (IHVs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) that are committed to supporting HD DVD in their respective products. Industry leaders showcased plans to ramp up support for HD DVD playback in PCs and on PC hardware and software in 2006 and early 2007. With a growing list of top movies available and favorable reviews of the latest HD DVD consumer electronics player already at retail, the community of hardware and software supporters for HD DVD continues to grow.

At the conference, Microsoft reiterated that Windows Vista will be shipped with the drivers, file system and other components necessary to support HD DVD playback. The company also gave a positive progress report on the state of third-party software players, and announced a new initiative designed to help ISVs implement VC-1 and iHD and create the best HD DVD playback solutions possible. This program will also provide iHD test vectors, sample code and more -- all of which will enhance third-party iHD implementations for Windows Vista.

The above are the main highlights, the full press release can be viewed here.