AppleInsider >_ “In a report issued to clients early Thursday morning, American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu cited sources who say the Cupertino-based Mac maker, which already occupies a seat on the Blu-ray consortium, is set to begin shipping some of its computers with support for the next-generation DVD format.
“We believe this is a key announcement as current Macs ship with the DVD format and Sony gains a strong ally in Blu-ray,” the analyst told clients. He added that Disney, for which Apple chief executive Steve Jobs is a Director, is a firm supporter of Blu-ray, while rival Microsoft Corp. has placed most of its eggs in the HD-DVD basket.
However, Wu hedged his bets somewhat, saying there is “a smaller chance Apple may use a combo Blu-ray/HD-DVD drive to ensure full compatibility and not get involved in the format wars.”
Apple, which markets a complete line of HD content creation tools for consumers and professionals, announced in March of 2005 that it had joined Blu-ray Disc Association. Since then, however, the company has observed much of the ongoing battle between Blu-ray and HD-DVD from the sidelines, choosing to remain indifferent in the fight for control of the next-generation high def format.
The Mac maker during the first quarter of 2008 is expected to introduce a significant overhaul to its Mac Pro professional workstations, which are expected to be among the first systems from the company to include drives capable of supporting the Blu-ray format, sources close to AppleInsider and other Apple news publications have said.”
