HD-DVD may have lost the HD-war, but Microsoft plans to use the technology behind it for online distribution. And that, my friends, seems also to be the reason why Microsoft isn't planning on integrating Blu-ray in their Xbox360 console anytime soon. At least, if you can believe The Standard that is.

While Toshiba and Sony were fighting over who would rule HD on disc, under the surface another war was going on: that between the Java-based BD-J platform (used for Blu-ray) and Microsoft's HDi which is an XML dialect that Toshiba used for HD-DVD.

The good thing for Microsoft about this tech is that it doesn't need a physical carrier so even with the disc war being over, Microsoft can use the technology for downloadable content and with HDi's runtime environment being implemented in the Xbox360 as well as Vista, the company has no need for a specific disc format to deliver HD content to their userbase.

Personally I think the idea is good but I'm afraid that online distribution is still in its infant stage. It will take several years before being generally accepted by the larger audience and Microsoft will have to keep investing in the technology if they want to prevail in the long run.

On the other hand... they've got buttloads of money so they might just be able to hang on long enough to be the end winner when it comes to HD content. So who knows, it's quite possible that while they've lost this battle they can still win the war ;)

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