Microsoft Adds Native Blu-ray Support To Windows

Dubbed “Windows Feature Pack for Storage”, Microsoft under closed doors has long been beta testing Blu-ray optical burning support for Windows. Now under the Microsoft Connect Website, this feature is promised for Windows XP, Vista and also Server 2003 and 2008. Currently no date is set for this free upgrade.

Although this isn’t directly a Sony news, Blu-ray is none the less a format created by Sony. Now many might also recall Microsoft being a key supporter of the now dead HD DVD and the bitter battle between the PlayStation 3 and X-Box 360. This has led many fans to think that Sony should not allow MS (as they very well can) to not support Blu-ray and offer it exclusively (Maybe on the Vaio lineup) and short term, this might sound like a good thing but many don’t understand what Blu-ray is meant to be. Sure PS3 boasting a Blu-ray player as an exclusive native feature is a big plus for the console wars but Blu-ray is beyond a console war. Blu-ray is meant to be the next generation format, replacing DVD. If Sony were to get into exclusiveness and slow down the adoption of Blu-ray, it would only hurt itself (as Sony makes licensing fees) and hinder the adoption rate of Blu-ray. If anything, the opposite needs to happen. The sooner Blu-ray appears in all retailers and products, the better this is for both Sony and Blu-ray as a next format.

[Via MS Connect]