Rumour mill turns as Microsoft's WMV9 gains ground on HD-DVD

Major film studio Warner Bros has signed a deal with Microsoft which will see it using the Windows Media Video 9 (WMV9) standard for high-definition releases of its movies on HD-DVD, the two companies have confirmed.

The deal represents a major victory for Microsoft in the sector - but although followers of the next-generation race have been quick to jump on any announcement about "HD" technology since J Allard described the Xbox 360 as leading in the "HD Era" last month, it seems unlikely that this announcement has any bearing on the firm's console plans.

WMV9 is Microsoft's version of the VC-1 video standard, which is a mandatory video compression system for both the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray next generation disc formats. Sony has confirmed that it plans to use Blu-Ray in the PlayStation 3, but Microsoft has yet to reveal which disc format it will use in Xbox 360.

However, developers working on Xbox 360 projects have strongly suggested that the system will actually use standard DVD-9 media, as used by the current generation console, eschewing the two next-gen disc standards entirely.

While this would severely restrict the amount of content each game disc could hold - DVD-9, as the name suggests, can hold nine gigabytes of data, while at the other end of the spectrum, Blu-Ray discs can hold up to 50 gigabytes - it would also keep costs down.

When Xbox 360 launches later this year, well ahead of its competitors, HD-DVD drives will still be very expensive items - and HD-DVD disc mastering would also drive costs up significantly for publishers.