[MatrixS2000]

The fact is that Microsoft's involvement with HD-DVD has very little to do with any real interest in who wins the DVD standards war. If Microsoft actually cared about next-gen disc formats, they would have put a HD-DVD drive in the Xbox 360; but the firm's colours have been clearly pinned to the mast from day one, and it's now reached a point where even HD-DVD's most adamant supporters can no longer turn a blind eye to its true intentions.
Microsoft believes in digital distribution. It believes, fervently, that the hour has come for content to be transmitted to consumers over the network, rather than on a piece of physical media.
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To put it bluntly, Microsoft wants both Blu-ray and HD-DVD to fail
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Despite Microsoft's protestations of support for HD-DVD, the truth is clear; their true aim has only ever been to prolong the standards battle for as long as possible. One side believes in discs, the other side believes in downloads.

Coles Notes version...