HP (Hewlett Packard) has been a long time supporter of Sony's Blu-Ray. The company said in October that two technologies considered important for PC users were not included in Blu-Ray's specifications, and if they won't be implemented, HP would back up the rival format, Toshiba's HD DVD.

The Blu-Ray Disc Group announced it would not adopt HP's proposals for the Blu-Ray format, so HP, which is now the number two PC maker, will split its support between HD DVD and Blu-Ray.

In the next generation disc format war, billions of dollars are at stake. Industry giants want consumers to renew their gear, buy compatible players and next generation media.

HP also developed two new technologies called iHD and "mandatory managed copy". The mandatory managed copy technology allows users to legally copy DVDs and store the resulting file on a home network. iHD brings new interactive features and is said to be introduced in Microsoft's next operating system, Windows Vista.

The Blu-Ray Disc Group stated that it will incorporate the mandatory managed copy technology, making it a part of the Blu-Ray format, launching it in early 2006 with interactive features built on Sun's Java.