Toshiba has won another battle in the DVD war. Although Toshiba has already announced that the prototype of the HD-DVD is ready and that the production lines require only minor changes to manufacture the new discs, it still had very little allies.

Once Microsoft joined the alliance that supports HD-DVD as the next optical format, the situation changes dramatically.

Microsoft's adherence has been actually announced since mid May, when the two companies said they will collaborate for the development of some joint venture products.

Toshiba is not the only one to win something from this alliance, Microsoft can also take advantage of the new partnership and get actively involved in the production of entertainment equipments.

The fact that Microsoft, a company acknowledged for its precaution in supporting a technology, has chosen to back HD-DVD is an extra clue that Sony's Blu-Ray format is far from being ready.

We don't know precisely how Microsoft will support HD-DVD, but a fight between Sony and Apple, on one side, Microsoft and Toshiba, one the other, is truly clash of titans.