Windows XP & Vista To Add Native Blu-ray Support

Author Gordon Kelly
Published 17th Aug 2008
Windows XP & Vista To Add Native Blu-ray Support
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It's no secret Microsoft was hoping HD DVD would win the format war - its Xbox 360 console came with an HD DVD add-on and even since Blu-ray came out on top talk of support out of Redmond has been noticeably silent, but this may mark the turning point...

Details have arisen of the 'Windows Feature Pack for Storage' - a kit for XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Sever 2008 which will bring a number of storage functionality improvements to the platforms including, most noticeably: an updated image mastering API for Blu-ray allowing the discs to be burnt without third party software.

Well done Microsoft, it must've been a bitter pill to swallow.


Away from this headline feature are two other key technologies: ' Active Storage Platform' which will enable the Windows platform to restrict access to portable devices (such as a USB Flash Device) via a certificate or password authentication based on the IEEE 1667 standard specification. Secondly, 'Smart Card Driver', which provides support for new form factors, such as ICCD/CCID.

The public beta testing for the Windows Feature Pack for Storage is expected to begin imminently but if you're not a fan of toying with pre-release software don't worry this one should be seeing a final release sooner rather than later.

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Comment Darfuria said on 18th August 2008

Rogue apostrophe in the first sentence, and broken link.

Well it's about time! Still, I don't see why anyone would want to burn such a huge amount of data ... more

Comment ilovethemonkeyhead said on 18th August 2008

pftt... i still don't have native dvd burning support in windows xp... either that or i haven't tried in ages

Comment ChaosDefinesOrder said on 18th August 2008

bah, sod that, I'd much rather see native Blu-Ray video support built into Media Center!

Comment GherkinG said on 18th August 2008

I'm all for pushing the boundaries with multi-touch tech, etc. but MS need to get a few meat-and-potatoes features right.
The built-in burning software of XP is terribl... more

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