At the ongoing National Association of Broadcasters convention, NAB2005, Microsoft and Warner Bros. have announced their plans to collaborate on the release of HD DVD discs using Microsoft's VC-1 codec. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc support VC-1 as one of three mandatory video codecs (the other two being MPEG2 and MPEG4 AVC).

Warner plans to release the first HD DVD titles in the fourth quarter this year.

"Warner Bros. has evaluated the video quality of VC-1 and found it to be outstanding, making it an ideal format for the delivery of high-definition content," said Chris Cookson, chief technology officer at Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. "By releasing a wide range of titles in VC-1, we are creating great new opportunities to bring high-definition video to consumers."   "Warner Bros.' plan to use VC-1 for the release of HD DVDs presents consumers with exciting new options for watching high-definition content," said Blair Westlake, corporate vice president of the Media/Entertainment & Technology Convergence Group at Microsoft. "As a technology provider, Microsoft is encouraged by the industry's efforts to deliver next-generation high-definition video experiences for consumers, and we see the Warner Bros. collaboration as a significant milestone."

The complete press release is available here.