In the latest attempt to unify the divergent Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD optical disk formats, Hewlett-Packard Corp. has formally appealed to the Blu-ray Disc Association to incorporate two key technologies in the format.

One technology is Managed Copy, which enables consumers to make legitimate copies of their HD movies. The other technology, iHD, provides consumers enhanced content, navigation, and functionality for HD films to provide a higher-level interactive experience.

Both technologies are currently supported in the HD-DVD format, but not Blu-ray. Hewlett-Packard (Palo Alto, Calif.) is driving the inclusion of both technologies in the Blu-ray spec so customers do not have to choose between competing formats.

Read more about HP's involvement in the HD DVD vs Blu-ray war at http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=172302682&tid=5978.