Blu-ray may have the edge in exclusive support from Hollywood film studios. But and you know what they say about giant Hollywood blockbuster films: Once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen about twenty - that is until next summer. But HD DVD is giving a serious boost to Indie film makers, a pleasant surprise. In an alliance between Microsoft and Amazon.com, Indie film makers will be provided with the tools to author commercial HD DVD discs free of charge. As part of the deal, the Indie movies will be sold by CustomFlix through Amazon.com.

Since most Indie films are shot with HD digital cameras, direct to HD DVD should produce stunning image quality. Film can be converted to HD beautifully, but if you’ve seen many of the lower budget efforts, the image isn’t always as crisp as it should be. HD DVD and Blu-ray are both guilty of less than stellar image quality - Aeon Flux on Blu-ray comes to mind, and recently, the HD DVD version of Smokin’ Aces leaves much to be desired.