In an exclusive interview with sister site Gizmodo, Ballmer addressed the question of adding Blu-ray to the Xbox 360, saying, “Well I don’t know if we need to put Blu-ray in there-you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.

I think mostly the future of movies is on-demand, actually, as opposed to distribution via physical media,” Ballmer continued. “So we’re just gonna keep driving forward and try to make it the best entertainment — overall entertainment, not just gaming, but overall entertainment experience we can.”

In the post format war, Microsoft has continued to push digital distribution, which seems contradictory to the idea that Microsoft would pursue a Blu-ray add-on accessory.

When Xbox spokespeople were asked about Ballmer’s comment, they told Gizmodo, “Our solution for HD quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we’re not ready to comment.”

Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming [Gizmodo]

The Orlando Sentinel took at look at the now years-old tech of Blu-ray players, trying to determine whether it’s worth investing in a new player. Their conclusion: Yes and no.

The article’s author seems to think that the Blu-ray could eventually come into its own if you are able to use it for more than just playing Blu-ray movies. That means added functions, or a Playstation 3.

The movie critic for the paper is not as optimistic when he compared a Blu-ray player to his DVD player:

“The blacks were superb, the colours clear and precise, the striations of the canyon walls in the desert locations of Apes were brilliant,” Roger Moore said. “But the ugly truth of the matter is that once you’ve got the 1080 HDTV, once you’ve bought a DVD player with HDMI cable connections, Blu-ray is superfluous. The features are fancier, but the picture? No improvement. Investing in a player (unless you already have a Blu-ray-ready PlayStation) is a needless expense. Downloads are the future, not discs in a cute blue box.”

Is Blu-ray a tech destined to be out maneuvered by digital movies and downloadable content or are we just witnesses the bitterness of former HD-DVD supporters? Only time will tell.

Should you buy Blu-ray?

Remember that format war? Good fun. Blu-ray battling it out with HD DVD. Sony pinning its hopes and dreams for dominance on the PS3, while Microsoft released an HD DVD player for its console.

Now that the dust has settled and the reality has washed over me and you, let’s see how this format war has turned out with an totally unscientific poll. In late November, members of the goo Research monitor group were asked about Blu-ray and HD DVD in an online questionnaire. A little over half of those polled were male and ages ranged from teens to over 60 years old. Let’s look at the data:

Which of the following movie recording and playback devices do you have? (Sample size = 1,081, multiple answer)

VHS video recorder: 68.0 percent
DVD player (including games machines): 66.4 percent
Hard disk and DVD recorder/player: 36.0 percent
Hard disk only recorder/player: 12.3 percent
Blu-ray recorder/player (including games machines): 6.3 percent
HD DVD recorder/player (including games machines): 3.4 percent
None of the above: 4.4 percent
Don’t know: 0.8 percent

FASCINATING. Not surprising that DVD playing game machines are so prevalent. We would’ve thought that Blu-ray would be doing a little better though… But hey, Sony probably thought the same thing. We’re not alone.

Blu-ray ドライブより HD DVD ドライブ所有者が多数、買い換え意向は1割半ば [japan.internet.com via What Japan Thinks] [Pic]

While it is unfortunate that HD DVD was discontinued, there is still enjoyment to be had from your Xbox 360 HD DVD Player. You can take this as an opportunity to build out your movie collection! There are around 500 HD DVD movies to choose from and many at great deals, so there is a fair amount of content for HD DVD on the market. It also is a terrific DVD player and it allows you to have game discs and movie discs, whether HD DVD or DVD, within the console at one time. The HD DVD player also adds two additional USB ports to your console.

Before we start chants of “let it go man”, Kim does have a point. Okay, now: Let it go man, let it go…
10 Questions with Shane Kim [Game Daily via videogaming247] [Pic]

But if we’re reading the fine print correctly, there are two super cool things about this deal. First, you don’t need to give up your HD DVD player. It’s simply free money. Second, there is no start date to this offer, so if you bought an HD DVD player from them when the technology hit the market, you should still be eligible for the rebate.

Here’s the full offer from an Amazon email.

Dear Amazon.com Customer,

As someone who purchased an HD DVD player from us before February 23, 2008,* you might like to hear about a special offer available from Amazon.com.

New technologies don’t always work out as planned. We at Amazon.com value our customer relationships more than anything and would like to support customers who purchased these players by offering a credit good for $US 50 off any products sold by Amazon.com.** Just use promotional code PROMO CODE HERE when checking out. The code is valid through April 9, 2009, so you have plenty of time to use your credit. Purchases from third-party merchants on our site are not eligible.

In addition, we’d like to share some of our top offers on Blu-ray discs, HDTVs and other high-def technology and remind you that the Amazon.com Marketplace is available to sell items you might not want anymore as you upgrade to new ones. Also be sure to check out our monthly Amazon.com Early Adopters Delivers email to find out about the latest technology.

* On February 23, 2008, the last manufacturer of HD DVD players announced it was ceasing production of those players.

** Offer cannot be used to pay for special-order titles, e-books or downloadable e-content, wireless service plans, gift certificates, gift-wrap, taxes, or shipping and handling charges. $US 50.00 promotional credit is per HD DVD player purchased prior to February 23, 2008—up to 10 units for a maximum credit of $500.00.

If you’ve purchased an HD DVD player from Amazon and haven’t received this email, contact them immediately. Apparently it’s good for the Xbox 360 peripheral.

Amazon Handing Out $US 50 to HD DVD Victims [Gizmodo]

What’s new? Compatibility improvements with certain titles and additional support for network features, according to the source, but we’re hearing rumblings that it will soon weigh down your papers with much higher clarity. Yes, it is awesome!

HD DVD Update [Xbox Lives Major Nelson]

The horse that we’re fundamentally backing is the one that says the future of entertainment content is online digital distribution. I would argue that we backed the right horse… If we’re sitting here in 12 or 18 months time, we’ll be saying ‘why were people even thinking about a disc format when it’s really about digital distribution?’ Our strategy’s been developed for the last six or seven years, and ever since we launched the platform it [online content] has been our big, big, big bet.

Discs? Microsoft doesn’t need no stinking discs.
Xbox 360 Chief Rings The Changes [The Guardian via CVG]

Sure, it’s mostly a glorified paperweight at this point, but if you feel like putting together the world’s cheapest collection of high-definition movies, here’s a good place to start.

Update: Lawrence is our Dick Smith shopper, not Gavan.