I would also doubt Apples native support of HD-DVD. As Apple is on the directors board of Blu-Ray developers, along with Sony, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Panasonic, Pioneer, among many others, I would surmise they do indeed intend to natively support the Blu-Ray (BD) format in the near future. As to exactly when. I do not know but I doubt they would be the last to adopt, since Apple does have the tendency to be on the cutting edge of video.
As far as the availability of consumer class media data storage or movie viewing etc., it would depend on the type of BD drive. BD-ROMs will be first to market, followed by BD-R and then BD-RE. A BD Superdrive might be a ways off; the available BD recorder prices are in the following range (I got these numbers from the official site):
The Sony BDZ-S77 is currently priced at 220,000 yen ($1,965), while the Panasonic DMR-E700BD is priced at 195,000 yen ($1,742).
Also, if you take a gander at the official Blu-Ray developer site, you will see that support for MPEG-4 AVC High Profile (previously called FRExt) and Microsoft's VC-1 video codec (the proposed SMPTE standard based on WMV9) will be mandatory. Apple isnt left out, since QuickTime does have native support of the MPEG-4 standard.
As far as the 1080i standard is concerned:
Blu-Ray + Mpeg-4 = BD
Apple + H.264 = Mpeg-4 Certified Compliant
Apple + Sony = Board of Developers
Playstation 3 + BD = compatible with 720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p HDTVs
Playstation 3 + Mac OSX =
I've managed to get MPEG-4 transcoded on my Mac to run on my PSP. The PSP only supports MPEG-4 and the "Video" contained on UMD(aka mini BDs) is also MPEG-4. Though the PSP isn't technically HD in terms of its display.
I doubt interlacing will l be a serious problem in the near future b/c Blu-Ray supports direct recording of the MPEG-2 TS (Transport Stream) used by digital broadcasts. Therefore, Blu-Ray will be compatible with HD broadcasts and the HDTVs that receive the signal(playback). Apples H.264 is certified MPEG-4 compliant. Ill have to do some more research on H.264 and interlacing but I would assume all Apple would need to do is make an update when the BD drives and media are available.
Also, since the latest incarnation of DVD Studio Pro can author HD-DVD video media projects,
Apple's DVD Studio Pro Site
I doubt Apple is concerned with limiting market access because of Microsofts involvement. I think Apple will use HD-DVD as a tide-me-over until BD finally becomes king.
For more information about Blu-Ray check this site out:
http://www.blu-ray.com/
Okay, I am way too hooked on this site
I woke up because the computer was left on(G4 PowerMac=loud fan) and here I am not making any sense