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The world's two largest PC makers said that the decision - which Microsoft justified by identifying six shortcomings in Blu-ray - is based on inaccurate information.

'From a PC end-user perspective, Blu-ray is a superior format. It offers 67-150 per cent more storage capacity, higher transfer rates, slim-line notebook compatibility, broadband connectivity and a proven interactive layer with BD-Java,' said Maureen Weber, general manager of HP's Personal Storage Business.

In a joint statement the two companies claim that virtually every computer company that has expressed a preference for a high definition disc format has chosen Blu-ray.

They refute several of the points that Jordi Ribas, Microsoft's director of technology strategy for Windows Digital Media, used to explain the decision to back HD DVD. These include Microsoft's belief that Blu-ray will not be able produce the 50GB discs that it has promised, that consumers will not be able to backup discs, that Blu-ray will not be backward-compatible and does not support hybrid (dual format) discs that include both standard and high-definition content.

'Blu-ray Disc's capacity is 50GB,' they state. 'This will be available at launch for BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE. This is 67 per cent more than HD-DVD's 30GB ROM capacity

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and 150 per cent more than its recordable storage capacity.'

They insist that Blu-ray and its AACS rights management system will permit managed copying and network streaming and that the Blu-ray players will play standard DVDs in the same way that HD DVD players will, by the addition of a red laser. Moreover they argue that Blu-ray hybrid discs will in fact be superior to its rival's.

'The Blu-ray Hybrid Disc is the more elegant solution as it holds both versions of the film on the same side of the disc, which provides for easy labeling and greater ease of use for consumers.'

They also point to the interactivity features of the format, with support for BD-Java, as 'a mature, robust platform for authoring and delivering unprecedented interactive capabilities to the user for movies, music, and games', which was chosen in preference to Microsoft's iHD technology deployed in HD DVD.

'The BDA [Blu-ray Disc Association] carefully compared both iHD and BD-J, and concluded that iHD didn't go far enough in providing a compelling feature set beyond DVD, while BD-J offered studios a much richer palette for providing a compelling interactive HD experience for consumers, particularly when a player is connected to a network.'

Kevin Kettler, Dell's chief technology officer, said the company's preference for Blu-ray is based on what its customers require.

'We are actively engaged with our customers who continue to tell us that features such as capacity, advanced interactivity, and industry wide support are of utmost importance when considering new optical solutions, he said. 'Based on this feedback and a comparison of the two formats, Dell has no doubt that Blu-ray Disc best meets the needs of computer users and provides the type of open industry standards needed to drive innovation and growth of the format across all platforms - consumer electronic, personal computers and gaming consoles.'