As we predicted back in January Apple has joined the Blu-ray forum run by Sony.

"Apple has joined us," said Victor Matsuda, vice president of Blu-ray disc group Sony Corporation of America, at a presentation at the CeBIT electronics trade fair here.

Apple has become a member of the alliance with a seat on the board of directors.

Other directors include Dell, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi , Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung and LG.

The battle of the formats between Toshiba with its HD-DVD and Sony and its Blu-ray technology is one that is likely to rage on for sometime however both groups are keen to convince the public that its is the best.

Commentators believe that Apple decision to back the Sony format will be good news for the electronics giant as Apple has a large support base in the creative and entertainment industries.

The second factor is that Steve Jobs is also the Chairman of Pixar meaning that the studio is likely to join others like 20th Century Fox and Disney is offering films on the Blu-ray format.

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