Clarification: HD has been stripped from all versions of Vista

Clarification: 32-bit Vista can play HD - just not out of the boxYesterday, Jordan blogged an announcement from Microsoft's Steve Riley that Vista users will need to have 64-bit superpowers if they want the ability to play HD video. It turns out this isn't entirely true, as Engadget is reporting that Microsoft has clarified the complication: 32-bit versions of Vista can play HD - but not without help from third party folk like CyberLink and InterVideo. The blame game still places the ball in the big media studios' court, as it is they who dictated that HD support be stripped out of Media Player 11 across the board, not simply one version of Vista or another.

While the blame and complications are shifting around, I agree with Jordan's statement that the victims still remain the same: PC users, 32-bit and otherwise. Engadget is holding out that someone's going to cave before Vista ships, but I'm not so sure. Time will certainly tell, but for now it seems like Microsoft has had to strip yet another feature from Vista's drawing board.

Tags: hd, high definition, HighDefinition, media player, MediaPlayer, microsoft, news, playback, statement, vista, windows media, WindowsMedia