Optical drive maker Lite-On has decided to support the HD DVD next-generation optical disc format as well as rival technology Blu-ray Disc. Lite-On's first, half-height HD DVD drive will come to market in March 2007, it said.

To date, Lite-On has been a strong supporter of Blu-ray. Not that you'd know it from today's announcement, which doesn't mention the HD DVD rival once and makes the Toshiba-backed format sound like the perfect optical format for the HD era.

It may well be so, of course, but Lite-On is still committed to shipping Blu-ray kit. Earlier this month, it announced its internal BD writer, the LH-2B1S, will ship in October, followed by an external version, the LX-2B1U, "toward the start of 2007". ®