Apple has long been on the Blu-ray side of the Blu-ray/HD-DVD War, but hadn’t yet done anything to indicate their support for the format. A new report suggest that this could change at MacWorld.

Yet while the report indicates that the latest Macs to ship after MacWorld should have Blu-ray support, it also leaves open the possibility that Apple could instead support a combo Blu-ray/HD-DVD drive, which I find confusing as Apple is on the Blu-ray consortium and Steve Jobs is a board member (and largest shareholder) of Disney, which is firmly in the Blu-ray camp.

Adding some confusion is that Apple’s soon-to-be-released Slim MacBook (which ATR thinks will be called either the ‘MacBook Mini’ or the ‘MacBook Slim’) is said to contain no optical drive at all and Apple will also be announcing iTunes digital movie rentals – indicating the company has a firm plan to move away from a reliance on optical storage. Though with the Slim MacBook an external optical drive is said to be a key piece, and certainly an optional external Blu-ray drive would make a lot of sense.

Apple’s entrance into the war follows reports that Microsoft is gearing up for an even larger “troop commitment” as it were, by creating a new Xbox 360 with an HD-DVD drive built-in. This would combat the immediate advantage Blu-ray has as each Playstation 3 sold has a Blu-ray drive built-in. I’m still waiting for Warner Brothers to side with Blu-ray and this to be all over…

More thoughts:

• HD-DVD and Blu-ray to Co-exist Peacefully By 2012? I Say No Way.
• HD Digital Download Debut With DVD Release
• Price Cut Helps PS3? Shocking.
• The Console Wars Have Spread to HD-DVD Versus Blu-ray
• Paramount and Dreamworks Pick HD-DVD, But Spielberg Refuses To Do the Same
• Blockbuster Sides with Blu-ray, Will the Public Follow?
• Where Are All the Back-Catalog HD-DVD and Blu-ray Discs?