Remember the HD-DVD / Blu-Ray wars? Well, that’s all over now, but the winner is not necessarily Sony. There’s a theory that the entire thing was engineered by Microsoft to stall for time until they could get their HD streaming services on line. Whether the theory is true or not, Microsoft just announced that they will be partnering with Netflix to provide streaming services via the XBox 360.

Together, Netflix and Microsoft will launch around 10,000 TV and film titles. Judging from the success of XBox Live (6 million active users), they should see a good take up on the service. We’ll see how they fare against the mighty Apple iTunes Store.

One thing you can say about Microsoft, they sure are persistent. Based on their track record, they only get things really right by the 3rd / 4th versions of their products (example : Internet Explorer, Windows). Even the much-criticized Zune Digital Media Player is getting the continuous update treatment. The latest Zune 2.5 update adds the ability to purchase TV shows from the Zune Store and view them on the media player.

TV Shows cost 1 cent more from Microsoft compared to Apple (US$2, or 160 MS Points), but you get access to NBC Shows like The Office which are no longer available on iTunes Store.

Not content with dominating the world’s music business, Apple wants to do the same thing to the movie business, too. Apple is now starting “day and date” releases of new movies, i.e., the digital versions are made available on the same day as the DVD release. Apple has secured deals with most major studios including Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

You can now buy movies direct from your Apple TV, too — no need to get off the couch to get to Walmart.

One of the less-than-successful products for Apple last year was the Apple TV. Apple did not release an updated version of the hardware at the recent Macworld show, but it did revamp the software (user interface) and made the Apple TV much more useful.

With the introduction of movie rentals via the iTunes Music Store, you can now buy or rent movies directly on your Apple TV device. Movies cost between $2 and $5 to rent. The more expensive movies are the new releases and movies in HD.

Apple also reduced the price of the Apple TV from $300 to $230.