The HD DVD Indies Project is designed to lower the barriers to entry for filmmakers to produce and distribute movies in the HD DVD format, Microsoft says. This will be achieved via the manufacturing on-demand technology of CustomFlix, which is part of an Amazon group of companies.

The co-sponsored project will provide free authoring and setup services for up to 1,000 selected indie titles. CustomFlix DVD produces and ships DVDs only as they are ordered.

"From a technical standpoint, we found that the HD DVD format fits our business model perfectly," said co-founder and managing director of CustomFlix, Dana LoPiccolo-Giles.

"With retail shelf space at a premium, our model eliminates the risk of carrying inventory and immediately expands the number of great HD DVD titles available to consumers."

Sundance Channel will be reviewing the high-definition features for potential broadcast on the network as well as making its own HD original eco-series, "Big Ideas for a Small Planet," available for purchase through Amazon's HD DVD program.

"Amazon's participation in this project will be a major benefit to independent filmmakers wanting to break into the high-definition market segment," said corporate vice president for the Consumer Media Technology Group at Microsoft, Amir Majidimehr.

"The use of Microsoft technology and authoring expertise will ensure that all the HD DVD titles offered by Amazon have impeccable quality, thanks to the VC-1 codec and innovative interactive scenarios with HDi," he added.

Filmmakers interested in submitting their HD DVD work for consideration as part of the 1,000 HD DVD Indies Project can go to http://www.cus tomflix.com/hddvdindies.