Morning links: Microsoft launches me-too YouTube competitor ... High-def breakthrough ... Horror flick debuts on AOL ... Hedge funds

- Microsoft is launching its own video-sharing site, to compete with YouTube, according to the Wall Street Journal. CNET's Rafe Needleman has an early review. He writes:

I found nothing in the Soapbox product itself to propel it past other video sharing sites. It will live or die based on its content and its community.

(Worth reading: Bill Gates on YouTube.)

- Two engineers at Warner Bros. have patented a design for a single DVD that could contain a Blu-ray, HD DVD, and standard-definition movie, according to New Scientist. Wouldn't it have been easier for the studios to agree on a single high-definition format?

- Producer Adam Shapiro will debut his horror flick `Incubus,' starring Tara Reid, on Halloween. The novelty: it'll be available first as a digital download on AOL Red, a site for teens. The price: $7.99. It'll go on sale as a DVD a month later, writes LA Times reporter Chris Gaither. Cool experiment.

- The NY Times' Dealbook blog has a short item on why hedge funds are so interested in Hollywood film financing.