Among the several news options that MSNBC’s Web site was providing last week to Web browsers wishing to update themselves on the California wildfires was a series of still photos (including several Getty Images) that were presented as HD photos.

The still images which captured some of the vast devastation that engulfed much of southern California, took a few seconds to buffer, and appeared worthy of the HD label, as far as image detail. Optimum online viewing required a quick software download from HD View Beta2, a venture of Microsoft Research (as well as a fairly new computer monitor).

The HD stills could be slightly maneuvered sideways and up-and-down by viewers with a mouse, while a zoom device provided even more vivid detail in several images.