More recently, I dove headlong into standard DVD when it debuted almost a decade ago. It seemed as if I had been waiting all my life for DVD to come along. It was an answer to my most fervent geek prayers: I could watch my favorite movies in glorious widescreen and powerful surround sound, and I could enjoy the discs' supplements as a kind of "film school in a box." DVD fixed all the problems of the video formats that preceded it—no more flipping huge LP-sized laser discs, no more VHS-inherent resolution and playback problems, instant access to chapters and features, pristine video and audio. I was almost religious about it, and still am. I'm a DVD nut.

I struggled through the format war between DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD. What a sad, tragic war that was! Who could have foreseen that two fantastic, high-fidelity music formats would crumble in the face of the woefully underperforming MP3? Now, DVD-A and SACD are relegated to the niche market, and I have a $500 hybrid DVD/DVD-A/SACD that rotates through my huge collection of 20 high-fidelity music discs. Oh, you can bet I would have swooned for either of these formats, too, just as I did for DVD. But no, the average music listener—once serious-minded and meticulous about the experience—now values convenience over quality. Thanks to the iPod, music ain't art anymore. It's background noise. It's something to work out to.

Which makes me sad and wary about the high-definition DVD format war. Like I said, I'm getting it from all sides. Friends and associates are wondering when I'm going to finally get an HD DVD or Blu-ray player and start enjoying the superior image quality of the next generation of DVDs. Like many, I'm weary of format wars, and this one seemed to almost precisely echo the music war that has wounded me so badly in more ways than one. Then again, this new war is being fought over an even more beloved form of media, and I must admit that high-definition DVD's siren's call is near irresistible.

Early prices of the units were just high enough to make me feel OK about ignoring them. But now they're coming down. Earlier this year, I was tempted by the Microsoft Xbox HD DVD add-on ($199), but I learned that the unit runs fairly loud, and that flaw was enough to push me back. When will we see a hybrid player in this war? When will we see one of the formats fall away, leaving a clear winner? Whenever I see the dueling Blu-ray and HD DVD sections at Best Buy, I can only shake my head in despair. It all comes across as so much counter-productive bickering that could very well result in stalemate and consumer apathy.

But I want so much for the format to work. High definition is the future of video entertainment. Right? Or, as with our music, would we rather just watch compressed, compromised, low-resolution movies on our iPod screens?

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Why waste you money...I have spent a meager fortune on my DVD collection (170 movies now), my neighbor has over 1000 DVD movies.. I did a little investigation and found the Upconverter to be quite sufficient for the time being. I can watch all my DVD's in near HD quality..really makes a big difference. I have been around long enough to remember the Beta vs. VHS wars. The rise and fall of different media hypes...So, sometimes it is best to wait and see who wins before you spend too much money. Besides, everthing eventually comes down in price. Bill -June 20, 2007 I agree with you. I would love to see an early winner. In the mean time I am purchasing HD DVD because I can watch the HD format today and if the format fails, it still includes the older DVD format. I probably not re-purchase movies I alredy own in HD format. I did pick up the XBOX 360 unit and it works well on my vista media center also. Ted -June 20, 2007 Sony's insistence on making their own proprietary formats is never ending: Beta, MiniDisc, Memory Stick, SDDS, ATRAC, SACD... How many of them have triumphed? The chief "up" that Sony has with BluRay technology over HD-DVD is that it is easier to say and, let's face it, it "BluRay" cooler. I have an Xbox 360 with an HD-DVD drive and get all the movies I can from Netflix on HD-DVD. The quality is outstanding and doesn't even compare to the compressed HD signal I get over cable. I have no regrets. Unlike VHS vs. Beta, I figure they'll soon have players that play both formats and whether you get one or the other, it won't make much difference. Buy Jason! I say. Buy! Brian -June 20, 2007 This is just another example of corporate greed. What more can be said? I have a friend with 700+ DVD's in his collection. He is NOT going to be buying them all over again, I assure you of that. He already owns every favorite movie, so nothing due to be released on HD will be something he doesn't already have. He also owns a 1080P projector, an upconverting DVD player, and VERY VERY happy with the image. This "war" does nothing except hold back acceptance of a market that could take off like gangbusters. Instead, customer confusions reigns again. Personally, I blame Sony for all this. A company famous for wanting proprietary standards. Jack -June 20, 2007 I like Blu-Ray for the bandwidth, lossless audio in particular. But why can't they come out with a device that supports the entire spec? If they had a fully functional device out for $499 I'd buy it. Instead you have to consider which device will eventually get the right firmware upgrade to do what you want, first 1080p and now DTS-HD MA. I'm certainly more interested in the core movie functions that all the bonus stufff like menus and pip. John -June 20, 2007 "When will we see a hybrid player in this war?" Dude, check Best Buy. It's $1,199.00. Its been out for a while. Still cheaper to buy an Xbox 360 AND a PS3 though. Paul -June 20, 2007 Perhaps two formats can survive? Yes, I like everyone else would have preferred just one HD DVD standard. Back in the VHS/Betamax era you only had the standalone players and then camcorders came along. Today we have the PS3 and Xbox game consoles; HD-DVD / BluRay / Hybrid standalone players and laptops supporting a specific format. I also believe there is a Chinese company that is going to create HD-DVD standalone players. Recently, I purchased a Toshiba HD-DVD A20 player one hundred dollars off the retail price. If BluRay wins I will still be able to upscale my large DVD collection to near HD. I will not support a company pushing proprietary standards that only benefit themselves. Sony products are usually priced higher than other manufacturers to boot. Truely a very dificult decision for consumers to make... Most folks will probably wait it out. Bill T. Bill T. -June 20, 2007 Im also just old enough to remember the VHS/Beta war, what a joke. I gotta say, I wouldnt buy BlueRay just because im burned out on Sony. Im gonna upgrade my PC to be able to download HD and record it off-air and play it all through my 360, screw them and there silly format war!!!!!!!! Name (required): -June 20, 2007 This format war is such a non-issue. Who won the CD-R/CD+R war? Irrelevant! The underlying media is the same, so its all a case of the software that runs on top of it. There are multi-format players out there now, and that segment will continue to grow until Sony themselves offer HD-DVD playback, and Toshiba offers Blu-Ray playback. This has been the biggest mountain made out of a mole-hill I've ever seen - and it's all due to the history of VHS vs Betamax stirring up old irrelevant memories. Todd McD -June 21, 2007 Todd, actually, in the article I don't even mention the VHS/Beta war. I think the more relevant comparison is the more recent DVD-A/SACD war...which also featured hybrid players...and we can all see where that ended up. Jason Bovberg -June 26, 2007 I think the Average Person doesn't really care, DVD quality video is good enough. There are only a few movies that HD Video would matter, I think the Electronic Industry is in for a long wait. People are not going to replace all of their DVD Collection, maybe a few, but they are waiting to see what washes out. Alex Chavarin -July 1, 2007 I think that the source needs to be made HD first. What is the point of an expensive setup if the image doesn't get much better. Film the movie in HD and then we'll talk. Until then the up-converting players will rule! Specially if you can get your hands on sweet old Superbit movies... Jose -July 6, 2007 Your Comments (required): Name (required): -August 17, 2007 I have been delaying buying a HD player because there is no clear winner in the current battle. Yes, going to an up converting DVD player enhances the quality of your existing DVDs but they can't compare to watching a real HD video. Mike -September 21, 2007 Here is the decision making process I used when deciding to buy into the HD-DVD format. First, I looked at my taste in movies. Being a guy, I like mostly action and suspense movies. Paramount, WB and Universal tend to have produced the majority of the action movies that I like (in terms of Back Catalogs). And they all publish on HD-DVD. In terms of converting some of my back catalog of movies, the focus is on action movies as they will deliver the most bang for the buck. Second, yes, their are a few new titles coming out on Blu-Ray that I would love to have. My thinking is that the hybrid players will be out and affordable in 3 years. I'll replace the HD-DVD player with the Hybrid play then and catch up on the Blue-Ray titles at that time. The investment that counts is in the movie titles, not the players. I am betting that the Hybrid players will decide the war. Just like DVD+R and DVD-R. Who cares? Most DVD-ROM drives play both. Why deny myself the pleasure of High Def movie viewing? The future Hybid players will decide the war and leave neither side dangling. In the mean time, you pick a side and go with it. RomeoEcho -October 18, 2007 READER COMMENTS: We want to hear what you have to say about this article!     Acceptable Use Policy Your Comments (required): Your email is only used if our editors need to contact you. It is not used or stored for any other purpose, nor posted with your comments. Enter the text from the image below Please refresh the page if you have trouble reading this text.