I own roughly 900 DVDs. Yes, it's a sickness. I started on the format back in the 20th century, and I was even a DVD reviewer for a while and got lots of free review copies. I love my DVD library. Being a huge movie fan, I enjoy perusing the titles and choosing just the right film to rediscover and love all over again. I'm a sucker for extras (particularly the commentaries), and I value excellent video/audio presentation even more. I want that film to look and sound just as fabulous as it did on the big screen, and for nearly 10 years, DVD has been a fantastic media format as far as meeting my film-geek demands.

And now, high-definition DVD is here. I can't deny its presence in the market anymore. For goodness sake, even Wal-Mart is carrying HD DVD and Blu-ray discs. I've watched the number of titles grow, and I've watched sparkling demonstrations at the superstores. The online community still buzzes with the format war, and my frustration with that battle remains. The question for me was always when (not whether) I would jump into the format and start spinning high-def discs. I thought I'd wait for either a decisive winner in the format war or the release of a combo player that I could afford.

But when I found a Toshiba HD-A2 player on sale for less than $100, I could no longer resist. Even better, a mail-in rebate promised five free HD DVDs. Heck, it was like getting the player for free.

As soon as I got home, I connected the player to my HDTV and A/V receiver. I plopped in a sale disc I'd purchased along with the player—Lucky Number Slevin. I was struck at once by the subtle new menu configuration, and then, powerfully, by the image quality. The levels of sharpness and detail are really quite extraordinary, noticeable even on my relatively modest 42" plasma Panasonic. Soon enough, I was off to the local Best Buy to get my hands on other HD DVD discs, including Full Metal Jacket and Corpse Bride. Watching Corpse Bride was like watching those plasticine models actually come to life before my eyes. Animation has always been a particular love of mine, and this disc, quite simply, provided the most pristine, perfect video image I'd ever seen at home.

The bottom line is that I always assumed the differences between standard DVD and HD DVD would be subtle, and to many consumers' eyes, that's probably the case. But for those of us who pay close attention to the details, the difference is breathtaking. You might catch a demo at a store and think Nah, I can live without high-def. But you're fooling yourself. Perform one back-to-back same-title comparison of the formats, and you'll see.

Now, the only question I face is what to do with 900 crappy DVDs. I say that in jest, of course. DVD is still an admirable format, and—at least for now—I hardly envision replacing my existing library with the high-def equivalents. But I can safely say that my eyes have been spoiled.

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dude, seriously, get out more. Name (required): -November 21, 2007 If stupid Microsoft would only include the damn player with xbox, they could possibly win format war. Sony is getting so cheap, its hard to ignore at 399. I am hoping that one these come at or below 299 and in MS case include the HD player. Seems like a no-brainer for MS to do it before its too late. Name (required): -November 27, 2007 Jason, I guess you are crying even more now that Blu-ray has won the Format War, but I don't think it will matter. The Average Person is barely getting use to DVD quality. Most households don't have more than a 40" TV, if that big, so DVD quality is plenty. HD DVD, Blu-ray, or what ever the problem is the Movie Industry, they are so worried about Piracy that they put so much junk on their discs they don't play right without taking it off. What we need is a good HD Format that we can store and play anyway we want. Alex Chavarin -February 27, 2008 iSofter DVD Ripper Platinum software is truly a effect solution for all your DVD burning needs. This DVD copying software is a one-click DVD backup tool with great features and its Free to Download. If you're in the market for an advanced DVD backup software with loads of features and burning options, look no further, this is truly a feature-rich product, and certainly one of the best of its kind. iSofter DVD Ripper Platinum is an all in one tool that aims at converting your DVDs into different video formats compatible with the portable video playing devices on the market. The application will turn your DVDs into M4A, MP4, MPG, AVI, Mp3, WMA, WMV and 3GP. The audio formats included in the supported list prove that DVD Ripper Platinum is also able to extract audio files from the DVD you are feeding. iSofter DVD Ripper Platinum is design for backup your favorite DVD movie to your computer by converting DVD to AVI, DivX, XviD, VCD, WMV, MPEG4 format video files, with almost same quality, but just only 10% size. http://www.isofter.com http://www.isofter.com/dvd-ripper.html steveking -September 19, 2008 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.