is sony going to blow it with blu ray like they did with beta.

The formats are very similar with one being cheaper. It's not that hard to figure out...

Being old enough to remember the last VHS war and getting burned, I believe that both formats are doing themselves a disfavor. I personally am sitting on the sidelines like most others that I know waiting for a winner before I spend a dime. Just my two cents, neither of which is going to either format at the moment.

Rj

I agree with the comments above, eventually one will lose and that side (of consumers ) will have to switch to the other because the disc format will cease. However, six of the top Television producers in the world ( Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, Lg, Pioneer and Sharp ) have sided exclusively with Blue ray. Another blow is Sony ownership of Columbia Tri-star, a deep catalogue of Music and film. Also when you consider the way the gaming industry is going with expansive environments and such, 8 gigs might not be enough compared to blue rays 50 gigs. Blue ray will become cheaper with greater exposure and I guarantee you Sony will do everything in their powers to make the transition easier and avoid another beta-max fiasco.

BluRay vs HD-DVD is exactly Beta vs VHS battle (at least at the moment)… and again there is a possibility that the worse format might win. One does not need to be Sony fan to know (and see) the advantages of the BluRay as video and data storage media. Actually this is the big difference between the tape wars from the past and the present – both are actually digital storage formats. From that point of view HD-DVD is just maxed out DVD while the BluRay is relatively new technology with potential for future development. Advantages are there, price to satisfaction ratio is individual. Who knows – might be in future we won’t need that type of permanent storage at all – we might download the movies directly from Internet or our cable TV Provider.

I'll just wait it out and see who wins. That is unless they both go below $200 and then one of each. Competition is such a wonderful thing I wish OPEC would be more competitive with one another. In this country this is called a monopoly.

it says a lot about a society when pornography will dictate what type of technology will win the "war"...

I Have a blueray player and so happy with the quality of the picture and sound

and I buy new releases  blueray disc at Fry's electronics for  less than $25.00

which i would say  reasonable..

Now... On Any HD DVD guru or  user pls advice ...  What would be the benefit

of me  buying HD-DVD player , aside that I can get it for only 99 dollars at wallmart.

DJ

1. I still have a Beta and VHS library. I still have one Beta machine that works. And up until 5 years ago just about every news camera was a Beta.

2. However, the real looser is again going to be us. The general consumer. We have got to get a HD TV by 2009. Then change to an HD converter to play our Beta, VHS, and DVD on the new TV. Or throw all those away and buy new HD-DVD or Ray or some other format. When will it stop?

just for the record... all of the people that have commented on the technical aspect of these players so far dont know what they are talking about(especially "home theater builder" who needs to get over himself)... so dont let their opinions sway you. Please do your own research or consult a professional (not someone at bestbuy or circuit city)