Do you plan on upgrading to the new HD formats when they arrive?

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Are you sure about this?

From what I have read, HD-DVD will be backward compatible with current DVDs, but Blueray won't be since it uses blue laser instead of red which current DVD player uses.

Smoke,
Both use blue laser to read the data. And yes several manufacturer have product in developement that are backwards compatible with DVD. I think that is important if BluRay wants to become the format of choice.

[Smokey]

OK, thanks TT

I must agree with you that Blueray might have upper hand here with higher storage capability. Looks like DVD-HD will only hold 25 gigabytes storage, while Blue-Ray discs have more storage capacity--50 gigabytes (and upgradeable to 200 GB).

AS far as which format will survive might also depend on price of each format's disc/player

[paul_pci]

I share many of your sentiments and will concur, in theory at least, as I don't even currently own a HD monitor, that what will be most attractive to me is a unit that is backward compatible to my less than 1100 DVD collection. But given the fact that people who currently enjoy HD programming note that it ruins them for regular broadcasts, I think these new formats will be very enticing.

[risabet]

OK, thanks TT

I must agree with you that Blueray might have upper hand here with higher storage capability. Looks like DVD-HD will only hold 25 gigabytes storage, while Blue-Ray discs have more storage capacity--50 gigabytes (and upgradeable to 200 GB).

AS far as which format will survive might also depend on price of each format's disc/player

VHS won the format wars based on its longer recording time, though in a side by side comparison Beta had a better picture. Hope this won't be the case with these formats.

I won't be buying either until they get it sorted out. Early adopters oft times get screwed.

[topspeed]

OK, as I'm becoming enlightened to the the video side of HT, I've learned about "true HD" which appears to be 1080p. Currently, there are only a handful of sets that can handle this resolution and... *surprise*... they ain't cheap. There are purported to be more and more sets with 1080p resolution hitting the market later this year so my question is; Is Blu-Ray and HD-DVD in 1080p? Will I be able to play them on a 720p set or 1080i, which I understand is actually worse than 720p? While I would rather not wait (or pay the high price of) first gen 1080p sets, I suppose I can make due if it would be worth it. Like Wooch, I doubt I'll get into the format wars at first, but it would be nice to have the capability if one or both really do take off. What I don't want to do is spend $4K on a set only to find it obsolete in a couple of years. THAT would make a very unhappy camper .