I am in the market for a home theater system but don't know which format will win for the DVD's. Blue Ray or?

Add the DVD player at a later time. If you can't wait and have an hefty budget check out the LG BH100 Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD Player. Al Griffin of Sound and Vision reviewed this player last month. He raised some concerns about the player not the least of which was the price tag ($1,200, ouch!). By Christmas you may be able to buy on of each format for less!!!

It begins to look (unfortunately in my view) that Blu-Ray is in the lead re the format war (Blu-Ray vs HD DVD).

BUT, that said I recommend waiting at least a year before buying into either HD disk format ... for several reasons:

- prices will come down for both players and disks (significantly);

- the choice of movies available on HD disk (either type) is still quite limited; and

- players and disks are not yet mature.

Normal DVDs on a good upconverting progressive player give fine results on today's equipment, and unless you are thinking of a HD display larger than 50" or so you are unlikely to get any great improvement from HD disks.

If you have A/V electronics now (TV, receiver) you will need to upgrade to take advantage of either HD disk format.

If you have nothing now, focus on the sound part of the equation (surround speakers and subwoofer, A/V receiver) and a suitable display device (personally I recommend a projector rather than an HDTV for a true immersive experience, but the choice is yours. Buy good speakers -- they will last for years/decades, but don't buy an expensive receiver since you may wish to upgrade in 2-3 years (when HD audio decoders and HDMI 1.3 are on middle of the road receivers not just high end). Buy a recent used or a discontinued model to save money. Plan on a cablebox or satellite receiver (or a PVR) to feed a TV signal (HD if you are ready for it (i.e. an HD display).

Bottom line, unless you are rich enough to not care if you waste money and need the newest "thing" now, don't buy into HD DVD/Blu-Ray yet.

I'll be waiting, but in the mean time once they become less expensive I may invest in a dual format player. Then I get the best of both worlds until some media giant wins and he consumers walks away scratching his or her head wondering what all the fuss was about since the two formats look identical to the eye on the screen.

I say wait, If you buy now you'll end up paying a hugely huge premium on either.

Stick with regdvd for now.

You will be allot happier putting that money towards better speakers.

With blue ray all your getting is some crappy extras, pop up menus and maybe a little better clarity when using high resolution's, I don't think thats worth the money they charge for it.

Neither does anybody else. That's why I am not buying any sort of HD DVD player until the industry gest its act together.

Waiting is the right idea...Click this link to see the format war in detail: http://www.whydoesmyhometheatersuck.com/blurayvshd...