Blu Ray over/under $

Nope won't even consider it unless it takes off and never looks back.

Sony is pretty good at coming up with formats and leaving them high and dry.

Blu Ray is 1080p vs HD-dvd at 1080i.
Blu Ray has the space on the disc to have even a LOTR extended version on one dics with lossless DTS-HD soundtrack...were HD DVD will not.
B/R 25-50gb actually used on initial movies.
Hd dvd 15 of 30 possible gb is all they say there going to use initially.
B/R will upscale sd dvd to 1080p... and HD DVD will upscale to 1080i like current players do.

As far as audio...the new lossless DTS/DD wil require 6 analog inputs much like sa-cd...until the new receivers/pre/pros come out with this built in...and then you will need a single hdmi cable to transmit the lossless audio.

The Ps3 B/R demo in Vegas is said to look spectacular...and M/S is supposed to announce add on HD DVD hardware for there 360 today.

Does anybody really need all of LOTR on a single disk?

Maybe not need to no....but remember were talking 1080p vs 1080i and I already had 1080i with the now dead DVHS format.
I don't believe that 15gb is enough space to have the extended LOTR on two discs with lossless DTS -hd audio...seeings how double bit rate DTS was on some of the DVHS tapes and for a normal length movie it took 28 gb and double bit DTS is not lossless.

People with pj's or screens 50 inches or bigger are going to want 1080p....and only B/R can give it to you.
I thought I better add that Toshiba has not been known for any quality in there dvd players for yeas now.
Also B/R has far more studio, as well as hardware support from better names such as Pioneer Elite.
One thing I am still trying to find out for certain is if there is any type of phone line or internet line required to watch any of the upcoming movies on either format.
If there is, both these formats are already dead imo.

Gotta look at all the past formats, and I must say that QUALITY has ALWAYS taken a back seat too convenience, cost, profit, etc!!!
Again, look at Betamax and look at CD(16bit/44 was a major step down in sonics, minus some backround noise here and there, and we're still using 16/44 standard for music at the local music stores, some 25 years later!!!!)
Heck, laser disc was an improvment over vhs easlily, and it never went beyond videophile niche market.
I think here, people will again go with whatever markets the convenience, or mass distribution, with the most titles and accessability, etc.
Really, we will NOT SEE a mass exodus to hd dvd like we did with original DVD a few years back! I garantee it! Why? Because with DVd you had the convenience, the improvment in audio/video quality, and we can already record on em now.
So just cause we got more dvd extras and some better vid or audio improvments, doesn't mean that much in tems of sales, profitability, marketability, consumer mass acceptance, IMO.
I mean, we had superior(by a mile!) SACD and DVDA audio discs out for years now, that have flopped and basically all but died a quick death mostly. We also had DVHS with superior HD definition video, and that died too.
We already got DVD now, that we can even record on. So what's some improvments in video/audio gunna do so much in terms of exciting the world?...I say not much.
Don't get me wrong, I am as thrilled as the next audiophile/video guy. But I think it will really come down to who can sell their product the most easily, and convince the public that theirs is the way to go, and that it's all going "their" way! Could be wrong. I just don't think product superiority has ever made a difference to the public at large when it came down to it. Heck, we got Bose outselling everyone by a ton! That should say something right there...