Denon's new Blu-Ray player

For a variety of reasons, I haven't purchased a HD DVD player of either (or both) formats, but as an interested observer, I've been impressed with the number of times I see ads for new releases on both standard and a HD format DVD. Purely anecdotally, it seems like there are a lot of titles being released in HD format. I agree that either or both formats could become boat anchors in the future, but it doesn't seem like either will be as limited in use as an SACD player, for example. Certainly, as long as the PlayStation has a Blu-Ray drive in it, the format will have content.

with the jury still deliberating, i don't think its a good idea to overspend on a hi def player. the studios are still only doing mostly new stuff (the vast catalogues of film don't make economic sense to remaster at this point), so jumping into the deep water is strictly at your own risk.

There was a comparison in one of the home theater magazines a few months ago between the Sony PS3 as a blu-ray and 3 other models that were all over $1,000 dollars. The PS3 had was just as good as those and had a few extra features. Plus you get to kill aliens, nazis etc with it. You can't beat that.

As far as minor differences go I have both formats with a 65", 1080p, ISF calibrated TV. Trust me there are more than minor differences between the HI-Def formats and standard DVD.

I certainly don't think an SACD player has limited use. There are almost 5000 SACDs out there.

"It takes a much larger screen to take advantage of high definition. It's funny what people consider too expensive for certain improvements. Some people don't mind spending a whole lot for a power cord or interconnects but balk at paying for real differences."

Amen. Blu-ray is a HUGE improvement over standard DVD, if you have a large enough 1080p screen to appreciate it. In fact, I'm hard pressed to think of anything in audio that costs $600 (the price of a PS III) and makes even a fraction of as much of a difference. And mind you, I am a 2 channel guy and not really into HT. The problem I've had, however, is that the PS III seems to be very finicky as a Blu-Ray player. I've returned two so far out of frustration.