I recently bought a PS3 just for the Blu-ray player alone (£297.00). The upsampling of my standard DVD's has to been seen to be believed, so if you can't buy the movie in Blu-ray format, just get the standard DVD instead.

Why settle for HD-DVD with only 1080i when you can have Blu-ray with 1080p?

Kev, Sussex, UK

i personally am outraged that film companies are starting to back exclusive deals with either already why not just supply both untill a clear winner emerge's personally i have a blue -ray player and why should paramount or universal dictate to me that i cannot view their films in my choice of next gen format,

looks like they have lost my sales for life not that they will care

justin, haslemere,

Having looked at both and been very sad to see that Shrek 3 and Transformers will not be on Blu Ray I have still plumped for the BD player from Panasonic. The sales of BD in Europe and US far exceeed that of HD so that has a lot to be said for the take up from the critical early adopters. If Paramount start giving away disks with every machine or XBox 360 HD then maybe they'll catch up so it could mean a long time in settling down and a clear winner emerging.

I hope that Paramount realise that they need to offer both again, as they once did and this will give us the consumer a chance to vote with our wallets!

I am only interested in the quality of the overall package and choice of content available so I'm very much a BD fan. I do have an XBox 360 so maybe I'll just add the drive to that so I can at least enjoy some of the HD titles that are now available.

I await the ourtcome but realise this will be a long drawn out affair.

Paul , Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire

at the end of the day...the better tech is the overall winner.. going back to video tapes i had both beta and vhs..sortig out the loft recently rigged up both machines and th beta still played good enough to consider rigging it back up ..the vhs was a loss.if this is a rerun then cost over 20 years says blue-ray will outlast and with only all investment improve...

steff, rochester, uk

if sony is as great as what people are saying then why dont sony do a plasma t.v? as not one of their current range is plasma. as to the blu-ray, hd-dvd warthen it is one i will sit on the fence for as for many years sony have tried to monopolize the market but always seem to fall flat on thier face when others stand the test of time. james of haughton laughs at toshiba but many years ago iwork for their plant in plymouth and we were actually reworking all of sonys tv's that were faulty so says alot for sony also at least tosh actually look after thier workers unlike sony but then at least the rest of the market let the competition have thier products too and unlike sony the cheaper brands let you play all kinds of disc format, when is a company going to bring out one machine that does everything now that would be worth money!!!! but it wuld have to be multi region from the word go but this will never happen as long as the name sony is around it !!!!! sony arent the best not by far!!!!

steve, brierley hill,

HD-DVD just doesnt have the capacity to expand the same as Blue-Ray. The storage on Blu-Ray is 3 times that of its competitor and the hardware thats behind it is leagues ahead (why do we not see games consoles using hd-dvd & already hugely discounted hd-dvd players). When will people learn that the investment put into these systems is huge and why opt for second best when a few pounds more will get the better product that will last 5 times longer. Sony maybe slightly dearer but thier products are well built and last years.

Movie studios " DONT PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET". Blu-Ray is here to stay and that needs to be acknowleged. I have a DVD collection of 500+ and theyre from various studios. Please do not limit consumer choice as you will just alienate your consumers.

Rik Simmons, Ely, UK

Sony stuff is quite expensive but you get what you pay for. Sony produce great qualit y products, and they always look great. Lets face it as far as quality, style and look they are years ahead of any other company. Plus you need to put a bullet through their products to get them to stop working. My dad still has a trinitron tv 12 years old and its perfect. The ps3, bravia, viao, the new walkman A800's produce sound and vision like ive never seen/heard before....come on ! Anything else is just second fiddle !

Simon P, Bristol, uk

I support Sony. Blue ray looks better, and the capacity is awesome compared to HD-DVD. Think long term people. HD-DVD is only a ten year solution, where Blue ray is a fifty year solution to video capacity. But let's not forget it's all about money. And if we looked at failures like the guy from Australia did in each of our lifes, then I guess we all would just be at home thinking our opinion matters like his!!!!! Focus on the positives. Sony is a million times better than any microsoft product, well I guess except EXCEL. Now Microsoft got that one right. Toshiba, HAHA. Had a computer by them and it lasted three months. Have a sony computer and it works excellent in its 5 year. Sony is quality!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll take quality any day over cheap quantity. I am standing firm and telling everyone I know to not buy anything from Dreamworks or Paramount Pictures. And Shreik the Third was a total let down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

James, haughton,

Right, Gazbin! And while we're listing Sony's format failures, let's not forget that CD thingy they proposed with Philips back in the '70s. That didn't work out well at all, did it?

Jack Newhouse, Santa Rosa, CA

i still have the regular DVD player, -works well for me! I paid $75.00 for it.

JAY, Bel-Air, USA/California

I hate it how everyone focuses on Sony's failure with Betamax.
Why focus on the Betamax format as some sort of evidence that the Bluray will also fail?

I'm so sick of the comparrison because there are so many other worthwhile examples of Sony failures like DAT, Minidisc, and that AA-Track thingie. What ever happened to AIT - Advanced Inteligent Tape? what a joke, and those UMD movie disks that every movie studio & retailer dumped last year. What about MemoryStick - that's a royal pain in the bottom isnt it? Half the capacity & speed but twice the cost of industry standard SD Memory...

Please people, lets not just focus on Betamax when there are numerous Sony formats that have all failed and left customers stranded.

Gazbin, Sydney, Australia

I just bought a Playstation 3 soley for Blue Ray, so now what do I do, Damn these companies, its always the same story, they dont care bout consumers, this would encourage a person to go download those DVD ripper programmes, I understand there are programmes for HD DVDs now, I just give up on trying to upgrage technologies..

mark Conror, Dublin, Irelnad

John Kennedy:
Higher capacity? Yes.
Better quality? You better get some glasses.
That's the whole bone of contention about this situation. Blu-Ray has higher capacity, but that translates into absolutly nothing except for a higher price. (Yay for higher prices!!) When a movie is released on both formats, they look EQUAL. Yes, E-Q-U-A-L. And if you want to get technical, the initial batch of HD-DVD movies were BETTER than their Blur-Ray counterpart. Yes, B-E-T-T-E-R.
That's why the whole capcity argument is stupid when it comes to movies. Do you really care that Blu-Ray has more UNUSED SPACE than HD-DVD? If you want to pay double the price for a high definition player, then go ahead. But don't be surprised if everyone (including $ony) laughs at you.
Sony did a great marketing campaign on you. Do some research before you make yourself look like a "$ony Fanboy".

Damien, Toronto,

What's all this talk of the consumer 'losing out'? The consumer never loses out, because it is consumer led demand that creates the lead format. If people choose to buy the cheaper format, it's because they want to, not because they've been forced to by the manufacturers - after all, if you don't like what the comapnies are selling, you don't buy it!

Joe, Leeds, UK

Blu-ray's early advantage was bought and paid for by shady closed-door exclusivity deals. All HD DVD is saying with this Paramount/Dreamworks deal is "two can play at that game." On a level playing field, (which this deal may or may not succeed in effecting,) HD DVD's superior economy will easily win the format war.

Donald Denis, Iowa City, IA

To David Shapiro,

Maybe you you can start buying more Blu-ray movies and try playing them on your HD-DVD. Or maybe try using an XD memory card on your SD digital camera. Sony gets labeled as "proprietary", but take a few seconds and think about it, Everyone releases things that work primarily on their devices. Why doesn't toshiba play Blu-ray, becasue its an HD-DVD player!!! remember blu-ray is supported by panasonic, pioneer, samsung and JVC. Who's being proprietary.

John, Winnipeg,

Don't forget different studios are supporting different formats, Paramount was one of the few that was originally supporting both Blu-ray and HD-DVD.

HD-DVD supporters: New Line Cinema, Paramount, Universal, Time-Warner, and the official approval of the DVD Forum.

Blu-ray supporters: Columbia TriStar, Sony Pictures and MGM (all three owned by Sony), 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate Entertainment, and Disney.

So Lord of the Rings fans will get an HD-DVD only version while Star Wars fans will get Blu-ray discs.

I already have stand-alone HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc players, and I believe that LG have produced a dual-format player which would be a perfect solution.

PS: Jim Brock, if you don't want your Paramount HD-DVDs then send them to me - I'll have them!

Clive, Bristol, England

There are already slim pickings out there for Blue Ray. Paramount is once again picking Cheap over Quality. Blue ray holds more and already is established thanks to the PS 3. History is repeating itself in the name of corp greed, remember Vhs became the poor mans standard instead of Beta max even though Beta max was clearly the better format, but vhs was cheaper so the consumer gets the lesser of the two.

Warren Taylor, Sherman Oaks, Ca

I don't trust Paramount to make the right choice! Format wars are idiotic, but now they should let the market decide. This hi-def DVD battle has been mishandled by the developing companies from the start. If this prolongs the format war at all, then shame on Paramount.

Billy Clyde, Pittsburgh, USA

It appears that the "smart choice for Paramount" is to take the money and run: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/desperation-move-cash-grab-or-intensified-blu-rayhd-dvd-format-war/

nemo, Liverpool,

I wish articles like this would explain the real story behind popular tech issues like this. The truth is, and anyone shopping for next gen. players knows this, is that Blu-ray is not just a Sony thing. Unlike the Betamax, Sony is only one of the major manufacturers on Blu-ray. Just look at the names Panasonic, JVC, Samsung, Pioneer and LG, think about it if these guys are in it soon manufacturing prices will drop and so will the sticker price. If manufacturers had faith in HD-DVD than why is Toshiba one of the only major names making them. What gave VHS the edge over beta was not just price, rather it was more manufactures putting more units in customers homes which in-turn drove demand and price drops. I think smart consumers will understand that the same thing is happening to Blu-ray, More Manufacturers, More Units to choose from, More Sales, More Movies and in the end More competitive pricing. In my mind Blu-ray has already won.

John, Winnipeg,

When audio and video made the move from cassettes to CD and DVD respectively, we saw a BIG improvement. Not only better quality, but a navigable multimedia experience with extras became the new standard for movies. It was revolutionary. This recent upgrade from the standard DVD format is not worth the trouble. The difference in picture quality is only incrementally better, and only enjoyable if you spend a $1000 or more on an HD TV to use it on. If we're smart, we'll all continue buying standard DVD's and ignore both new formats. Don't forget, supply is driven by demand, and YOU are the demand. Vote with your wallet and stick with what is already working just fine.

Joe, Phoenix, AZ, USA

Well, since the format war start, parmount have been released inferior blu-ray disc, the only studio with inferior audio in every blu-ray vs the HD-DVD they released... so, its a no brainer.
Paramount have always been a HD-DVD suporter in the closet, now after the blockbuster and target deal, they got the signal for the "shock" switch of side must be done.
Why a studio supporting a format thats doubling the sales of the other format, sudenly stop releasing movies in the format that sales more?
Very well planed strategy for media blowout and PR, by the HD-DVD group, a studio switching sides is more impact that exclusive support from the start.
But every not idiot person in the world, must clearly see the truth, i mean, the time is so CORRECT for HD-DVD, non-sense for a studio

jaime, mt,

we are stuck in a Wal-Mart society.

mike lumley, Durham, NC

When the justification is that "it's cheaper to produce right now", you know that you (the consumer) are LOSING. When selecting the next-generation media format, only ignorance and disregard for quality leads anyone to base that on a temporary difference in manufacturing cost, a cost that's already probably trivial.

Yes, Sony clings to irritating, proprietary nonsense like Memory Stick. HOWEVER, this complaint is not relevant to the Blu-Ray situation. HD-DVD is no less "proprietary" than Blu-Ray.

In this case, higher capacity means potentially higher quality and definitely higher utility. PERIOD. There has never been any valid refutation of this fact from HD-DVD proponents, and nor is there even a claim that HD-DVD offers better quality. So WHY should we be saddled with an inferior format from here on out?

Here's why we will: Most consumers have become spineless apologists who do nothing but berate anyone who has the energy to fight for better quality, when they don't.

Palmer Woodrow, Chicago, IL

My mind was made up as soon as I heard Sony's name. Whatever direction Sony heads in I'll go the other way.

In my mind I cannot see Bluray being succesful for one good reason. Fragmentation. There are so many choices that no standard will build critical mass. DVD particularly with upscaling is prolonging DVD as a perfectly valid choice for many.

Download services will eventually be favored by Fox as NewsCorp has a vested interest in cable networks. Ditto for many other large media/cable/telco players.

Smart kids are building media centers and loading up content onto terrabytes of low cost hard drives, and on the mobile front, people are showing more demand for low resolution movies to watch on their mobile phones, laptops etc...

China may endup with their own royalty free Enhanced HD DVD format. Cutting out one of the largest future markets.

Fragmentation means Bluray fails even if it could win.

Peter Sakes, Irvine, California

Sony wants the consumer to pay the huge cost of producing Blu-ray players, media and games that 99% will never come close to using the additional disc space. Sony could have easily won the console war if it didn't force gamers to pay the additional cost for a Blu-ray drive.

Unfortunately for HD-DVD, Toshiba isn't lowering the price of its players fast enough. Blu-ray has nothing to hold on to but the Playstation 3. Lowering HD-DVD players to $99 would be selling at a loss, but it would also kill Blu-ray in the process.

John, Milwaukee, WI

I just wish they hurry up & get "the war of the formats " sorted soon so that I too can also enjoy HD =-DVD before I croke.

Alf Izatt, Wilderness, S.A

This is nothing like the Beta Max and VHS struggle. Sony developed both the VHS and Beta formats and essentially abandoned VHS due to its inferior quality, letting other electronics firms develop the orphaned technology with known limitations but with widespread cost sharing. Sharing the burdens of costs with multiple partners meant VHS could be sold for significantly less than the proprietary Beta Max manufactured by Sony alone.

This shapes up more like the continuing war between Microsoft and Apple with two differing views of what the platform is all about. The loser is always the consumer, who gets to choose between quality with fewer software options and a cheaper mass produced simulation of the original with lots of mediocre product priced to move bulk into our landfills.

Of course, the world still exists in a PAL, NTSC and C-CAM weirdness-viewing war as it is.

J. Thrasher, Bakersfield, California

Although I think all films should be available on both formats, I agree with Paramount's decision. HD DVD is based on mature technology and is cheaper to buy and manufacture as a result, with no loss in quality over Blu-ray.

K. Kuratigi, Nogame-cho,

Being a big movie person, I can see why the confusion. With people downloading movie and anything else they can get there hands on who cares about ether format. I can watch the same movies on my windows media player and get almost the same results. Bottom line it just to empress us so we can empress our freinds and maybe a few female or male friends.

Darren Taylor, Perry, GA

Well then I guess I won't purchase anything that Paramount puts out, I am tired of being the cheese in there bologna sandwich. I have invested heavily in the Blu-Ray format equipment and they have once again left most of us hanging in the wind. But what do they care, right. All I can do is to keep them from making anymore money off of me.

Nancy Galeassi, Peculiar, Mo.

Hey Mr. Brock and friends, this is just the market working out the winning format, with each producer doing what wins for them. That's the way markets work, and often the best format doesn't win (witness the early software wars before Microsoft became dominant). Infantile tantrums and sending titles back won't change that reality. If Sony really intends to compete why did they produce such an expensive machine? Maybe you've got plenty of money to spend, but some of the rest of us are actually on budgets.

Michael James, Seattle, Washington

Brad, you made the wrong decision. Your first instinct was right to deliver both formats. So long Paramount and DreamWorks.

Derek Holmes, London, UK

Way to go Paramount... Sony should learn the lesson finally that their "proprietary," technology is ridiculous (memory stick, blu-ray, etc...)

David Shapiro, Cranford, USA, NJ

Yes! I have always supported HD DVD, and this is another great move for them. I have never liked Sony and hope their Blu-ray Disc format loses out.

TJ Spyke, Rochester, New York, United States

The thing about the betamax and the blu-ray which rings true today is that while betamax never became a household standard it is very much an essential part of the media and commercial standard because of it's higher quality better storage capacity and reusability. I feel sorry for those of you that really think sony is trying to screw you by releasing a better quality higher capacity media which could enrich so many lives in so many ways. I agree with Jim Brock about paramount being money hungry this isn't about saving consumers money it is about bolstering short term sales and potential market re-release if/when the blu-ray wins the media wars and people want to watch the media's already pre-purchased on a dead format.

John Kennedy, Blackfalds, Canada/Alberta

Oh hell, just when it looked like this whole mess might resolve itself in the near future somebody had to do something stupid like this! Consumes are never going to buy into either format now! I was hoping that by early next year it would be safe to buy a Blu-ray player and start aquiring some movies. I never bought a large number of DVDs in the hope that an HDM would become available. Now I'm stuck with an HDTV and nothing decent to watch on it!

sculptor, Santa Clara,

WE WILL NOT BUY ANY BLU-RAY TITLE THAT PARAMOUNT IS GOING TO RELEASE THE REST OF THIS YEAR. PARAMOUNT IS MONEY HUNGRY AND THEY WILL FIND OUT THE HARD WAY. SOME US US ARE GOING TO SENT THE TITLES THAT WE BOUGHT BACK TO PARAMOUNT. THEY ARE A DISGRACE TO THE INDUSTRY.

JIM BROCK, INDIAN TRAIL, NORTH CAROLINA

finally we see the results we have been expecting, sony you have been trying to make your own media standard for years and now we see the first few indicators that Blu-ray is just BetaMax 2.0

Chris, Houston, TX,

Serves Sony right for always trying to force their expensive proprietary standards onto everyone. I can only hope HD-DVD will win it all in the end because it's cheaper, and makes my existing DVD's look better.

Dizzel, Indianapolis, in