BLU-RAY VS. HD-DVD: I won’t say I’ve taken sides, exactly, but I did buy this Sony Blu-Ray DVD player last week. So far I’m pleased with everything, except the price, which was a bit high. I’ve watched two films — Die Hard and 300 — and the video (and audio) quality is excellent. I’ve also skimmed around a bit in 2001: A Space Odyssey, which is supposed to have an excellent HD transfer and the picture does look very good (though that serves to demonstrate in places just how out-of-date the special effects are). The Blu-Ray player also (and this is what got me off the dime) plays the AVCHD DVDs from my HD camcorder perfectly, and with excellent quality. Setup was easy, and my only real complaint is that the boot-up process seems a bit slow. Yeah, this means I’ve given up holding out for the combo player — but with HD-DVD players dropping in price substantially, well, I’ve still got room for one of those, too.