[bobgpsr]

I think that the new hi def optical formats (aka High Definition Media --> HDM ) had to mature a bit before being ready for mass consumption. The competition has been very good at pushing the quality up, getting better features, and now pushing the price way down. Too bad about the consumer uncertainty -- but IMHO when one format takes off by getting a reasonable percentage of total DVD sales (HDM only has 2% market share now), say 20%, the decision will be clear.