I am definitely on the physical media side of the fence. However, I have experimented with downloads on my Xbox 360. I have discovered the following pros and cons:

Pros
- It is very convenient to have it available quickly (relative to my download speed) and conveniently (from my couch).
- There is some content that is not available at my local Blockbuster (ex..Afro Samurai).
- The quality (when available in HD) is much better than standard DVD.

Cons
- Download times for full length HD movies is still to long (i have on average 2mps speeds).
- The 24 hr viewing period has already become an issue (I have two little girls and sometimes everything has to stop not always getting back to it until the next evening).
- The quality still does not compare to the current state of the art (Blu-ray or HD DVD).

Bottom line, IMO, is that as of now I like having both (although I look forward to the download service improving). I like to have choices.

@ eric,

I agree with your line of thinking 110%
I have invested no more than $400 in the latest hardware for Bluray and HD DVD ($100 for a new Toshiba A3 and $300 for an open box Panasonic BD30) for my primary system. The LG BH200 is looking very much like my second system option (also considering a PC drive for my HTPC).
I get to enjoy all the movies that are out there no matter what format or studio they are from. I plan to get as many of the movies I want on HD DVD when they start clearing them out for penuts at BB or ebay and I wont have to wait for Paramount or Universal to re-release there movies on Blu-ray.
NOTE: I noticed on ebay that people are paying $50-70 on previouse Paramnount releases on Blu-ray??????(Shooter, Eon Flux etc...) Why not just buy an A3 for $100-120 and get 7 free movies???

Bottom Line: I would not hesitate for one minute to buy a Blu-ray player (my vote goes to the Panny BD30)

WOW!
I am purple and was about to subscribe to Netflix just becouse of the fact that they offerred both formats. That makes my desision to pull the trigger a little harder.
I wonder how many will drop Netflix now? Although I am sure they have already done there numbers and figured it to be marginal.

I wonder why they could not make a business plan for both formats work out?

This is definitly another huge blow for HD DVD. Although when Blockbuster went format exclusinve I dont think it made a huge impact (at the time).

Que sera, sera

FINN,

I agree 100% with you. The longer the war goes on the better the deals will be.
If either format wants mass adoption they have to find that magic point of what the market is willing to pay to jump in without thinking about it. HD DVD has hit that point with me personaly and Blueray was getting close but took a step back recently. I still went ahead and bought a BR player but would have loved to get some free movies (oh well..maybe they will bring back the freebies if HD DVD starts to show signs of sticking around).

TJ,

It was actually 299 open box, but I had some reward zone points to go against it (I actually ended up getting it for 76 with tax). I have been looking at the open box bins for a while for this player and I would have pulled the triger with or without the reward zone points @ 299. I have been thinking of the PS3 but would rather wait for a good 2.0 standalone when they start coming out. Good luck in your hunting.

andyj,

I wasn�t tricked and I am fully aware of the current state of HD DVD.
I sat on the sidelines up till now because I wanted to only invest in the clear winner. But that was when it was much more costly to invest in either format. Now I can get both Blue and Red and enjoy ALL the movies that are out there with a fraction of the investment ($121 for an HD DVD and 7 free movies...come on) and (if you look around) I picked up a Panasonic BD30 for peanuts ($99 open box @ Best Buy). Hell, even if both formats perish I don�t figure to lose much. I still get to watch my movies until the players die. I personally think that dual format players will be more common and at lower and lower prices. In which my movies will still be good to go.

I just bought the A3 and it comes with 300 and Bourne Identity.
But I did also buy Transformer and Bourne Supremacy (Best Buy BOGO deal) so Ben is on to something when he states
", but we wonder how many were sold to new HD DVD owners when picking up a low cost player, and how many were offered in a sale or promotion."

On a side note I just picked up a Panasonic BD30 for $99 using some reward zone points at BB (open box) now i am good to go on both fronts.

I just jumped in to the HD game with HD DVD (admittedly due to the recent price drops) and have every intention of also going Blue. I love the fact that there are more manufactures jumping in the dual format player market. And I hope the format war keeps going. Competition is a very, very good thing for the consumer.
It�s amazing how fast the prices have come down so quickly for the dual format players even more so for the format exclusive players. Even the software has seen significant price drops.
It wasn�t but a year and half ago that an LG PC combo drive was 500-600 and the stand alone 900-1200. Now you can pick them up for 240-300 and 750-800 respectively, with better specs. The price drops are even more pronounced in the format exclusive players. This competition benefits everyone (blue or red).
There is no reason why we can�t have our cake and it to.
Even if Blueray flat out wins, the Blueray exclusive consumer has to give a great deal of respect and appreciation to Toshiba for putting Bluerays feet to the fire (for price and performance).

In the end it�s about choices and dual format players gives you all of them (and, it seems as time passes, at lower and lower prices).

Please be honest.
Are there any Blueray exclusive supporters or fence sitters that are thinking about taking advantage of the plummeting HD DVD player prices just to get your HD fix for Paramount/Universal movies?

For example; Charlie Wilson War isn�t even coming out until April, assuming HD DVD dies and Universal starts to release on Blueray what are the timelines for Universal to re-release Charlie Wilson War (or all earlier titles) on Blueray. I would assume they would focus on releasing only newer upcoming titles and take some time before they went back to re-releasing previous HD DVD titles.

I think that with the current price drops it makes it a hell of lot easier to view it as a temporary transition to the final outcome of Blueray winning and get full enjoyment of all the movies coming out in HD (Blue or Red).

I want to have my cake and eat it too.

Why are some of you so bitterly emotional about one format or the other (don�t cut your nose off to spite your face)???? OK, OK, no more cheesy clich�s.

Who cares if HD DVD will some day die!
I was a fence sitter for a while but finally decided to buy into both.
I already took advantage of the super low prices and free movies from the HD DVD camp ($121 @ Amazon) and will buy the first decent, well priced Blueray player as soon as they are available in final spec 2.0 (although I have been seriously considering the current Panasonic).
This war has actually helped motivate all of the big sales and discounts from both sides (advantage Joe Consumer).

Think about it. Even if and when HD DVD dies and Paramount and Universal start to release there movies in Blueray, it will take a long, long time before they re-release them on Blue.

The bottom line for me is that I love the movies not the hardware. And with the current price drops its making it easier to take the loss on HD DVD if it loses.

Hope everyone has a great week.