"When DVD first launched it was anything but the perfect product," said Andy Parsons, Pioneer executive and chairman of the Blu Ray Disc Association. "There were many doubters that said there was little chance of overtaking VHS." Now, he said, the same thing is happening with Blu Ray, the natural evolution in audio-video technology.

The Blu Ray vs HD DVD format war finally ended when the entertainment giants changed sides and Toshiba announced that it would no longer be manufacturing the HD DVD player. Some buyers are left wondering: Is it really worth it?

First of all, when looking at the Blu Ray vs HD DVD specifics, you'll notice that Blu Ray discs have far superior storage space. Traditionally, DVDs were first made to hold 4.7 GB of material on a single-layer, and later, the double layer boosted storage capacity up to 8.5 Gigs. HD DVD promised to more than triple that, delivering 15-30 GBs.

Blu Ray DVDs,can hold an astounding 25-50 GBs of data, meaning that they use more advanced coding to include more audio tracks and more stunning visual information, as well as adding more bonus features. You will notice the high definition of a HD DVD or Blu Ray disc at once. Regular DVDs supported a resolution of 720x480 pixels, while HDTV offers 1920x1080 pixels.

With Blu Ray discs and HD DVD discs looking almost identical, buyers would really have to scrutinize the packaging to be sure they were not buying the wrong thing. Traditional DVDs will still play on the new machines, but manufacturers are working on phasing out the old DVD format, releasing all new movies as Blu Ray discs. In the Blu Ray vs HD DVD war, Paramount/DreamWorks and Universal initially supported the HD DVD format, while Warner Brothers, Disney, Sony, Lions Gate, Fox and MGM signed exclusive deals with Blu Ray. Finally, Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD and conceded defeat.

While the Blu Ray vs HD DVD war has been won, consumers are well advised to hold off on any major Bluray player purchases until the dust has settled. Tech geeks still warn that other versions of the players are scheduled to come out.

Some advocates see the Blu Ray disc player as training wheels for the technologically illiterate. "We can use HD discs to train consumers to move into digital, but it's a transition," explains Dan Silverberg, vice president of high-definition media development at Warner Bros. "Downloaded content will come, but the consumer will get quicker tutorials into video-on-demand, etc. by owning a Blu-ray player or HD DVD." While the Blu Ray vs HD DVD war is officially over, the Blu Ray vs. downloading war may have just begun.