To tell you the truth I'm perfectly happy with DVDs for the moment, this all just strikes me as more ways for companies to make money out of consumers.

Simon | August 19, 12:21 CET

Exactly. I installed a new "dual layered" DVD burner on my computer last night only to discover that none of my DVD ripping programs are compatible. And though the blu-ray DVD is a good idea, it will not play on current DVD players. Guess we better get used to it. Time nor tide waits for no man.

Madhatter | August 19, 12:50 CET

Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players will be totally backwards compatible with DVD, so I don't think anyone should be worried about having to replace their collection.

...just their player. :-(

I'm sure we can all look forward to a spiffy version of Angel season five in the HD-DVD format, which seems to be the horse Fox is backing. It'll be nice to have a format that the High-Def masters will fit on. :-)

The First Weevil | August 19, 14:17 CET

Don't put to much faith in Fox. They don't even manage to give Buffy, Angel and X-Files 5.1 surround, no, that's reserved for shows like 24. It bugs me.

stiansaint | August 19, 14:24 CET

Maybe if they had to pare the packaging down to what would fit on one case, they could cut out some of the fairly huge spoilers they let slide with it all...

RambleOn623 | August 19, 18:08 CET

I really like my nice, spiffy fold-out box sets. Getting an entire season on one disc would be awfully anticlimactic. I doubt we'll be seeing this technology take off before the release of Angel season 5.

MindPieces | August 19, 18:22 CET

I'm sure they could pad out one disk of packaging.

I remember buying a Season of Xena of VHS. 12 tapes. I was incredibly happy when DVD boxsets came out and I could have more than one show per shelf.

True its just a way for them to make more money, but the format is going to change sometime. I still have my VCR below my TV even though I haven't touched it in two years or more. In three or four years when the prices for an HD-DVD player will comparible to regular DVD players today. Its not going to be quick change unless you're a rabid First Adopter.

sTalking_Goat | August 19, 20:35 CET

I'm not going to get a HD-DVD player until I've purchased a plasma or hdtv.

eddy | August 19, 22:40 CET

And I'm not going to buy one until I replace my, ahem, 18-inch TV set . . .

MindPieces: love the R1 fold-out box sets - but hate *hate* the fall-out disks, for some reason from S3 and S4 of BtVS in particular, that then get scratched and what-not whenever I open the darn thing on a non-horizontal plane. In that sense, I much prefer the R2 book-style sets.

SoddingNancyTribe | August 19, 22:50 CET

LOL SoddingNancyTribe! Those fold-outs are such eye candy, but a real pain to find the real estate to actually "fold them out". In the long run, I prefer the book style.

Madhatter | August 19, 23:18 CET

I'm sure that in a couple of years these things will be just as popular as DVDs but I'll just wait until then to buy one when they are cheaper. When DVD player first came out they were like two thousand dollars now you can get a decent one for two hundred fifty. It might not look as snazzy as the fold out boxsets but if your marathon watching at least you don't have to get up and change disks :)

ShotgunWes | August 20, 00:26 CET