For True High-Def Movies, Discs Are Best--for Now

Illustration: Harry Campbell

The high-def format wars are over, and Blu-ray Disc has won--or so some pundits say. But others insist that movie streaming and download services are making discs irrelevant. Should you invest in a pricey Blu-ray player that could soon be obsolete?

The answer depends on your HDTV. If, like me, you have a 1080p display, a Blu-ray player won't become dated very fast.

You can, however, already get lower-def high-def movies without investing in new hardware. My Comcast On Demand cable service includes a small selection of free and for-pay HD films.

You can't beat the service's convenience: Click on a title, and in a matter of seconds it starts streaming. Pricing isn't bad, either--new On Demand titles run about $3 to $6, and, as mentioned, a couple dozen HD titles are usually available for free too.

Not Enough HD, Not HD Enough

I'd like a wider selection, though. More important, I paid good money for a 1080p set, and Comcast's HD comes in 1080i, one of the two formats used to broadcast HDTV (720p being the other). The quality is decent, especially with 5.1 surround-sound audio (something that Comcast supports if the content provider supplies it), but I know my set can do better.

With a Blu-ray Disc player, it does. Movies on Blu-ray do come in 1080p, and the films just plain look better.

Now, I'm not that interested in buying discs: The boxed collection of Sex and the City my husband gave me is mostly still boxed, because I don't watch that many movies or TV shows repeatedly.

But I rent DVDs from Netflix--and Netflix won't charge you a dime extra to send Blu-ray versions. Just make sure your account settings reflect your preference--otherwise Netflix won't even show you the high-def options. (As we went to press, Netflix announced that it would phase out HD DVD and carry Blu-ray exclusively.)

And what about downloads and streaming? For all the hoopla about Apple TV and its rivals, I don't see anyone offering substantial amounts of 1080p content anytime soon.

Apple TV can't even output 1080p. Netflix and LG are working on a streaming service and set-top box for HDTV, but it will not debut until late this year (and may not support 1080p). Vudu, a streaming HD service we reviewed last fall, does have a smattering of 1080p content, but it requires a fat pipe--at least 4 megabits per second, the company says. My DSL is a lot slower, and no fast fiber is in sight in my neighborhood.

VideoGiants, the video arm of MusicGiants (which sells high-bit-rate music downloads), says it will eventually deliver 1080p content, either preloaded on external USB 2.0 hard drives or downloadable to hard-drive-equipped devices that support its DRM technology. But right now, its movies are DVD-quality, as are those offered by Amazon's Unbox service.

In short, bandwidth and other technology constraints still stand between me and a download or streaming service that can meet my high-def demands.

I'm looking forward to the day I can ditch my discs; but for now, if you want access to a large library of 1080p movies, purchasing a Blu-ray Disc player and renting via Netflix seems to be the way to go.