The real answer is another question: When do high-def discs make a difference?
Theres a primary answer and a secondary answer. The secondary answer is so arcane at this point that its probably not worth worrying about. Primarily, high-def discs matter if: You have an HDTV with a large enough screen for the difference to be visible (At least 40″ diagonal, although Ive seen suggestions that 35″ might be large enough). If youre watching very close up, as you might (for example) on the forthcoming Toshiba Qosmio supernotebook with its 17″ high-def screen and HD DVD player, you could also find the difference worthwhile. You can see the difference between true high-definition TV (at least 720p) and regular DVDs (480i)/standard TV. Apparently, millions of people who own HDTVs dont watch HDTV (they have an HDTV monitor and havent acquired an appropriate tuner or set-top box, or they have an HDTV but dont know how to find HDTV stations) and arent aware that theyre missing anything. You care about the difference. Nobody really knows how many people will find high-quality D
