Nearly 7m people have bought an HD-ready television in Britain on the promise of crisper pictures. However, to watch HD films from a disc on these sets you need an HD player.

Once connected to an HD-ready television and supplied with a suitable disc, these players deliver far more detailed and richly cinematic video than any standard-definition DVD. Most HD disc players can also display movies at the best current level of video, known as 1080p (see jargon buster, below). However, you will need a so-called “full” HD TV or projector to get the true benefit as only these sets can handle the higher resolution.

Although many standard DVD players incorporate upscaling, which can enhance the picture from standard discs, even the worst HD machine (when playing an HD disc) outguns all conventional DVD players, leaving them looking fuzzy by comparison.

The problem with buying an HD disc player is that there is a battle raging between the two rival HD formats: Blu-ray and HD DVD. Both types of player will play standard DVDs as well as the relevant type of HD disc, but neither format is compatible with the other, and neither has total support from the film and TV studios. If you buy an HD DVD player you won’t be able to play films from Sony Pictures, Disney/Buena Vista or Fox. Conversely, if you buy a Blu-ray player you won’t be able to play films from Universal, Paramount or DreamWorks. And if you pick the “wrong” player, it’s potentially akin to buying a Betamax video recorder rather than a VHS one.

So which should you choose? In terms of audio and picture quality, there is no inherent difference between the two formats. The advantages of HD DVD are that the machines tend to be cheaper and the format is more settled than Blu-ray, so today’s HD DVD players are unlikely to have compatibility issues. By contrast, the specification for Blu-ray (known as BD Profile 1.1) has only recently been finalised. This became mandatory for the manufacturers of disc players in October, but only the Sony PlayStation 3 gaming console meets it – all other current Blu-ray players are a risk because they may not be able to handle newer features or future discs. There is more choice of hardware maker in the Blu-ray format, whereas the only HD DVD players available are either made by Toshiba or are in the form of an Xbox 360 console add-on.

For many, the obvious solution is a universal player capable of handling both. The only model that can do so is currently the pricey LG machine on test, though others are due in the spring.

The crunch is the availability of discs. The big film studios are in one or other camp, apart from Warners, which releases discs on both formats, but is likely to pick sides soon. Choice remains limited, but there are roughly 1,000 titles for sale on Blu-ray and 800 on HD DVD. There is little difference in disc price, which is about £18.

If you take the plunge, look for a player with the newest type of HDMI digital socket, known as v1.3 (see jargon buster) as this is more future-proofed, even though no current discs take advantage of it. Of the players on test, the Sharp, Toshiba and, surprisingly, the PS3 include one.

All HD disc players will also upscale conventional DVDs but only the Pioneer produced upscaled pictures as good as a standard player costing about £150.

JARGON BUSTER

1080p Highest calibre of video signal with 1,080 progressively scanned horizontal lines

Full HD Term for televisions with super-high resolution of 1,080 horizontal lines

HDMI Digital connector combining video and audio. The latest standard (v1.3) can handle audio and colours more efficiently

HD-ready Televisions able to display HD material. Screens must have at least 720 horizontal lines and a digital video input

Upscaling Boosting picture quality from a standard DVD to nearer to HD



BLU-RAY HD PLAYERS

SUPERHERO



Sony PlayStation 3 40GB - typically from £300, or £280 from www.dixons.co.uk
Solid HD playback and impressive specs

The PS3 is a gaming console, but even this, the cheapest version, comes with a built-in Blu-ray disc player, which Sony hopes will be a trojan horse for the format. When playing HD movie discs it proved surprisingly good and in Pirates of the Caribbean all those ghoulish colours and fine details looked terrific. The PS3 is the only player that conforms to the official Blu-ray standard. It boasts the latest HDMI socket, plus a handy internet connection and wi-fi. The PS3 was competent, albeit unexceptional, at upscaling standard DVDs. On fast-paced action its images from HD discs weren’t as sharp or as fluid as the better stand-alone players, nor was the audio as impressive, and the menus were trickier to navigate. Even so, this is a fine-value HD option, and the big bonus is that it plays games too.

FILM BUFF’S TREAT



Pioneer BDP-LX70 – typically £1,000, or £850 from www.laskys.com
Blue riband disc-player, but overpriced

Serious home-cinema buffs prepared to dig deep for the ultimate movie experience will love this Pioneer. With a superb heavy-duty piano-black chassis, it certainly looks the part. It backed up the looks with terrific performance, especially in fast-paced high-octane sequences that can sometimes leave lesser players struggling for clarity. It was equally adept at audio, with either gung-ho movie soundtracks or delicate concert footage. That said, the pictures were not dramatically better than the PS3’s unless viewed on a huge plasma TV or a projector. The Pioneer also lacks the new v1.3 HDMI socket (although an updated model, the BDP-LX70A, does have one). A bigger flaw is that it doesn’t conform to the finalised Blu-ray specification, meaning future discs may not work properly on it. Buying one is a risk.

QUICK ON THE DRAW



Sharp BD-HP20H – typically £400, or £289 from www.rgbdirect.co.uk
Decent high-definition deck despite flaws

Most HD players take a minute or two to load up the menus when you pop in a disc, but this Sharp player, unusually, did so almost instantly. This rather understated player has nary a button to clutter its clean fascia, so you had better not lose its remote control. The Blu-ray film playback proved to be pin-sharp and full of lustrous colour, although in terms of quality it was no better than the Sony PS3. When watching films at the best video setting of 1080p on some full HD television screens, the pictures can judder a little, as the player was poor at converting the images to the number of frames per second used by most TV sets in the UK. Standard DVDs also looked a tad fizzy and these occasionally stuttered too. The Sharp’s sound quality was decent, if nothing special overall. Once again, though, this player does not meet the finalised Blu-ray criteria.

HD DVD PLAYERS

POWER PLAYER

Toshiba HP-EP35 – typically £350, or £270 from www.play.com
Fine value and classy performance

If you’re intending to take the HD-DVD route, this top-end Toshiba is the player to plump for. It reproduced high-definition movies with panache – second only to the premium Pioneer for picture quality – and also delivered decent audio for the money. The Toshiba’s biggest strength is perhaps its fast internet connection, as this activated sophisticated web-enabled HD DVD features such as browsing maps or background information online on your TV while viewing a movie such as Blood Diamond. Playback of standard DVDs looked reasonable too. The machine’s styling is functional rather than luxurious. Like the Sharp, it stuttered a little while playing movies on its highest video setting of 1080p, unless it was matched with a specific type of full HD TV. The Toshiba also proved to be rather sluggish when it loaded a disc. Nevertheless, it is a potent option at this price level.

DOUBLE HIT



LG BH100 – typically £1,000, or £600 from www.richersounds.co.uk
Great idea but poorly executed; pricey

So you can’t decide which horse to back. This LG player, the first universal player on the market, could be your solution, as it plays back both types of high-definition disc. The picture quality was undeniably good with either type of HD, so on the face of things it would seem to be the ideal solution to the format war debacle. However, there are flaws. First, the LG cannot provide any of the interactive features found on the better HD DVD titles, such as fancy onscreen menus or access to online tools. Nor does the player conform to the official 1.1 Blu-ray standard. It also suffered from sluggish load-up times for either type of disc and despite the undoubted HD flexibility on offer, it can’t play standard audio CDs, unlike the other machines on test. Its greatest crime, though, is that heinous price tag. Our advice? Wait for the next wave of universal players that are due on the market next spring.

BUDGET BOX



Microsoft Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive – typically £130, or £99 from www.amazon.co.uk
Cheap, but not so cheerful

Owners of an Xbox 360 games console (which costs from £180) can snap up this add-on HD-DVD drive to play high-definition discs. It’s an economical way to dip a toe into the whirlpool market of HD movies and, when playing a high-definition disc, the pictures were better than those of any standard DVD player. Yet on King Kong the jungle scenes were neither as verdant nor as crisp as on its HD rivals. It’s the only HD player that lacks a proper digital video socket, which could cause problems with antipiracy systems on future releases. It doesn’t support the new HD audio formats, has clumsy menus, and the console’s cooling fans are noisy. The Xbox has a stronger games lineup than the PS3 but as an HD movie machine, it’s outgunned.