Since the introduction of the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats over a year ago, Home Theater Forum took the position of neutrality in this format war.

Recently, Paramount and DreamWorks made an announcement that they were going to support HD DVD exclusively. This news greatly reinforces our stance of neutrality we made months ago, as there is no clear winner in this format war in sight.

There are several websites out there who raced to pick a winner months ago based on speculation and self-interest. Though we greatly respect many of the individuals who run such sites, we knew that this war was not even close to being won in its infancy. We knew that both formats offered their own advantages for consumers. We also knew that it would be foolish to attempt to make a decision for consumers as to which format they should choose. Nobody has the right to tell you that you must support one format over the other. All of you have already made intelligent choices based upon your individual needs.

Obviously, this decision by Paramount and DreamWorks absolutely proves that anything can still happen in this format war and that a winner is not as clear-cut as some may have wanted it to be. We predict by this holiday season, HD DVD players will break the $200 price barrier, which, along with added studio support, will greatly influence the wallets of shoppers.

This is not to say that we don't look forward to the Blu-ray camp doing something equally as impressive with their lineup of players. Let's see if they can now rise to the challenge and make their format equally as appealing on an affordability level.

I'm surprised that so many people resent this format war. On the surface, yes, it's a bad thing. However, I'm certainly happy about hardware prices falling so rapidly. Imagine all the price-gouging that would be going on right now if there was only one format.

What's most disheartening for us to see is how this format war has turned home theater enthusiasts against one another as if the slanderous and libelous remarks they post are going to tilt the war in one way or the other. I'd like to quote a post by one of our reviewers, Neil Middlemiss, as it is so appropriate to this cause:

"For me (and almost everyone else in here) it is about the film; it is about those golden moments of screen gems that the wonderful world of film gives us. The explosive, bombastic popcorn popping

adrenaline films; the thrilling, creepy, tense, scary-as-hell bloodfest films; the tender, sweet, happy & romantic films...but always, the films!"

I have sat and watched people argue to no end about which format they feel is superior. I have seen people attend format panel events only to go on the internet and skew the facts of what had been said and transpired, all in the name of bolstering support for their format of choice. Constant bickering was the reason why one home theater discussion forum closed its doors recently. Do any of you actually think these childish attacks on either format is helping the situation? You turn more people away by posting criticism that is void of facts and full of fancy, meant only to discredit the opposing format and their supporters at the expense of supporting your format of choice.

In the end, the winner of this format war will not be decided by any of us. It will be decided by the consumer. Let's all try to focus our energy into making the Internet a place where those consumers can come to ascertain the facts, instead of being subjected to constant name-calling and bickering. When you come to the Home Theater Forum, you should expect nothing less.

People should just sit back and appreciate the fact that this war has done the early adopters (us) a lot of good in terms of the pricing for high definition hardware and software. We cannot control the outcome of this war nor even DARE to push consumers to one particular side because even we, the early adopters, can't agree amongst themselves which format is better.

Personally, I can't wait to see what develops next!

Ronald Epstein

Co-Owner

Home Theater Forum