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Some savvy consumers are looking overseas for a way to take some of the risk out of buying a next-generation DVD player.
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Clever movie buffs have discovered a workaround: Several dozen titles out in the U.S. exclusively on Blu-ray are available overseas on HD DVD. While studios like Sony, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney Co. tout their unswerving allegiance to Blu-ray stateside, in other countries titles like Sony's "xXx," Fox's "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" and Disney's "The Prestige" are available on HD DVD.
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Still, most major high-definition titles available overseas seem to reflect a switch to HD DVD, rather than the reverse.
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Clever movie buffs have discovered a workaround: Several dozen titles out in the U.S. exclusively on Blu-ray are available overseas on HD DVD. While studios like Sony, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox and Walt Disney Co. tout their unswerving allegiance to Blu-ray stateside, in other countries titles like Sony's "xXx," Fox's "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" and Disney's "The Prestige" are available on HD DVD.
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Still, most major high-definition titles available overseas seem to reflect a switch to HD DVD, rather than the reverse.
Some Blu-ray exclusives in the US can be bought as HD DVD titles overseas due to different distributors for the movies in other areas - these discs will all play because HD DVD is region-free. Some HD DVD exclusives in the US can also be bought as Blu-ray titles overseas, but check the region status first (some are region free too).
The best solution is to go format neutral - buy a dual format player, or two separate players (eg. HD DVD standalone + PS3, or Xbox 360 with HD DVD drive + Blu-ray standalone - or just buy both the PS3 and Xbox 360 with HD DVD drive). You will never miss out on any movie, unless of course the movie is only available on Blu-ray with a different region setting.