As a custom installer, I find that education is one of my main jobs. Every day, people come into my shop seeking advice on how best to spend their A/V dollars. And whether their budget is $1,000 or $100,000, they want to be sure they're getting the best bang for their buck.

Some people want to know how they can view digital photos on their new TV. Others wonder about 1080p resolution and whether it's worth the extra money. Then there's the perennial favorite: Which is better, LCD or plasma? But the top question on most customers' minds right now generally goes something like this: "I've been hearing about this new high-definition movie format. What can you tell me about it?"

Ah, such a seemingly innocent question. But answering it opens a Pandora's box of additional questions and always makes me feel like I'm hemming and hawing. First, of course, there are two new high-definition movie formats. And it's difficult to tell someone how great HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc look and sound while simultaneously explaining that, since the formats are competing against each other, you might not be able to watch a given movie if you opt for one or the other.

"You mean, I can't just buy a movie and watch it?"

"Well, um, maybe and maybe not. It depends which studio released it."

By the time I've finished, the customer is often more confused than ever, and I keep waiting for Joe Pesci's character in JFK to pop out and exclaim, "It's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma!"

Blu-ray and HD DVD pose a problem not just for customers but for custom installers as well. One of the main reasons that people go to an installer is because they want to make sure their system works and is easy to use. They want to be able to choose a movie, pop it into the player, press play, and enjoy. They don't want to think about, "If I buy this player, I can only watch movies in red cases, but if I buy that player, I can only watch movies in blue cases." Honestly, despite all of my pleading, many clients still buy full-screen DVDs, so expecting them to remember which movies they can and can't watch is only going to result in a phone call at 9 o'clock on a Friday night. And believe me, that is not the time to be having a talk about format incompatibility.

Rather than steer people away from experiencing the improvements of the new formats, I suggest an interim solution: a dual-format player. I only hope that the second-gen models will work as promised. (LG's dual-format BH200 player did win an Editors' Choice Award, however). Anyway, as prices continue to drop, there will soon come a point when it no longer makes sense to buy a non-high-def player, even if it will just be used for regular DVD playback.

The real fun starts once people take high-def players home, since they can be tricky to install. The first thing that can totally confuse - and ruin - the installation is the fact that manufacturers still include composite-video and analog-audio cables in the box. Why?!? Dear Lord in heaven, please don't let anyone use those cables. And if you care for any of your friends or family, make sure they don't either, because using them completely negates the reason for buying a high-def player. If possible, use a quality HDMI cable from the player to your A/V receiver and another HDMI cable from your receiver to the display.

Once the player is connected correctly, configuring it is the next crucial step. There are new menu options like "resolution choices," "enhanced black-level settings," and "RGB color range." And new audio choices let you decide whether the signals should be output in bitstream or PCM, or decoded in the player or receiver. For the icing on the cake, most players also need to be connected to a computer network to be fully functional. Not only does this allow for ongoing, necessary firmware updates, it also permits additional special features. The only thing missing is a clock that perpetually blinks "12:00."

And even after everything has been correctly connected and configured, home theater-philes will be haunted by the nagging concern that something still isn't right. For instance, I'm never entirely sure I'm getting a Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. No light ever comes on, and the display never changes on my receiver. Getting DTS-HD Master Audio is even trickier, since most players won't decode it or output it as a bitstream. Ugh!

While the sheer lameness of the format war has been beaten to death, I'd like to offer two suggestions that would help both formats gain a better foothold. First, here's a novel concept: Instead of punishing people who buy into these formats, reward them. I wanted to get Ratatouille and Cars on Blu-ray, but not at double the price of the DVDs. Second, include a version of the movie playable in regular DVD players. Why? The next time you pass a mega SUV, look inside and you'll probably see a bunch of kids watching a DVD on a flip-down LCD. Parents don't want to buy two copies of a movie, so until high-def is de facto in SUVs and in portable players, many people will hold out on switching over.

Many of these issues are just the byproduct of new-format growing pains, of course. But despite their quirks, both formats deliver the best images and sound currently possible, making them desirable in any home theater. Get yourself a player - or better yet a combo - and then sit back and enjoy. After all, that's what this crazy obsession of ours is all about!

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