Q:I have a 34-inch HDTV and own more than 600 DVDs. I didn't want to get into Blu-ray just yet as I do not want a PlayStation 3, but unfortunately I need a new DVD player right now.

How much difference will I see between Blu-ray and upconverted DVD on my 34-inch set, and on a set 42 inches or bigger when I upgrade next year?

J. Louis
Mt. Lebanon

A: You won't see much difference on your 34-inch screen, but you will definitely hear the difference if you have a sound system. At 42 inches and up the difference in picture will blow you away. Recently there have been some positive developments on the Blu-ray front that may make you want to consider diving in now, even with the smaller TV.

For a long time the $399 PlayStation 3 (PS3) was the only Blu-ray player worth considering because comparably priced stand-alone players were slow, glitchy, unreliable and not nearly as capable. We are finally seeing stand-alone players that can be justified when compared with the PS3.

I recently tested the Philips BDP 7200, a new Profile 1.1 (picture in picture, aka "Bonus View") player and found it to be well worth recommending. It does not load discs as quickly as the PS3, taking one to two minutes to load depending on the disc. This is still much faster than older stand-alone players, which often take five minutes.

Once the disc is loaded, the BDP 7200 responds quickly, and the picture from Blu-ray Discs was impeccable. I tried more than 30 Blu-ray movies representing every studio and did not encounter a single problem.

A caveat on the BDP 7200: It does not internally support the advanced audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio, so you must send them via HDMI to a compatible receiver to get the best sound. The BDP 7200 also lacks the PS3's support for Blu-ray Profile 2.0 "BD-Live" online features. If the Web features are a must-have, get a PS3.

The Philips BDP 7200 lists for $399 but is selling for $348. When you take into account the PlayStation 3's $25 Blu-ray remote, the BDP 7200 comes in at a meaningful $76 less while possessing the slim, conventional form factor most prefer over a game system. I took lots of pictures of the BDP 7200 and put them on my blog Web site if you want to get a closer look. My hat is off to Philips for such an impressive performance with its new player. I'll be reporting on some other promising new players in future columns.

The second development regards the movie studios. Most studios have announced that all new releases will be available on both Blu-ray and DVD when launched. If you go with Blu-ray now instead of waiting, you can get movies in the best possible presentation sooner rather than later.

I for one would not accept a blockbuster such as "Iron Man" any other way, and lots of great old movies such as "Ben-Hur" and "Patton" will be coming to Blu-ray soon. The Blu-ray/DVD price difference for new releases is only about $5 at retail, and if you go to amazon.com you will save significantly, so the additional cost of the movies isn't a factor if you shop smart.