Q: Why should we invest in Blu-ray or any other DVD players? Isn't the next logical audio/video format going to be flash drive type devices?

A: Flash drive media costs much more than optical media, and it is likely to always be so. Right now a 50 GB Blu-ray disc can be pressed for less than $2.50. A 32 GB SDHC card costs almost $80 before you load content on it.

As I see it we are headed towards a multiformat world. For packaged media you will have Blu-ray as the high quality option, and DVD the budget option. Web streaming and downloads will be available for on-demand viewing. We are already seeing this with Blu-ray players that support streaming from Netflix and YouTube.

I am not a fan of the download model at all, at least as a "home video format." Anyone can buy a Blu-ray player; but broadband Internet is not universally available, and service providers may start imposing download limits. Internet streaming and downloads are not close to Blu-ray image or sound quality, and you could lose all your movies with a hard drive crash. There is little portability between devices, and you do not get the special features on this disc, either.

I think if Blu-ray and DVD go by the wayside and we move to a download model, it will be a very bad thing for consumers. Besides the quality drop, studios will have all the control, and you will never be able to truly own a copy of the movie again. If you value home entertainment and want to be able to have movies at home, it is important to support the industry by buying and renting titles.

Q: In your latest column you advised a writer to purchase a VCR with a digital tuner so that she can record a program and watch another one at the same time.

I am trying to get a VCR/DVD combo to do the job of playing and recording (time shifting) on an older TV as well as my new HDTV. Would the Toshiba DVR 660 or 670 work in both situations? When we had our HDTV installed the Comcast installer told us that we would need a DVR to record from the cable box.

A: If you can connect a TV directly to the cable from the wall and tune channels, the Toshiba VCR/DVD recorders will be able to tune and record those same channels. The recorders have three tuners (NTSC, ATSC, and QAM) which allow for tuning of analog or digital channels from over the air and cable, including "cable-in-the-clear" digital channels. If a channel such as HBO requires a cable box for viewing or you want to record in high definition, you need the cable company's DVR.

If time shifting is your goal, nothing really beats a DVR. Since you already have a cable box, I suggest you try it for a few months and pay the DVR fee. I think you will find it well worth it. You may even be able to connect the cable box to the recorder using the analog connections and transfer recordings to VHS tape or DVD for later viewing. This will work so long as the cable box's analog connections are active and not copy protected.