Just a week after Toshiba announced when it would start selling its HD DVD players (March 26th, in case you forgot), the Blu-ray camp has stepped up to the plate with an official date for that format's big splash: May 23rd. Both Pioneer and Samsung are promising players, and Sony Pictures will have a whopping eight titles on Blu-ray Disc (BD) for the debut. So anyone dying to see Resident Evil: Apocalypse in stunning high-definition, mark your calendars now. Still, it's exciting to know that by the end of May, you'll be able to walk into any Circuit City or Best Buy and walk out with a machine that plays whichever high-definition disc you prefer. This might be a good time to review a few of the relevant differences between the two formats: (1) Blu-ray has more capacity, which gives studios more room for potential extras on discs and lets consumers record more HD shows on blanks (when recorders become available). (2) Most HD DVDs will be hybrid discs, with high-def material on one side and regular DVD on the other, while all reports say Blu-ray Discs will play only in BD players. (3) Blu-ray has more major-studio support. Although studios are free to release titles in both formats, I wouldn't expect any Sony titles on HD DVD anytime soon. — Peter Pachal