If you've got 1080p capability in your display or HDTV, want a standalone player, and can use HDMI 1.3 connections to get from your player to your display (with or without an intermediary AV receiver), you'll get the highest definition and the best results from the Toshiba HD-XA2. Quite naturally, that's the most expensive option in our lineup. If you're willing to accept the risks outlined in our Sidebar "HDMI, HDCP, plus Potential Gotchas and Temporary Workarounds" but still want to go for 1080p, the Toshiba HD-A20 offers a reasonable compromise on price without giving away too many decodes and handling capabilities.

If you're OK with 1080i or 720p output, on the other hand, and you want a standalone player, you can shop around for any of the other models we cover in detail in the preceding mini-reviews (namely, the Toshiba HD-A1, HD-A2, HD-XA1, HD-XA2, and even the HD-D1 or the RCA HDV5000 for that matter) and pick whichever one offers you the best bang for your bucks, with a feature set you can live with (as we write this guide that's the Toshiba HD-A2).

If you've got a Media Center PC and are already routing video to an HDTV, the Microsoft Xbox HD-DVD player is a relative steal. It offers the cheapest way to add HD-DVD capability to a standalone PC with a widescreen high-resolution monitor, or a Media Center PC with an HDTV hookup of some kind. Here again, you're subject to the risks covered in the Sidebar, but with the real risk not likely to rear itself before 2011 or so, four years is a long lifetime for a DVD player nowadays, even a high-definition model.

Those looking to upgrade an existing PC or build a new one with an internal HD-DVD drive can't scratch that itch right now. They're simply not available to do-it-yourselfers or hobbyists at this time. The Buffalo Technology HDV-ROM2.4 FB drive looks the most likely to find its way into individual buyer's hands in North America, because it targets that audience (among others) in Japan right now. But when contacted about their plans to offer this unit at retail in the US market, Buffalo's comment was that "there are no plans to release this product in the US at this time." We can only hope they'll change their minds and start shipping units here soon. Otherwise, we'll have to wait for one or more of the NEC and Toshiba internal drives to start showing up on the grey market, as they may very well do in the next 12-18 months.

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