With all the deals going on right now with HDTV’s and Blu-ray players, it’s important that you know what you want before you go in to buy one. I know this may come as a shock to you, but the pimple-faced kids at Best Buy and Circuit City may not be your best choices for electronics advice. I would take the time to read up on the latest technology and do some research before you head out to the stores this Holiday season.

Have a question about DVD’s, Blu-rays or anything regarding home theaters? Send in your questions to:dvddoctor@joblo.com

Last Christmas my family got an HD DVD Player, it came with 10 free HD DVD's. Then when the format died, we were able to return it to the store and replace it with a Blu-ray player. So now I have 10 HD DVD's and nothing to play them on. So I'm thinking about getting the HD DVD Player add-on for the Xbox 360 since it is the cheapest. I have an older Xbox 360 that doesn't have HDMI and a 1080i HDTV, so i really only need a player that goes up to 1080i. So my question is, how high does the component HD cables that come with the Xbox 360 go up to? 720p? 1080i? 1080p? Is it worth it? Thanks – Canto

Component cables can actually handle 1080i signals, so you wouldn’t have to buy any new cables. The HD-DVD add-on can be had for pretty cheap these days, but whether or not it’s worth it is up to you. I think it depends on what movies you have. If you have movies that you think you’ll watch over and over, then maybe $25 for the add-on would be worth it. If you think you’ll watch them once or twice and then be done with them, I wouldn’t bother. Another thing to keep in mind is that the discs you have will only be good on that one player. So if they’re your favorite movies, you’ll probably be buying them again on Blu-ray anyway.

First off Let me start off by thanking you for such great section. Thanks to you I've been able to make a good selection when buying an H.D. T.V. and surround system. My question is regarding Blu-Ray laser lens cleaners. I went out and tried to buy one but was told that Sony nor any other manufacturer make this product. Was I misinformed? Does the Blu-Ray system not actually need a laser lens cleaner? And if it does can you tell me where I can find one? I ruined a brand new XBox by using a DVD lens cleaner on it, so I haven't even tried it on the Blu-Ray. Also I know that the Blu-Ray's manual says that it does support DVD-Rs, however my previous DVD player's manual said it did as well. After actually playing a DVD-R on it I played a regular DVD disc and the disc either skipped while playing or many times it wouldn't play anything at all. I don't want to ruin a brand new Blu-Ray system. Please help me! Thanks, John.

Thanks! I’m glad you were able to make an informed decision when buying your system. As for a lens cleaner, I’m afraid you don’t have many options at this point. You can check out the Maxell cleaner above, but it’s kind of pricey. Whatever you do, don’t use a DVD cleaner in your Blu-ray player. The lenses are very different and the cleaner could harm the more sensitive Blu-ray lens. I wouldn’t worry too much about the Blu-ray lens getting dirty this early on and I haven’t heard of anyone that has had problems with a dirty lens to this point. If you have dog hair or something like that in your player, an electronics-safe air cleaner will work in cleaning out dust and other particles.