About to lay down big bucks for a Blu-ray player? Here's some advice, think twice!

Though there have been recent signs to suggest Blu-ray will eventually reign supreme in the HD format war, this bit of sour news suddenly changes that, at least for the minute. Apparently there will soon be an improved specification change to the Blu-ray standard, which would be considered a GOOD thing only that it may be incompatible with todays Blu-ray players.

Details here.

The most common piece of advice given to those unsure about which high-definition optical format to buy is to simply wait until a victor emerges. Early adopters, however, should be aware that being cutting edge could come with a price, such as the risk of bugs or complete hardware and software obsolescence.

The Blu-ray Disc Association has mandated that all players of the format released after October 31 must adhere to a specific feature set that is currently not standard for today's hardware. All Blu-ray Disc players after the fall date must support BD Java, a programming language for Blu-ray Disc media used mainly to deliver picture-in-picture for in-movie commentary and special features.