Beyond that, Blu-ray and HD DVD are the two disc formats that can store high-definition content - traditional media such as DVDs don't offer enough storage space for it.

Without going into it, over the past couple of years there has been a small format war going on between the companies that are supporting Blu-ray (such as Sony) and the companies that are supporting HD DVD (such as Toshiba and Microsoft). Many consumers have been waiting to see which format comes out supreme in this war - after all, no one wants to invest in a piece of technology that could be redundant in a few years (as anyone who owned a Betamax player will tell you).

For now, it looks like Blu-ray is receiving the lion's share of industry support and so if you are looking to invest in a high-definition disc player, you are best off going with a Blu-ray player.

Of the several manufacturers that have released Blu-ray players to the Australian market, Panasonic came fairly late to the party. The DMP-BD30 is its entry-level model, though with a recommended retail price of $899 it's still no small investment.

The newly released BD30 is one of the first players to feature Blu-ray Profile 1.1, meaning that it is capable of several functions that earlier players running off the earlier standard may not be capable of, including picture-in-picture commentary and other interactive functions.

As you would expect, the playback quality with this player is far superior to anything you'll see with DVD, and is just as good as what you'll find with some more expensive Blu-ray players. Connectivity is also excellent, with outputs including HDMI, component, S-Video and composite.

Click here to find offers on Panasonic Blu-ray players near you.

By Caroline Warnes