re: Blu ray
There are 2 formats, Blue-ray and HD DVD. My son has an HD DVD and my brother has Blue-ray. The outputs are the same 1080p. The difference is that blue-ray can put more video on the disc, but HD DVD is generally cheaper. Which one you chose probably depends mostly on what movie you want to see. Some studios are exclusive to Blue-ray, and others to HD DVD. Some release their movies on both.