If 50GB per disc doesn't seem much for backups, consider that the Blu-ray specs will allow you to push that capacity to 200GB, although we may not see that for a couple of years, DeMoulin says.

Without a doubt, professional moviemakers are Sony's main Blu-ray recording target, but could this intriguing device also fit the consumer market?

It just might: If you are considering making your own DVR box, the BWU-100A could be used to permanently store HD and other movies. Expensive, yes, but so is everything else labeled HD that you can buy for your home (or office) theater.

I can't help asking DeMoulin's opinion on HD-DVD, a rival technology to Blu-ray. "That format has a capacity limited to 15GB for single-layer [media] and 30GB for double-layer, but unfortunately there is no recording ability today -- it's just playback," he says, adding that a recordable HD-DVD device will probably emerge in the future.

For a point-to-point comparison of the two technologies, scroll down to the end of this FAQ (http://www.blu-ray.com/faq). I have a penchant for Blu-ray, but if both technologies remain, it's no big deal in my view. I like variety, and optical storage has plenty of it.