Blu Skies AheadNow that Blu-ray's won the high-definition battle, is it time to buy?

Quick! Drop this magazine, run down to your neighborhood electronics retailer and buy a Blu-ray DVD player--or three! Ring up your friends and relatives and tell them to do the same. The quicker Blu-ray sales ramp up and manufacturers overbuild, the sooner foot-draggers like me will be able to get Blu-ray on the cheap.

If blog chatter is any measure, it's clear that you technophiles and movie buffs don't mind paying the premium that Blu-ray players will carry until that unknown date when supply begins outstripping demand. Web shopping engines report that player prices have actually drifted upward by about 30 percent (or 100 bucks) since February, when supporters of the competing HD-DVD standard unilaterally surrendered. But premium prices haven't dampened Blu-ray sales. After three years of vendor bickering, there's a huge pent-up demand from early adopters that has to be worked off before cheapskates like me even think about plunking down their plastic.