It's the battle for supremacy in the High-definition optical disc market. In the blue corner it's Sony's Blu-ray disc. In the opposite corner (although also in blue - using the same laser wavelength of 405 nanoeters) it's Toshiba's HD-DVD.

HD DVD looks set to become the Betamax of the 21st century. In North America four of the six largest film studios including Warner, Sony and Fox have put their weight behind Blu-ray. But for those of us in Europe it isn't that easy.

In Europe 75% of independent produces (including the BBC's 2Entertain, Pathé and Studio Canal) have put their support behind the - flagging - HD-DVD. Here in the UK European independent produces account for 30% of all disc sales.

At the end of last year Germany's largest market research institute Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung concluded that HD-DVD now accounts for 70% of high definition player sales in Europe. To complicate things further Blu-Ray claims it has 70% per cent of high definition disc sales.

The moral of the story is don't buy a High definition player just yet. Instead encourage half your friends to buy HD-DVD, and the other half Blu-Ray. You will then be in a position to try both without the financial implications of buying the wrong one.