In recent months, the subject of DVDs has become highly popular among retailers and various media outlets.

News has spread across the nation that DVDs will be released in new formats as early as Christmas. For avid high-definition gurus, it would once again improve picture quality to each and every movie. But, like most original ideas, there are flaws delaying production of these DVDs.

Blu-ray Disc, known for their optical disc formatting, is one of the front-runners to produce the next wave of high-quality DVDs. HD DVD, a blue-laser formatting producer, also is in the running to try to replace current DVDs with better quality.

These two companies have been trying to strike a deal to produce one format, but negotiations stalled due to differences in technical standards. They’re in a debate over who has the disc that can hold more material and can be produced faster.

“It seems like this is just a stupid ploy to have individuals, such as myself, spend more money on DVDs that I already own,” said Christopher Hurtig, a junior operations and information management major. “High definition is not that important to me.”

The new DVDs, regardless of which format they’re in, would ideally revolutionize the movie-viewing industry. “DVD quality” is already a household saying, implying the picture is ultimately clear. Blu-ray discs or HD DVDs would top that, making televisions which support the HD technology nearly 100 percent clear.

Originally, major producers like 20th Century Fox made plans to wait out the DVD format war.

“We are trying to play both of them of against each other,” said Fox Entertainment President Peter Chernin in a press release.

Consumers may find most of this information less than trivial, but when movies are released in two different formats, both of which will require a different DVD player, it may get ugly.

“I would never buy two versions of a DVD,” said Larissa Hatch, a junior special education learning major. “It’s stupid and a waste of money.”

In the event Blu-ray disc and HD DVD do not come to terms, there is a great possibility consumers will waste money on technology that could become obsolete a short time after purchasing it.