"I just knew they were going to sell out, and I wanted to be one of the first to get one just because of the picture quality and how much better it is," said the 34-year-old Salt Lake City project manager.

A new era in video technology debuted in stores on April 18, and true to Crawford's instinct, the HD-DVD unit from Toshiba sold out within a couple of days - despite its $500 price tag.

High-definition DVDs look like the standard DVDs that film buffs rent at the neighborhood video store but they display a much better picture - six times the definition, detail and visual information of a regular disc.

That's because the new discs hold a lot more digital data - the difference between about 9 gigabytes on a regular DVD versus up to 50 GBs on a high-definition disc.

That means a sharper picture, more detailed scenes and a film-like quality that looks better on a TV screen than on many movie theater screens. Imagine brighter, more sparkling stars in "Apollo 13," a clearer outline of every puffy, purpled bruise on Hilary Swank's face in "Million Dollar Baby" and deeper reds in the silk costumes of "The Last Samurai."

"I love it. It looks amazing," Crawford said about the new format. "It's better than DVD or anything you can get."

But the road to widespread acceptance probably will be bumpy.

First, high-definition disc technology is embroiled in a format war that probably will create more confusion for TV viewers. The HD face-off is similar to the VHS vs. Beta war that erupted in the early 1980s, at the beginning of the age of videotape.

Toshiba and the HD-DVD format occupy one HD camp. In the other is Sony and Blu-ray Disc (BD). Neither format is compatible with the other, although both will play standard DVDs and music CDs.

HD-DVD, the first format to reach consumers, has a smaller capacity disc than Blu-ray and is backed by only three major movie studios and a handful of smaller ones. But its player is half the price of Blu-ray's, in part because of the different costs of parts and manufacturing.

BD, which will debut its first player on June 25 from Samsung for $1,000, is backed by seven major and some smaller studios.

To widen the gap between the two formats even more, Microsoft supports HD-DVD, while Apple supports Blu-ray. The Xbox360 video game console will use an HD-DVD add-on drive, while upcoming rival PlayStation 3 will have a built-in Blu-ray drive for games and movies.

Second, many HDTV owners are still confused about what makes a high-definition picture.

Approximately 19 percent of U.S. homes have HDTV, and that number could grow to as much as 30 percent by early next year, according the Consumer Electronics Association, or CEA. But a survey by Scientific Atlanta found nearly a quarter of HDTV owners mistakenly thought they were watching high-definition programming even when they weren't because they lacked the equipment needed to get an HD signal.

Both sides in the high-definition DVD war have made overtures to settle the dispute, but to no avail. Even after the spectacular success of the standard DVD format over the past eight years, consumer electronics companies apparently have not learned that embracing a single format would mean more success for high-definition DVDs.

"Even though we did look like knuckleheads with this two-format war, we really did try to work with everyone and have everyone in the same camp," said Andy Parsons, senior vice president at Pioneer Electronics in Long Beach, who works with the Blu-ray Disc Association.

The ongoing battle means consumers will be lured with technical specifications and lists of features that each side claims is better than the other's.

But picture quality probably will be the same because each format has similar video specifications. (To get the best possible video from high-definition discs, both sides say consumers need a good high-definition television with a screen measuring more 40 inches diagonally and with the best digital cable connection - known as HDMI.)

"Even if you already are familiar with what HD looks like with satellite and cable, be prepared to see a whole new level," said Mark Knox, adviser to the Toshiba HD-DVD promotion division.

The best advice from experts is to wait for the price of players to drop, which will happen by the end of the year. Along with pricing, early-bird consumers such as Crawford will decide which format ultimately wins.

The early days of standard DVD saw a similar struggle between that format and a disc player called Divx. DVD enthusiasts on the Web helped spread the word that DVD was better, leading to an early demise for Divx. The DVD player then became the fastest-selling consumer electronics device in history, according to the CEA.

Will high-definition DVDs usher in a similar era, especially with downloadable movies through the Internet becoming another competing option? Yes, says Blu-ray's Parsons.

"For the first time in 50 years, we're changing our television standard, and we're seeing video that is true high definition. Now we're going to give you something worth watching on your high-definition set."