Retailers say it will take some time before buyers hit the 'play button' and rush to the shops.

This is despite news that the stand-off between the two competing formats - Blu-ray and HD DVD - appears to be coming to an end.

Blu-ray, backed by Sony, may have got the upper hand when late last week, Warner Brothers said it would release its movie discs only in regular DVD and Blu-ray formats from May.

Toshiba, Sony's rival, backs the HD DVD format.

The American movie studio's decision last week was seen by observers to be the 'decider'.

In the past year, the big Hollywood studios were evenly split in their support for either format, resulting in widespread consumer uncertainty and low take-up of these discs in major markets.

Many experts now expect Blu-ray to be the standard soon.

This is a replay of the war between the VHS and Betamax video recording formats of the 1980s. Then, Sony's Betamax lost out to JVC's VHS.

But video retailers and distributors here told The Straits Times consumers have not yet made up their minds.

Ms Jessie Ng, marketing manager of Berjaya HVN, which distributes HD DVDs here, said consumers are in a 'wait and see' mode.

Berjaya has not decided on its next move yet.

A spokesman for major retailer HMV said: 'We have not seen any immediate reaction from consumers.'

Besides Blu-ray discs, she said HMV would continue to stock HD DVDs if there is a demand.

Both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats have an edge over regular DVDs, with very much sharper images and clearer sound effects.

But some observers feel people will take time to accept the new technology. Many viewers are still happy with DVDs - and even the much older VCDs.

'If you go to a neighbourhood video shop, you'll find many people still buying VCDs,' said a video distributor executive.

Sales of regular DVDs outnumber those of Blu-ray and HD DVDs here by 20 to one. One reason: only about 100 titles have been released on the new formats here compared to 1,000 in the United States.

Another reason is the cost of players, currently about $1,000, compared with $100 for a regular DVD player.

This is slowly changing, as cheaper models arrive. Toshiba, for example, is releasing a $599 HD DVD player later this month. Blu-ray, meanwhile, is already available on Sony's Playstation 3 game console, which sells for just $559.

Meanwhile, both tech-savvy and ordinary consumers will have to be won over by the new format.

Engineer Albert Yee, 32, who is sticking to his regular DVDs, said the war over formats is confusing consumers.

'I don't care about standards. I just want to be able to get and enjoy a movie that I pay for.'

siewtha@sph.com.sg