Hd Dvd
 

Simple question: can a HD DVD (the disc) be played in a regular DVD player? Obviously, the HD quality will be lost. But should anything at all show up?

No, you need a HD DVD player.

The regular DVD uses a different laser to read the data. HD DVD uses a 405 nm laser - as does Blu-ray which is a competing format to HD DVD for the high definition market.

Until they get it all sorted out, I am sticking with my $150 dvd recorder. I see some difference from HD to digital, but for most movies, it really doesn't seem to matter. The current situation reminds me of VHS vs. Beta almost twenty years ago.

Another no here. We tried one and no luck.