My HD DVD... Lives?

Like all HD DVD users, I've grudgingly admitted defeat (see my official surrender here) to BluRay.

But my HD DVD drive still works well, and I was wondering what to do with it and the 5 discs I managed to buy before the hammer fell.

And then it hit me: Combo discs!

You see, some of the studios use the same disc to distribute both DVD and HD DVD (each media type on a different side of a physical disc). Since HD DVD fell from grace, entire stocks of HD DVDs became heavily discounted - including those combo discs.

I just managed to score 3 or 4 of them from Amazon - and for less than what a regular DVD costs (so it's a bargain for DVD collectors as well). If ever my HD DVD drive dies - I'd still be able to view the movie on a regular DVD. Of my 8 HD DVDs, 6 are combos. And I intend to get some more (for $10-15 a pop - almost as much as it costs to watch the movie in a theater). The easiest way to get them is to search for the string "hd dvd combo" on Amazon, eBay etc.

Another thing I figured out, is that I can use my Xbox HD DVD drive with a PC. It connects through USB, and many guides exist over the net on where to get appropriate drivers (see this one for example).

All in all, I think I'll keep enjoying my drive and high definition movies for awhile longer - at least until BluRay drives prices drop below $100.