Ask Engadget HD: Which Blu-ray player should I pick up for the holidays?

See, we told you the Blu-ray faithful would be given a shot to voice their opinions, now didn't we? In celebration of Ask Engadget HD's return, we're doling out a special two-fer edition to get a couple of pennies from both camps, and if you casually passed on the HD DVD question earlier, hopefully this variant will be more your style.

Although standalone Blu-ray players have traditionally been more costly than their HD DVD counterparts, noticeable price cutting has finally commenced on a number of well-known units. Granted, there's all sorts of debate surrounding DVD upconversion performance, Profile 1.0 / 1.1 / 2.0 and how sexy a given player looks beside your HD DVR, but that's where you come in. Is paying top dollar really worth it to be on the bleeding edge? Or should you pick up an oldie-but-goodie and await a firmware upgrade? Oh, and let's not forget the fact that Sony's recently heralded PlayStation 3 isn't taking its movie playing duties lightly, either. Needless to say, the sheer number of choices here are mind-numbing, so why not chime in and help those struggling to decide which BD player to snap up before long lost siblings and oft forgotten cousins rush in?

Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.