DVD Player £23 (ASDA)
DVD Recorder £49 (Internet purchase)
Blue Ray Player anything from £179 to £795 (Google search)
For the moment no contest IMHO.
For the future I think I shall wait until the next generation of technology is settled in and leave the current problems to those who like beta-tasting.
One LAST thought ~ are the Blue Ray Films you are watching and programmes you are recording through your PC any different to those I already have on Video and DVD? I accept that they may look and even sound better but are they not still the same old crap that is on TV night after night? What I am asking is are you watching a remake of "Von Ryan's Express" (for example) or the same old cliche ridden bollox that bears no resemblance to reality?
You'll remember that VHS players were dirt cheap when DVD came out... same thing. It may have been 'no contest' to buy a VHS player for £50 when DVD players were £179 but with hindsight it would have been money wasted.
BTW I bought my Sony player for £142 just before Xmas and it came with a number of free films.
As I mentioned earlier, it isn't 'beta testing' the HD format war is over and Blu-Ray is the clear winner.
I suspect you don't have WALL-E on video and DVD, nor Hancock, Mama Mia, etc.
All the new releases will be on Blu Ray and the back catalogue of old movies is already huge. I bought Zulu for instance as the effect in HD is supposedly staggeringly good.