Your next purchase of a DVD player or high end DVD laptop will probably be a vote cast between the Sony-backed Blu-ray format and the Toshiba- and NEC-owned HD DVD.

It runs on a familiar operating system that allows for basic functions like ring-tones and a phone book, and has GPRS network connectivity — nowhere near the breakneck speeds of 3G but adequate if you’ll use it primarily for voice communications.

It reads like a lot of other books you might have read on being a great filmmaker, explaining the terminology of an extreme close up versus a long shot and which boom mike is best for a particular set-up. But each section gives you a feel for what you’re in for doing so in the digital world, and they’re not tacked-on subchapters either, the text drilling right down into explaining the digital approach.