Wal-Mart Stocks Sub-$200 HD DVD Player

[teamerickson]

The little engine that could!

Link

 

[navychop]

Close out sale? Any particular feature this model lacks that higher end models include?

 

[CochiseGuy]

Close out sale?

Ha Ha! LMAO. No, the 3rd Gen A3 is being introduced to other retailers. This gives Wal-Mart a low price exclusive that BB & CC doesn't have to price match. I'd call it smart merchandising.

Any particular feature this model lacks that higher end models include?

Both the A2 & A3 have max 1080i output. You have to step up to an A30 if you need 1080p output. Also only HDMI & Digital Optical for multi-channel audio output. You have to step up to an A35 if you need multi-channel analog output.

 

[diogen]

We finally get a chance to test the often used statement that sub-$200 prices trigger widespread acceptance of a new technology.

If those prices last, that is...

Diogen.

 

[skottey]

Wow.. I'd almost buy a second HD-DVD for my other main HDTV for that price. I am waiting for blu-ray to hit under $300 and I'll buy one of them too.

Only downside to this, it means stepping foot into a Walmart, which is something I hate doing and only do once or twice a year if that.

 

[seminole2001]

1080i only (barf)

Good price point tho.

 

[JoeSp]

I see the bargin basement price has been hit. While the A2 is okay at this price point it would be interesting to see if Toshiba continues this product. Who will buy a 3rd generation machine for 2 to 3 times as much? This business model is looking more and more like a fire sale. The prices keep plummeting to keep sales numbers up. Heck, I am going to wait until Toshiba is selling the A30 for $200 -- the way Toshiba is going that should be about summer of next year!

 

[CochiseGuy]

I see the bargin basement price has been hit. While the A2 is okay at this price point it would be interesting to see if Toshiba continues this product. Who will buy a 3rd generation machine for 2 to 3 times as much? This business model is looking more and more like a fire sale. The prices keep plummeting to keep sales numbers up. Heck, I am going to wait until Toshiba is selling the A30 for $200 -- the way Toshiba is going that should be about summer of next year!

Seems like price drops are happening all over. I've had an A35 in my shopping cart at Amazon, eyeing upgrading my XA1. The price on the A35 dropped from $479 to only $408 today. Getting close to pulling the trigger on that sucka . . . . :

The A35 is 1080p, and can output TrueHD & DTS-HD MA out to the Onkyo (and other) receivers for decoding.

 

[ozzy1028]

sorry, didnt see ur post. i recently posted this exact thing

 

[diogen]

I see the bargin basement price has been hit.

You might be surprised come Xmas.
That mission is assigned to the Chinese players...

Diogen.

 

[diogen]

The price on the A35 dropped from $479 to only $408 today.

Top of the line player is priced the same as the bottom BD player: the upcoming 40GB PS3.
And the entry level is again half as much - $200.

You have to give it to Toshiba, if nothing else they are consistent from the beginning of this
"war" ($500 vs $1000 out of the gate).

Diogen.

 

[navychop]

Frankly, if a year or so from now I thought HD DVD was going to survive (doubtful to me at this point), I'd buy a 1080p model for 200 bucks or so. But not until survival appears likely to me. And I only have a 720 HDTV. But I'd future proof for the next HDTV, probably.

However, I bought a 3 way HDMI switch, not a 2 way. Same choice will be made when I buy a new AV receiver. Just to allow for the possibility of feeding my HDTV with a Dish HD DVR, a Blu-ray player and an HD DVD player. I guess Cochise's numbers comparing Q1-Q3 growth rates have my attention. I'll be watching Q4 (& January 2008) even more closely now.

 

[CochiseGuy]

Top of the line player is priced the same as the bottom BD player: the upcoming 40GB PS3.
And the entry level is again half as much - $200.

You have to give it to Toshiba, if nothing else they are consistent from the beginning of this
"war" ($500 vs $1000 out of the gate).

Diogen.

Yep, and I just pulled the trigger and ordered the A35 from Amazon this morning, $407.88 w/ free shipping. Also '300' and 'Bourne Identity' in the box, plus the 5 free discs rebate from Toshiba. I already own all those discs, but I can eBay them to lower the cost of the upgrade.

Guess now I'm really committed to this "dead" format.

 

[skottey]

Yep, and I just pulled the trigger and ordered the A35 from Amazon this morning, $407.88 w/ free shipping. Also '300' and 'Bourne Identity' in the box, plus the 5 free discs rebate from Toshiba. I already own all those discs, but I can eBay them to lower the cost of the upgrade.

Guess now I'm really committed to this "dead" format.

Yeah, "dead," I own like 30 HD-DVD movies. I'd own more but there isn't anything else I want yet. I love HD-DVD and think there is room for both formats. However, I am not willing to shell out $500 for blu-ray. When they drop below $300 I will buy a player. They are giving HD-DVD a lot of time to level the playing field and even get ahead while they screw around with high prices. I could buy a PS3 for $500, which I don't want, but if I ended up buying Bluray now I would, as opposed to just a Bluray player for the same price. I am an Xbox 360 guy and my wife is a wii/Xbox 360 gal. We don't need PS3.. but heck, why not if I were to shell out $500 anyway for Bluray. I can't help but think that Sony is keeping the prices so high to get more sales out of the failing PS3. If I bought one, it would be all but strictly a Bluray viewing machine. I might buy one game to try it out, but I never liked PSone or PS2.

Sony is either really smart or really stupid. Personally, I think Bluray is going to fail like Betamax. It is a shame, as I would like to have movies in both formats as time goes forward. The sooner they hit sub-$300, the sooner I will buy Blu-ray and start building a collection, much like my HD-DVD collection.

 

[vurbano]

I have both formats now and no matter which one wins the discs I have will still play, and that makes BD a safe buy no matter when it fails.

 

[roachxp]

Well add Amazon to the parade of $199.99 A2's.

Walmart
CircuitCity
Amazon.com
Sears

All Toshiba has to do is get BB and Costco in on the fun and Target will look red in the face, oh wait Target uses Amazon online for there stuff online so they also have the $199 A2's.

 

[jgantert]

Actually, Target has the HD-A2 for $299, and the Venturer HD DVD for $249. No $199 player there even though they have the cheapo player!

 

[mntwister]

You can have your 1080i player, spent money on my 1080p tv and have no interest in cheap Toshiba. Blu-ray all the way, 85% have lossless uncompressed soundtracks so far 31% of hd-dvd. Every Disney, Fox, MGM, Lionsgate, Starz, Anchor Bay and Sony/Columbia release has uncompressed sound, they are all blu-ray exclusive studios. Yet the exclusives for hd-dvd, Universal and Paramount, Universal offers 18% of releases in lossless and Paramount 2% (see formatwars.com, they are keeping track).

I am not interested in a rip off of dvd, Blu-ray is the brand new format, with 100gb discs coming first half of next year, it would take 2 discs for an entire season tv set, that's with extras and lossless sound. The future is blu-ray.

As for this low player price, what customer is going to buy a player that won't play Spiderman 1-2-3, Ratatouille, Die Hard 1-2-3-4, Independence Day, Close Encounters (Spielberg's only hd release), Simpsons movie, Cars, ect. I think mass market will only happen when one format wins, and so far it's blu-ray to the max. Let's see, the big hd-dvd titles coming by year's end? Chuck and Larry, Borne and Shrek 3, a few goodies but absolutely no match! They have won every week in disc sales all year, and even took the sales lead in the week when Paramount's Transformers came out, that was supposed to be hd-dvd's breakout title, oh well, at least Paramount got 150 million in bribes to go hd-dvd only, but they could have sold 300,000 Transformers on blu-ray, idiots! And now with the Playstation 3 coming Nov.2 at $399, millions more blu-ray homes. I know of 5 friends going Playstation 3 come Nov.2, $399 was their top-pay price and it's a reality now, and only 1 of them play games. Let's see, Toshiba's entry 1080p player $399 and Sony's Playstation, HD disc player AND game system $399.....heck of a buy from Sony!

I am not a bluboy....I am buying the Samsung 5000 combi player, so I can watch discs on both formats, but I know it will be a great blu-ray player (as were Samsung's previous players) when hd-dvd dies.

 

[dtanderson]

Looks like Sears may have the Toshiba HD-A3 for $169.95 during Black Friday

Sears BF sales

Scan/Image

 

[skottey]

I am not a bluboy....I am buying the Samsung 5000 combi player, so I can watch discs on both formats, but I know it will be a great blu-ray player (as were Samsung's previous players) when hd-dvd dies.

If it smells like a bluboy it usually is a bluboy. Buy the combo player all you want, you sound like you are preaching bluray to me.

HD-DVD isn't going to die. There is room for both formats.