Toshiba HD DVD Player Tumbles to $100
Never mind all of that talk about a cheap HD DVD player from China (Venturer who? Exactly. Move along.). Today you can get a Toshiba HD DVD player virtually free.
In a one-day sale, Best Buy stores burned through their stock of second-generation Toshiba HD DVD player, the HD-A2, with a $100 firesale. According to Dealcatcher.com, Best Buy has sold out of these players. The third-generation replacement, the HD-A3, sells for $300. Makes me wonder what the backlash towards HD DVD will be when the price returns to something resembling normal. It also makes me wonder how many people will actually buy the HD DVD movies to go along with the hardware: That is something only time, and video sales numbers, will tell.
The Toshiba HD-A2 will also be selling for $100 at Wal-Mart's "Secret Sale" starting this Friday, according to Dealcatcher. Previous reports indicate that Wal-mart will have a sub-$200 HD DVD player as well.
That aggressive pricing is somewhat stunning considering that you can get five free movies by mail along with your HD DVD player purchase. And, that pricing is right in line with the pricing of an upconverting DVD player--which makes these deals a doubly good bargain (heck, no matter how the format war turns out, you still have an upconverting DVD player, for barely any premium). At $100, all of a sudden the paradigm changes: The buying mindset shifts from one of upgrading to a new format to getting support for the new format as a no-risk bonus.
Want to play play Cars or Ratatouille ? For that, you'll need a Blu-ray Disc player, since those titles are exclusive to rival format Blu-ray Disc.
Meanwhile, Blu-ray Disc players will continue to come with their own free movie incentive, too. Blu-ray Disc players will also drop in price heading into the holiday season, says Richard Doherty of the Envisioneering Group. But not nearly by as much as HD DVD: "Our research shows Blu-ray players will be at $348 for Black Friday," he adds. "And we think that you'll have no trouble finding a Blu-ray player for under $400."
If price alone were going to determine this format war, HD DVD clearly has the lead there (granted, we're talking about the loss-leader, lower-end 1080i HD DVD players to 1080p Blu-ray Disc players, but the point still stands). Under $400 for a Blu-ray player will be a terrific move considering the players cost more than double what they did a year ago. But $400 is still a long way from being a casual upgrade from buying an upconverting DVD player.
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Good job Toshiba !!
I'm sick of those Sony bloodsuckers ,why do you have to pay a lot of money just to presume having a Sony device at home or on the road if you can get good and similar quality for a better price ??
I own Toshiba products(HDTV and a HD DVD player) and they are awesome !!
Hardware prices are crucial and now HD DVD will finally take the lead in the industry that deserves !!
WAY TO GO TOSHIBA !!
I am the happy owner of several Toshiba products including 2 HD TVs. They all perform perfectly and have been bullet-proof. I have waited long enough...today I own a $100 Toshiba HD-A2(nearly free considering the five free HD-DVDs). Sorry Sony but you lost me...and that must be what they thought when another movie studio said good-bye and will be HD-DVD only...Yep, SORRY SONY!
um, WRONG. Toshiba products are junk. Witness their laptops. They are the biggest pieces of crapola out there. They've already had about 5 CA Lawsuits over the poor design of the MB's on these hunks of junk. As for their electronics? Low to mid-range. If you're gonna buy HD DVD, Bluray seems to be the way to go. Better quality and more titles. Software will dictate hardware. What good is a player if you have nothing to play in it? Better buying a dual player. The prices will come down. Honestly, I don't see the need to upgrade from my current Progessive Scan player until the prices come WAY down
I bought one! It almost felt like stealing. This is a killer deal. I have seen Toshiba laptops highly ranked on this site for years. This is my first Toshiba product, but this simple HD DVD player produces great sound and video. Did I mention it cost me $98.87? Don't forget the 5 free HD DVD movies. Call me a happy customer. Walmart had 12 when I arrived and 5 when left. I would call that a successful sale.
Blu Ray - The Next Betamax.
Evil empire like Sony should go down! Why do consumer need to pay more money for the same video quality? Larger capacity? That's 100% joke, why do you need a 2L bottole to contain 375ml soda? Stupid!
Evil empire like Sony should go down! Why do consumer need to pay more money for the same video quality? Larger capacity? That's 100% joke, why do you need a 2L bottole to contain 375ml soda? Stupid!
hd dvd 780p
BD 1080p
different quality
The local super Walmart in Santa Clarita, CA has not had any HD or BlueRay players at all.
Sanya1422
You don't know what your talking about. The HD-A2 in this article does 1080i. HD DVD does full 1080P. HD DVD video quality is equal to Blu-Ray on every level. Storage capacity isn't a problem for HD DVD either because each side of the disk can hold 4 hours of video. All HD DVD players have a standard core set of features including internet connectivity. HD DVD wins on price too.
About 2x what it's worth!
Just being honest people.
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
This comment is for Sanya1422 & the rest of you morons that think the average consumer care about tech numbers: THEY DON'T!
Perfect example of a less powerful gadget, that no retailer can keep on their shelves: The Wii. It is both LESS POWERFUL, & LESSER IN VISUAL CANDY than both the PS3 & XBOX 360, but IT HAS MADE PROFITS TEN-FOLD then both the PS3 & XBOX 360 combined. The PS3 is still on the accounting RED & THE X360 is barely making any profit, with the help of HALO 3.
Average Consumers understand the value of money, not the tech gravy inside the electronic box.
Oh yeah, HD-DVD is FULLY capable of handling 1080p (in their newer models). The consumers WILL BUY THE LESSER PRICED HD player.
Unless Blu Ray players match the HD-DVD's LOW retail price (which they won't due to Blu Ray's terribly high manufacturing cost) this holiday season... BLU RAY IS THE NEXT BETAMAX.
Blu-Ray has a pretty nice product. Unfortunately, HD DVD has a nice product too, for less cost. When comparing tech numbers you'll still get better value for your dollar with HD DVD, and that's with the high end side by side comparison. 3-pack of HD DVD writable media is $30, which is the same as Blu-Ray 1-pack. The cost to press a HD DVD is virtually the same (and uses nearly all of the same equipment) as a regular DVD. Blu-Ray requires a complete overhaul of equipment and components are all pricey.
People have been saying it's the number of movies available that will make the difference. Another falsehood. BetaMax beat market for VHS, but rental stores went with VHS because the cost was lower. Disney is with Blu-Ray and people say Blu-Ray is better quality and is funding most of the movie releases. Disney did the same thing with LaserDisc.
History repeats itself if you don't learn from it. I don't see Sony learning anything from it's past.