HD DVD Players For Under $200? (Wal-Mart employee posts evidence of $199 player for the holidays)

tvpredictions.com ^ | October 18, 2007 | Phillip Swann

[Las Vegas Dave]

Washington, D.C. (October 18, 2007) -- An HD DVD player could be available for the new low price of $199 this holiday season.

Internet message boards are buzzing with the possibility after a Wal-Mart employee posted an upcoming store notice about a $199 Toshiba HD DVD player.

The price has not been confirmed by Wal-Mart or Toshiba, but the drop would not be surprising. Toshiba's entry-level player is now $299, but industry analysts have forecast that a sub-$200 player is likely for the holidays.

Additionally, Blu-ray manufacturers are expected to lower the price on its players. Sony's Blu-ray player is now the lowest with a suggested retail price of $499.

However, Sony announced today that it will launch a new Play Station 3 for $399 on November 2. The PS3 has a Blu-ray player inside.

Lower prices for both Blu-ray and HD DVD are expected as supporters of the two high-def disc formats battle it out during the holiday season.

[word_warrior_bob]

Much better off avoiding the XBOX 360 Add-On and getting a Toshiba stand alone HD-DVD player.

If you have a 1080i TV get the A2, if you have a 1080p TV get the A20, those are for the budget consciuous. If money is no object you can get the XA2 or the A35 for around 500.

The PS3 is a great blu-ray player and is now down to 400 as well. Don’t forget to get HDMI cables, NOT MONSTER!!!!!!!!” You can go to monoprice or bluejean cables and get “Monster Quality” for less than 10 dollars instead of 100 or 125.

[VOA]

bump

[JNL]

And when I get Guitar Hero III with my wireless controller I’ll be a HD Transformer watching / Halo 3 playin / Wireless Guitar God

I think my son is embarrassed of me.

Then again my wife hated video games / big screen TV’s and all that crap and then along came Guitar Hero. Life has been good since then. She’s an addict.

[LibLieSlayer]

Toshiba does not know yet if the newly approved 51gb triple layer discs will play in any or all of the players they and others have made to date. Why does this matter. BluRay has beautiful movies on 50gb disc today... they hold uncompressed 5.1 or 7.1 audio... many extras... games... interviews etc. I also offers multi language and alternate scenes, endings etc.

Paramount’s recently released movie Transformers was issued on a 30gb disc (HD DVD's largest)... and according to a Paramount rep quoted on AVS Forum, the reason that no Dolby True HD (Dolby Labs lossless compression technology that unzips and becomes uncompressed... same as PCM), was that 30gb was not enough room to hold all of the extras and lossless HD audio.

Since the 51gb disc is going to have to become reality for HD DVD to have a chance at winning the war... it is a real possibility that most if not all of the HD DVD players sold to date “could” have compatibility problems. There have been no compatibility tests to date... but at least one Toshiba employee stated that the lens itself may have to be changed and firmware updates may not be enough. Informed buyers should at least know about this concern. Also no matter what size the discs are... BluRay has a peak bitrate of 49mbs... and HD DVD is limited to 30mbs.

LLS

[mass55th]

Well, whatever. It plays the HD DVD’s and he’s satisfied.

[word_warrior_bob]

Since the two formats are still fighting it out for market share, I wonder if it would be wise to buy one right now?

__

No one is going to win the “war” anytime soon that much is guaranteed, they’ve both released about the same amount of films, both have exclusives with about the same amount of studios, etc.

You’re totally safe getting either or both format, if you’re going budget go HD-DVD, but DEFINITELY join in.

If you think the picture on your HDTV is great on sport and movie channels wait until you see the BEST or what HD-DVD and blu-ray have to offer.

If you don’t have HD-DVD and/or blu-ray and you have a HDTV, you’re not really seeing what your HDTV is capable of doing. It’s like having a big canvas and not letting an artist paint on it. Disclaimer: Your TV needs to be 50 inches or bigger to REALLY see the upgrade.

[word_warrior_bob]

I did quite a bit of homework on this. I finally decided on the Blu Ray.. far more titles.. better picture, in my opinion.

my understanding is that 80% of the purchases in this war are now Blu-Ray..it appears Sony is winning this one.

—

The only thing POSSIBLY accurate in your statement is you did quite a bit of homework. EVERYTHING else you say is demonstrably wrong. I have both formats,what you’re saying sounds like it came from some 16 year old website with a PS3. Not even the biggest Blu fans will claim “better picture”, it’s absurd.

[tyke]

Are you sure you weren’t seeing a Blu-ray vs regular DVD demo disk — these are in stores everywhere. I have never seen, or even heard of a Blu-ray vs HD-DVD demo like that, and I doubt that any of the box stores have them, since they most are selling both types.

There is not that big a difference between the two high definition formats, and even if you could spot it, it’s certainly not as dramatic as you claim. When you show two screens side-by-side very few, if any, can tell the difference, and both are a dramatic improvement over regular DVDs.

[DesertSapper]

Actually, the Xbox 360 addon HD-DVD drive doesn’t require the 360 to use. You can play it through a PC.

[word_warrior_bob]

BluRay has a peak bitrate of 49mbs... and HD DVD is limited to 30mbs.

__

Which means......ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, go to AVS Forum and see the “bitrate nonsense” thread.

Neither format is going anywhere, they are both capable of breathtaking video and audio. This cheerleading for faceless corporations by individuals all over the internet is mind-boggling.

NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE SAYS, NO ONE’S DOOM IN THE FORMAT WAR IS IMMINENT, ENJOY HD-DVD AND BLU-RAY AND IGNORE FORMAT CHEERLEADERS.

[Mr. Jeeves]

If you can find a big screen with a wand dividing the HD DVD from the Blu-ray side which moves back and forth as the film plays, the difference is dramatic. I don't mean dramatic like you can see with a magnifying glass, I mean dramatic like the difference between a dot matrix and an ink jet printer.

Full 1080p Blu-ray DVDs on the right screen are stupefyingly good. But Betamax was better looking than VHS. I went for Blu-ray, myself, but we'll have to see if the American public is willing to pay more for quality - historically, they haven't been.

[MrLee]

I want to know if the Toshiba HD-DVD player for under $200 plays SACDs and DVD-A discs?

[gondramB]

>>That is definitely the one I would buy.

If you own an xbox. ??<<

I do own an Xbox360 but I have a home theater - I watch all my movies off hard drive on a big screen TV. For that you need to be able to get the movies onto a hard drive and the XBox 360 HDDVD will do that since it works just as well with a PC.

[word_warrior_bob]

What an absolute lie, there is no dramatic difference in the formats, Apacalypto on blu-ray is mind blowing and King Kong on HD-DVD is equally mind blowing.

Why is it that most of these elaborate lies and tall tales come from blu-ray owners or supporters???

Buy both formats, they’re both great.

If you’re new to HDTV, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray you can go to the AVS forum and find out tons of info on buying a new TV, surround system and what movies are worth getting, etc.

But it anyone tells you EITHER side is “much better”, “better picture”, etc. rest assured they have NO IDEA WHAT THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT.

[word_warrior_bob]

I want to know if the Toshiba HD-DVD player for under $200 plays SACDs and DVD-A discs?

---

Get the model number, (likely HD-A2) and go to AVS forum and do a search there, you’ll find an owners thread and the answers, etc.

[Melas]

Well, whatever. It plays the HD DVD’s and he’s satisfied.

I'm sure he is. There is nothing wrong with it, it's just useless to anyone who doesn't already own a 360.

[Melas]

Actually, the Xbox 360 addon HD-DVD drive doesn’t require the 360 to use. You can play it through a PC.

Same thing.

[Melas]

Maybe I’m late to the party, but does this thing ship with drivers and HD viewing software? Neither newegg nor Microsoft states that this works with PC’s or Mac’s. A quick search yeilded such titles as “How to hack your 360-HD-DVD player to work with your PC.” That’s not what I’d call compatible if you have to hack it to work.

[lowbridge]

An HD DVD player could be available for the new low price of $199 this holiday season.

I can see little old ladies getting trampled at the Wal-Mart come christmas shopping season.

[gondramB]

>>Maybe I’m late to the party, but does this thing ship with drivers and HD viewing software? Neither newegg nor Microsoft states that this works with PC’s or Mac’s. A quick search yeilded such titles as “How to hack your 360-HD-DVD player to work with your PC.” That’s not what I’d call compatible if you have to hack it to work.<<

Hmmm for somebody that doesn’t already deal with DVD ripping and hacking it may be a bit overwhelming because it involves a driver that Microsoft does not provide and a third party app for playing and/or ripping.

It also needs a pretty powerful home theater PC.

For my purposes, storing all my movies on hard drive it will take an HD DVD ripping program like AnyDVD. there aqre choices for software to play the DVDs if you don;t want to rip them (ripping means taking the movie off DVD and onto a hard drive.)

This is the best thread I’ve found that explains whats involved (except AnyDVD which is not allowed to be discussed there)

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748426&page=1&pp=30