They could sell them for 50 bucks unless you have a hi-def tv you get no benefit and the fact there are 2 formats so if you buy either, you only get half the selection of movies.

If dual players were 100 bucks maybe hi-def would sell, but as prices of players drop, the price of movies have gone up.

Where did this info can from?

With the five free movie deal, that is a free player. If the format dies, I can still watch DVD on the damn thing. I am going to see if I can pickup one at lunch time. Hopefully people wont know what they are buying and just get a cheap-o $50 DVD player.

Well, I just made up my mind.

Curiously the walmart site shows no HD-DVD players, only Blu-Ray

You can see it at: http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/...tm_source=
Walmartcom&utm_medium=POV1&utm_content=secret1&utm_campaign=holiday&
povid=cat14503-env15844-module117144-lLink1

Hope it helps.

Just goto their website and you'll see all the proof you need.

And yes, I am thinking very hard about showing up at 8 am tomorrow to get a few for Christmas presents.

I agree. I thought about buying another XBOX HD-DVD player just to get the 5 free movies plus Heroes HD-DVD at Blockbuster last week. I guess I could have eBay'ed it or returned it to Walmart/Target. But this one I will buy. Hell, the last "regular" DVD player I bought was $80. This would be a good Christmas gift, too.

This is a key turning point in the history of HDTV that would benefit HD-DVD,the end of BD is near.

That's about the same price as what I played for my HDMI upscaling DVD player. At that price, it is enough to convince me to finally buy an HD player.

The barrier to entry is the price. Once volume goes up, the price will come down. I remember when VHS tapes cost 89.95. Then Top Gun added a Pepsi Commercial and sold for 24.95. Volume went up and proved that you could sell a lot more movies at 24.95 and make more money doing it. Soon every movie, not just those with commercials, went for 24.95 or less.

You can't increase the volume of BDs or HD-DVDs sold without the player being out there. HD-DVD will get a big push from this. Sony should be meeting right now to figure out how they will counter (PS3 just ain't gonna cut it). No one cares about the technology, if they did, Betamax would have won the tape battle. It's all about economics and availability.

...a last ditch effort from the HD-DVD camp. Especially after reading this: http://www.next-gen.biz/index....mitstart=1

Richard is right. Even if the format loses the war it's worth it for that price. Now, if we could only get Blockbuster to start carrying HD DVD. ::(

the movies are still way too expensive. Its to the point now where 3 movies costs as much as the player, thats rediculous. I have the 360 HD DVD player and rarely buy movies for it because they cost $30

Yea, it is true. Im gettin up early to be at WalMart for this one. I wasnt going to bother until the format war died, but this is to good an offer to pass up!

http://www.walmart.com/secret

Get added to their email list and get updated with more deals down the road!

This might be workth it for me just to use as an upscaling DVD player. I really don't want to put any money into buying HD-DVD movies though since my gut feeling is still that Blu-Ray will be the standard eventually. And as of right now there are very few if any movies on HD-DVD that I would want anyway. Isn't this player really big and clunky though? It might not fit well on my rack.

There isnt much problem here actually.

- Many people are hyped up when they see the term "HD", even for those who doesnt own an HD TV yet might get it since it's all-time low price for a supposedly expensive unit (even if they havent owned a 1080p tv yet)
- downscale is always better than up-conversion
- it's a bit too much to ask for hybrid-players to sell for $100 at THIS moment - hybrid players are nice but they also defeat the purpose of having 2 different competing formats
- Many branded upcovert DVD players are selling somewhat that price range already
- $98 is really a deal. It doesn't even hurt to own one!
- there are considerably more people owning HDTVs (might not be 1080p) since the price has come down alot to very affordable cost/size now.
- worst case if HD-DVD doesnt carry your movie title, just get a DVD version hahaha

Afterall, there isnt much of a problem. It's limited quantities and I'm sure there are more people willing to get a $98 HDDVD player than Walmart would supply.

People will use it as a cheap up-sampling DVD player. Theirs a big differences betwwen spending $100.00 on a cheap up-sampling DVD player and investing in a lot of expensive HD DVD. This won't nessaritly sell HD DVD movies as the people who will run to a sale like this aren't going to spend 30 to 50 dollars on a movie and noone rents HD DVD's.

but the link takes you to ri-walmart.com. whois for 2 domains are different.

Hell the A2 is a quality unit once you add the firmware update, I'm buying two of these and selling one on ebay for $150 as soon as this sale is over.

http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/?section=secret

exact price is $98.87

This is a great deal for this player, but unfortunately, the highest res it outputs is 1080i. However, if you're getting your electronics from Wal-Mart in the first place, I doubt that would be an issue. I'll pass on this since I already have a Bluray player but will get HDDVD eventually. Hopefully, the format war will shake out but doesn't seem likely anytime soon and this will hurt hi def disc adoption in general.

you can't beat $98's!! who freakin cares about the stupid format wars - this is chump change. I was holding out too - but I can't ignore this - HD-DVD here I come!

for only $98 you could easily have both formats supported, just spend another $100 on a blu-ray compatible player when one is cheaper, and youre good to go, for less than what a current combo player would cost most likely... the consumer wins, at least when things are this cheap anyhow. but, if someones willing to wait a few years to find out which format is going to come out on top without much competition again, more power to them... by then well probably have one format again, or maybe well still have a fiere competition between current formats and other formats, and things will be cheaper as always, but, thats also a few years from now too most likely. but, having 2 competing formats isnt an issue, if you own players that support both formats. and the way things are currently going pricewise, watching what movies you want with similar visual and audio qualities wont be an issue either.

Sure it doesnt output 1080p... but it does do 720p which is where the mass market is..ie where the money is.

It doesnt matter if blueray has slightly better technolgy if its out of the mass markets price range

I pay $19/month and rent HD-DVD and Blu-Ray (and regular DVD) movies from Blockbuster.com. You can keep them as long as you have an account, there's no late fees, rent 3 movies at a time, keep desired titles in a manageable queue, and you can return the discs to a BB store and use them as free movie (or discounted game) rental coupons in-store. You also get an e-coupon each month for a free movie or game rental. This is a steal if you rent 4 movies a month and especially if you have a family. I live on Long Island and my regional BB warehouse is in Queens, so the mailing turnaround is only 2 days.

...were upset by the fact that sony forced blu-ray on it's playstation customers. They raised the price of the console by around two hundred dollars, as a result. Most developers started doing xbox 360 projects to send a message to this greedy company: not on the backs of our clients.

Remember the HD-DVD hardware is very similar to standard DVD. You could make a combo player that is the same price as a BD player. There is no way you could make a BD player for $100 let alone a combo.

Low price players have always kept HD-DVD in the game. I think they would have won already if they had made combo HD-DVD/DVD discs manditory for the first few years.

Just another article from the studios already rooting for BD to suck up to Sony. PS3 isn't even the biggest gaming console out there (NES just whipped their butts) and Walmart is obviously on the HD-DVD bandwagon now.

Please let me know how many BD movies you buy for your PS3.

I was thinking that BD would win this war, eventually. But with Walmart not playing fair (they are at best breaking even on this one) HD-DVD has much more than a sporting chance.

A fire sale is just what HD DVD needs right now as the industry prepares the death blow to HD DVD this week end. I would bet far more PS3 will sell than A2's. As the A2 is not a substitute for the PS3, but the PS3 is a substitute for the A2 because of the built in Blu-ray player which has the added bonus of being better than HD DVD in the first place. With Warner Bothers about to announce they’re going Blu-ray exclusive and another huge Video renter (Rogers Video) going Blu-ray exclusive, the days are numbered for HD DUD.

I bet Toshiba never reports how many of these machines get returned. I'd recomend taking a look at the price of the movies before you jump. There's no doubt that a $59.99 Toshiba A2 HD DVD player is not far behind.

I wonder why they are doing this? Even if it is new technology taking hold it seems odd for the price to drop this far this fast unless there is some kind of urgency to sell as many as possible right away. My opinion is that there are just not enough HDTV owners to really get either format going right away now. By the time the average person has the TV to use these the BD players will be cheap too.

This is a great buy.

I wanted to inform those who didn't know. There are several programs that allow you to burn VC1 onto regular DVD.

Here is the secret though. The dual layered writable are down in price if you search you can get a single disk less than a $1 now. Samsung just announced 16X dual layer writers.

A high def movie can fit comfortably on 2 DL disk. So you can watch your movies and swap disk. Spending around 1.60 for high def copy.

It's a no brainer HD-DVD drive for computer and a couple of these players. Faster recording 16x, cheaper media.

The underground is alive and well... just as divx didn't die HD-DVD now has a cheap foothold and alternative.

Free HD DVD players for everyone. How is this format going to succeed if they can't even sell them for a profit? I feel sorry for all those people who paid $600.00 for one of these things just to see its value reduced to nothing in a few short weeks. I've seen people on the net trying to sell their HD DVD players for 3 to 4 hundred dollars. I wonder how they feel about this fire sale. The same goes for all the movies they bought. The value of their entire collection reduced to nothing.

The selection of HD DVDs are pretty bad at Blockbuster.com and getting worse. Why go through the worry, just buy a PS3 and forget about it.

PS3 will be selling at Wal-Mart this weekend too for $399. Wal-Mart appeared in a commercal for Blu-ray along with Traget on Monday during the World Series Baseball game.

You are full of it aren't you? I've read your postings many times at this site J, and your always bashing PS3 and Blu-ray and then last week you claimed to own a PS3. You are a complete liar and everbody should be wary of this Troll.

I don't know where you get your numbers but that's a really big market and that's why these companies are starting to push HD 1080p so hard. It represents Billions of dollars in HD sales and no one walks away from that kind of market. This is also the growing market which is far more valuablles than a shrinking one. Especially at a rate of 45 million new 1080p TV's to add to the 60 million set to sale for 2008. No matter how many HD DVD players sale, the industry will never ever support it.

Now they can finally get those useless old models off their shelves.

A "fire sale" to me. Either give them away or they'll wind up buried next to the ET cartridges.

That's not about to change. No matter what it's still an HD DVD player and not a Blu-ray Player. Anyone can lower the price including Sony, but Toshiba cannot turn and HD DVD player into a Blu-ray player.

walmart is trying to empty their inventory. whether a newer model needs space or they decided to dump HDDVD for Blueray.

I talked to my local Wal-Mart guy in electronics and he said they were only getting 12-15 units! Just another Wal-Mart "bait and switch".

It provides full 1080p. Go search the specs on google. Thats what I did.

BestBuy has the same HD-DVD player for $99 bucks today, so no waiting for tomorrow. They are sold out on-line but you can check to see if your local BestBuy has them in stock.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8021767&productCategoryId=abcat0102004&type=product&cmp= &lid=abn_sku_4_Blu-ray & HD DVD_SKU_8021767_TXT&id=1158323325814

Correction: It does 1080i not 1080p... But there is no differance unless your using your 1080p tv for gaming.

My BD count is at about 10, with 2 on order at Amazon.com, my game attachment rate is about 8.

Do not fool yourself, Walmart is making money on these, its the hddvd camp (toshiba to be exact) who are funding the low prices on their hardware.

Playstation 2 has over 100 mil. units sold, do not think there isnt brand loyalty there, and sony knows that enough of these people will migrate to PS3 given time, as I have.

you think blu-ray will win, but look at the leader behind the technology...sony. they pump up the tech for their formats and except for dvd, they havent had anything they backed make it to the mass market; betamax, minidisk and umd. yeah their were umd movies all over but then all of a sudden that well just kind of dried up. whats cheaper to make with the easiest to sell players will win.

Blu-Ray fired their salvo with the PS3. Walmart has just nullified it. And Walmart runs the world (faiap) so it is obvious who just won the format war. All that's left to be done is to count the bodies.

btw about the idea of waiting for a combo player. Sorry but it aint gonna happen. Low prices are driven by economies of scale. That is what allows BOTH a standalone DVD player and a standalone VCR to be cheaper than a single combo player.

Yeah this is one heck of a deal. I think I will grab one myself. Here's a question though for Sony. The PS3 cost 399-499. I am assuming that BD drive in it cost them about 200 bucks or less. If they can sell a PS3 for 399 now, shouldn't they be able to sell a BD player for $199? I mean do the math people. They are never going to sell a PS3 for every house. Or every 10-20-50 houses. BUT you put out a sub $200 BD player and you can make some money back off your technological boondogle called the PS3.. I'm sorry did I say that out loud.

It simple. Sony needs to really get in the consumer game this Christmas. They brought the price of the PS3 down now they need to get a DB player down to compete. But they won't, because they are Sony and they think that people are willing to pay for the name. Thats why Samsung, LG and so many others are kicking their kiesters in the Flat Screen market. Microsoft and Nintendo in the Game market.

Sony has forgotten who the consumer is. It not all rich kids who parents have open wallets. Their TV's cost 20-30% more than everyone elses and honestly, they don't look 20-30% better. 5 years ago if you told me a Samsung could compete with Sony I would have laughed so hard beer would have come out my nose. Now. Well lets just say take a look for yourself. Same thing is going on with HD and their game machines. They think their name will carry the day.

In the end even if they win the format wars... $98 bucks for a HD DVD player, hell I spend more on Starbucks in a month than that (sad but true).

Enlighten, does that mean there's no copy protection on HD DVD's? Is it leagal to copy HD DVD's? What do you think the studio's will think of your plan?

Take a better look or go to the Toshiba website.

At this rate consumers win by being able to buy both formats for a reasonable price, and let the studios keep stamping movies until a winner is crowned. Look at it this way. There is alot of motivation to make a good flick now, instead of the crap cash grabs that come out more often than not.

Anytime you have to convert a signal from one state to another or take it apart and put it back together again there’s going to be some loss of the original signal assuming it was done perfectly. De-interlacing must be done to display an interlaced picture on a progressive screen. All LCD and Plasma TVs are 100% progressive scan so an interlaced picture must be de-interlaced to be displayed on an LCD or plasma TV. By not having to first De-interlacing the picture when the signal is already a progressive signal, it eliminates a process of conversion which degrades the picture some what. One other factor in this equation is the fact that you’re assuming the de-interlacing is done perfectly and every new TV tested in 2006 and 2007 tested badly in the way they de-interlaced the picture. So if someone was to ask me if 1080i is better than 1080p I would say No, There is no exact way to reconstruct a progressive (full frame) image from two half-images (fields) simply because the fields each belong to a different time in the film (the scene might change slightly even between the fields). If you combine two successive fields together into one image, you will see the discrepancy. You have to do some fancy filtering to compensate for this. Anyway, the interlacing is used to reduce the bandwidth to approx. one half of what is needed for progressive content (if you consider the same field / frame rates). So in the process of de-interlacing, you reconstruct the full frames using only half the information available - and this has an impact on the output. You can't suck the missing picture information out of your thumb and neither the de-interlacing filter can.

The Trinitron TV, the VCR, the compact disc, DVD, Bata cam, and a whole host of other products sold today. Sony is without a doubt one of the most successful consumer electronics developers and manufactures in the world. I can't believe how truly ignorant nate is.

The origin of the term is due to the total chaos and insanity and stress on this day. THis is when the true christmas spirit of pushing, shoving, cursing and generally being a complete A-hole to your fellow man really begins in earnest. THe finiancial connotation is secondary, as it only affects some retailers, most are in the black well before then.

That said, this is REALLY testing my resolve to not shop at or support Wal Mart at all. Tho, then again, what do I need with an HD DVD player when my entire collection is standard DVD, and my TV is a CRT tube from 1999.

I don't think the savings will be worth wading through rude crowds of fat, unwashed white trash. I'll pass.

Are the HD DVD camp such losers that they don't even know when they've lost?

hardly ruling the world. PS3 will out sell that cheap peace of crap by a long shot.

The problem here is complicated. First thing is that Walmart probably doesn't have many HD-DVD players in stock to sell a real large number of them tomorrow. So t