Bentonville (AR) - The much-talked-about low-cost HD DVD player from Venturer Electronics is now available, though its $199 price tag is not as attractive as it was a couple months ago.

Earlier this fall, it was announced that Venturer would launch an inexpensive player, and at the time its rumored sub-$200 price put it below the MSRPs of all other standalone HD DVD devices.

The player, manufactured in China, is now available for $199.98 at select Wal-Mart stores throughout the country.  However, it now has a partner in the below $200 category.  Toshiba's entry-level HD-A2 player was effectively slashed to the same price earlier this month.  In fact, during special holiday sales events, the HD-A2 has gone for as low as $99 at certain retailers.

The Venturer SHD7000 has a maximum output resolution of 1080i, the same as Toshiba's A2, as well as an Ethernet port, which is a requirement for HD DVD players.  It has an HDMI output.

Wal-Mart's cheapest Blu-ray Disc player is the Sony BDP-S300, which it it selling for around $350, well below the $500 list price.

Still too high

Nov 29, 2007 11:58     

If HD-DVD is trying to win on price only, the sweet spots will have to fall between $99.99-$149.99. I am sure Wal-mart will start a fire sale, if the new player doesn't catch on fast enought. Stay tuned. I might get another el cheap player for my other 1080i TV.
Richard report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

HD-DVD price

Nov 29, 2007 12:42     

I don't know the 199 price mark isn't too bad, when you consider an upconvert dvd player will run ya 89-129 its been easy for me to push the A3 for 199. But if HD DVD is going to come back against BD they need to push the A20/30 for less than the 399 they currently are, maybe into the 249 range.
Warpious report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

No freebies?

Nov 29, 2007 13:01     

We are all spoiled now from all the freebies that were handed out with A2x/3x, Blu-Ray players and PS3. This player is $200, great -- but you get no movies with it. I already have a PS3 and a XBOX HD-DVD; I'm considering an A2/A3 just to get the free movies...ones I would have bought, anyway (Face/Off, Bourne Ultimatum 12/11, Blade Runner 12/18). I would either give the player as a gift, or keep it and the 7 other free movies.

J report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

$199 HDDVD=old news, $99-$149=worth talking about

Nov 29, 2007 13:06     

Don't know that I would buy this Chinese lead laiden piece of crap when I can by a Toshiba A3 for the same or less money... I'm sure this price will drop quickly. Warpious, the A20 is currently listed at 249 at circuity city and has been for about 3 weeks. Just an FYI, but they definitely need to drop the A30 to $299 until they sell out of A20's then, drop the A30 to $249...
jp report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

re: No freebies?

Nov 29, 2007 13:38     

The Venturer has 2 pack in movies. Who knows, Toshiba might include the Venturer in it next rebate.
Tony report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Wouldn't matter if they gave them away

Nov 29, 2007 14:27     

The whole HD market is at a standstill because of content and everyone knows it. And if I was going to buy one it wouldn't be from Venturer. I want a good quality player. Not some Chinese junk. Venturer sounds like the name of an SUV.
J Doe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Want me to buy an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player?

Nov 29, 2007 14:53     

Kill torrents. Set pricing on High Def DVD's realistically ($10). Then I'll buy your player for whatever price you want.
JohnDoe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Wake up Walmart

Nov 29, 2007 15:01     

Hey Dumbes. Blu-Ray is win.
Sal report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

It is a Toshiba, or at least shares same design

Nov 29, 2007 15:24     

Under the skin this *is* a Toshiba - or at least shares the same reference design. Don't be fooled or blindly prejudiced by the name. My Toshiba was made in China and it's not crap I assure you!
ezrider report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Chinese junk?! Everything is Chinese! Stupid

Nov 29, 2007 16:03     

Chinese junk?! Everything is Chinese! Stupid
HDVD report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: Wake up Walmart

Nov 29, 2007 16:11     

Hey Sal, Learn to speak English. No, Blue-Ray has not won. Far from it in fact. It will be at least a year or two before a winner starts to emerge if there even is one. Until we start to see HD movies come close to DVD's in sales, we can't say who will win. There's also a good chance that the war will end in a truce with the introduction of more dual-format players.
winkgood report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Chinese crap VS Japanese crap

Nov 29, 2007 18:24     

So, the bottom line is whether you prefer the Japanese crap or Chinese crap. Take your pick.
Jerry report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

The common folks don't know there is HD yet

Nov 29, 2007 19:50     

First, because most folks don't take note in the technology side of consumer electronics, most still don't know there is Blu-Ray or HD DVD yet. That's why we need to have a winner. Otherwise, most will be confused not because of 2 formats are raging wars but their difference against DVD. HD DVD is a confusing name as well. I think the consortium chose this name to make others think their DVD player can play HD DVD and get better video quality because of the HD ahead.

PoorPoorGuy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Re: Chinese or Japanese crap

Nov 30, 2007 02:59     

"Everything" is made in China or Malaysia (or somewhere near) in the end. It's mostly management and design that is taking place at companies' HQ. So before you start complaining, look where your Sony über-equipment was manufactured.
The Preacher report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

1080i ???

Nov 30, 2007 03:26     

The player has a max output of 1080i?? How about 1080p? I'm not in the HD market yet (although I've downloaded 720p movies) and I'm thinking of buying a monitor that supports full HD (1920x1080, not 1366x768 or 720p). I will probably also get a BR or HD-DVD player as well to take advantage of the res in the movies. What I want to ask is, when you buy or rent an HD movie in either format, does the player output the video in the highest rez you monitor can support? I mean, most cheap LCD's sold are only 720p compatible. If I put a movie in my system will I watch it in full 1080p? Are the movies on disk encoded in both rez or is it just an upscale from 720p? Thank you

blashyrkh report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Most folk are unaware of HD? Then the winner is..

Nov 30, 2007 08:06     

HD-DVD. Think about it. A lot of HD-DVD's come with a regular DVD side @ usually $5 less per compared to Blu-ray. So, for these people who either have no intention of buying an HD format player any time soon, they can spend the ~$5 more per DVD and get the HD-DVD version of some of their movies and have preparation for future upgrades, without having to re-buy a bunch of movies. Seems logical to me... Unless suddenly everybody likes being in-efficient with their money. But in another thought, This also may be a competing format forever. Much like the Wii vs Xbox360 vs PS3. Instead of sticking to one, many people have two or even all three of these systems.

NoDestiny report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Blu-ray is done

Nov 30, 2007 15:48     

At this rate blu-ray will be done b4 next XMAS. Theyre trying to backdoor their way into the market with the PS3. Thats not gonna work.
Ayalo report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Sony bait and switch...

Dec 01, 2007 12:41     

Blu-Ray is no better than any other Sony media product. Just like the PS3 where the newer models are now with less capability (PS2 compatibility chip removed!) the Blu-Ray will suffer similar problems. Buying a Blu-Ray today is a bad choice. Very bad. Try to find a movie for a PSP. I dare ya. They don't make them any more, that's why. HD-DVD has staying power, is better designed, and more capable than Blu-Ray ever was in the full picture of what it can do. I bet next Christmas (2008) there won't even been any Blu-Ray players on the market.

Narg report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Toshiba HD-A2 Walmart Sale!!!

Dec 02, 2007 10:07     

Anyone have any insider info on when the next sale will be?
Greg report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

budy get over it

Dec 02, 2007 20:13     

blu-ray has won not only in the US but in the UK to it has better high-def than hd dvd can think about and has better sound quality its out selling hd dvd by double.
Rob report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

highdef format was is over!!

Dec 05, 2007 18:18     

If you are lacking in intelligence so much that you actually believe this war is over you certainly have no business posting ANYTHING on a tech forum of any kind. Too much PS3 has warped your thinking. Until high-def DVD sales make up even 10% of all DVD sales this war hasn't even begun. All the Blu-Ray jockers are like the guy who gets a couple of knockdowns in the first round and thinks the fight is over. Sorry this is going to be an all out brawl and as long as there are major movie studios taking exclusive sides, just as the CEO of Sony said, this is a stalemate. I trust that the CEO of Sony has a little (not much) more wisdom regarding the situation than a few thousand PS3 addicts who are desperately hoping they didn't get bent over for $600.00

john d report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Discounts on DVD player at CouponAlbum

Dec 07, 2007 01:52     

I bought Philips 7" Portable DVD Player at $127.88 from "http://www.couponalbum.com/coupons/walmart.htm" store at "http://www.couponalbum.com".....!
Samuel report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

DRM, still my #1 reason not to buy

Dec 15, 2007 01:06     

I'm rather happy with my DVD collection. And pleased with how well it scales up. I'm also very pleased with the comparatively lower cost of it's discs. (Even though most recent movies are crap.) But more than anything else, I know that I can easily shift my DVD media for playback on other devices (iPod video, USB Flash Drive, PSP, etc...) without falling into sticky DRM situations. I WANT FAIR USE! No restrictions on which cables I use, no restrictions on how I stream video from one part of my house to the other, no restrictions on copying, no restrictions on Linux playback, and without any doubt I don't want to buy the loser of the HD format war - be it either Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. MPAA can suck it. I'm sticking with my $1 DVD rentals through RedBox and letting the village idiots throw their money away.

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