Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player: $100, this Friday, Wal-Mart

by Ryan Block, posted Nov 1st 2007 at 1:46AM

Still waiting to jump into the high def disc game? Or just wanted another weaker, cheaper player for the last-gen TV you phased out to your rumpus room? Well, whatever your reasons, some (not all!) Wal-Mart locations will be selling Toshiba HD-A2s for $100 -- down from $200 -- this Friday. Ridiculous, we know. Blu-ray gonna fight back? We hope so, we'd really like to get our hands on one for under $300, and not just by using our hookup that sells gear out of his trunk, you know?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Filed under: Blu-ray, Toshiba

Tags: deal, hd-a2, wal-mart

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Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)

Neutral

JimC @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:56PM

Let�s have no illusions, this is purely an attempt by Toshiba to push more HD-DVD units not for sales of hardware but of titles. Because it is title sales that are going to make or break HD-DVD. Why are $100 HD-DVD players out this week? Because Warner is watching and this week is seeing the release of Spiderman 3 and the Spiderman Trilogy on Bluray. Since this is about sales of titles and since Transformers still didn�t capture the week for HD-DVD, Toshiba is hoping that by pushing their players at such a price, it will at the same time sell some titles to offset a strong Spiderman Bluray week at a time when Warner is ready to go exclusive for someone. Warner isn�t looking at sales of players, if it they were, then Bluray would have already won their hand, remember, Bluray not only has the PS3 base and stand alone players but also home media computer market with Dell, the #1 home computer retailer is pushing Bluray with their latest machines (along with Alienware which Dell now owns), same with Apple, both are platforms for HD media (rather than buying a standalone player). I wonder how many Dell computers will sell this week with Bluray drives as compared to the $98 HD-DVD machines? Hardware is not the issue, it is the software and it will be the software that will determine the winner. Just like my company, hardware purchases are considered just the platform to sell software. So if Toshiba can make a dent in the titles sold this week and stem the lead of Bluray titles sold, then their strategy may work. If however, when the numbers come out next week and Bluray still leads HD-DVD in titles sold, then all the $98 players will not make a difference, unless they can sustain that price and keep shelves stocked. Again, this is NOT about selling machines but about boosting title sales, pure and simple. Sony and other could employ this same strategy and they probably should but I�m guessing they will wait for the numbers to come in on titles sold before they react with slashing prices�.

Another thing to consider, New Line, which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros, no doubt is pondering which format to put the Lord of the Rings on. Here�s a question, how many HD-DVD discs do you think a movie like LotR: Return of the King extended edition (4 hours 18mins) would take at 30Gb limitation and how many discs would it take at 50Gb limitation (not considering the yet to be used 51gb HD-DVD or 100Gb BD)? At full lossless quality (I�m sure Peter Jackson wouldn�t settle for anything less). My point is to those who say the capacity of the media doesn�t matter, think again�.

Neutral

AmigaHeretic @ Nov 2nd 2007 5:33PM

I was on IRC last night when someone told me about this $98 WalMart deal.

I do not have an HD tv set and do not have plans to get one anytime real soon. Blueray VS. HD I figured I'd just wait it out and by the time I got an HD tv it would be more clear who the "winner" was.

Well, I went to WalMart at 8:15am (sale started at 8am) and they still had about 8 players left with several people coming in right behind me to grab one.

So now I had HD DVD. We've just recently got a 20" tv in the bedroom and were looking to buy a DVD player for in there. So I just moved the fairly decent Sony DVD to the bedroom and hooked this thing up out in the living room.

Now I guess I'll start buying HD DVDs when I find good deals instead of DVDs. I had no intention going HD or BR, but hey with prices coming down like this it's too good to pass up. $98?? Come on, I think this is the nail in the coffin for BR. Oh and this thing is pretty slick to. Ethernet, USBs up front, HDMI, (I'm using component for 480i)

Neutral

Marco @ Nov 4th 2007 10:12PM

Does anyone know how many HD-A2 units were sold over the weekend ?

Neutral

ryan @ Nov 8th 2007 11:14AM

90k is the estimate. A3's were down in price with an incredible disc giveaway too so I'm sure that sold quite well as well.

Many blu supporters say this is a desperate act or a firesale. This is simply a last generation player, why should the public spend the same price on an old model vs a new one? Sure it's a great way to get a bunch of players out there but it is also cleaning out old stock.

Neutral

Video Master @ Nov 11th 2007 5:25PM

I'm amazed at the ignorance from these latest blogs. They keep claming that you can now get an HD -DVD player for $98 and that the format war is going to be won by HD-DVD because of this. In case you didn't know, each Walmart only recieved about 20 dvd players which were soldout in the first few hours. Most HD-DVD players are still in-between $300 and $400. Better than Blu-Ray but not by much. I don't support either side but I know that selling cheap players will build momentum for HD-DVD fans but the fact is, Blu Ray players have outsold Toshiba/HD-DVD players 3 to 2.

Neutral

MjW @ Dec 5th 2007 3:43AM

Oh man, that was the biggest microsoft fanboy fest I've ever seen..

Even at x360 forums they are cooler than that..

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