Grant's Appliances reportedly ditching HD DVD
We wouldn't call this one definite just yet, but according to "sources" cited by TGDaily, a Chicagoland retailer is shedding its purple skin in favor of Blu. Reportedly, it has "stopped ordering new HD DVD supply" entirely, and while it's said that existing inventory has been depleted, we reckon you may be able to score a real deal should you find a locale with one last HD-A3 just begging for an owner. 'Course, whether or not you should plunk down any coin whatsoever on HD DVD -- considering the state of things and all -- is another matter entirely.[Thanks, Dave]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:37PM
More and more people get educated and understand that Blu-ray is the way and that the HighDef feature cannot depend on Toshiba and its limited format... :)
Nice :)
Eddie @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:16PM
I'd rather limit my format than my consumer rights. I'd consider paying top dollar for an unfinished and DRM-crippled product pretty ignorant, myself.
chris ege @ Jan 22nd 2008 5:54PM
calling grant's a "major chicagoland retailer" is pretty generous.
wreckedchevy @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:09PM
if i was them i wouldn't carry either. with hd-dvd you got the backlash if the format dies with bluray you have the backlash of selling a player that is outdated from day one... either way not the best position for any retailer to be in
WordSlinger @ Jan 22nd 2008 9:00PM
Profile 2.0 discs won't make older Blu-Ray players obsolete. I have a 2.0 Blu-Ray movie, Saw IV, and it plays fine on my player, which is not a 2.0 player. The only thing it cannot access is the "Online Blog" Big deal.
JK @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:33PM
I don't really care either way but Grants is hardly a major Chicagoland retailer. Tell me when Abt stops carrying HD-DVD and I'll be impressed.
Seattle Yonkers @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:51PM
Took the words out of my mouth.
JP23 @ Jan 22nd 2008 8:04PM
I bought my 52" Sharp from Grants for $150 less than ABT would sell it to me
JP23 @ Jan 22nd 2008 8:07PM
damn add button.
To add on to what I was saying I went to both places and asked them for their best price ABT quoted $2900 and Grants $2750 the MSRP was $3299.
I asked ABT if they would beat it and they said no they wouldn't even match it. So they might not be a major player but they beat just about anyplace on price.
Godfa7h3r @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:33PM
This just in... Bob's Movie Shack located exclusively in a small city in Wyoming will be selling Bluray movies only. Alert the media and get EngadgetHD to post this non-relevant news to their front page!!
BEEP BEEP BEDEEP DEEP BEEP DEDEEP!!!
aplen22 @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:38PM
"This just in, Walmart is HD DVD hardware exclusive!" oh wait, i forgot, they do sell PS3s. Oops.
Just goes to show, no matter how you spin it, you can make it sound good.
Engadget, can we please drop this Pro-Blu infested BS and stop posting news that will not swing the format war in either way.
John B @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:55PM
It's in their blood. They can't help themselves.
kcmurphy88 @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:11PM
Any Format War post drives page views, and that's the name of the game.
regeya @ Jan 22nd 2008 11:46PM
Actually, at two local Walmart stores, I've noticed that they carry dedicated Blu players, and about double the titles wrt HD DVD.
Of course, that's double the crappy titles of HD DVD's crappy titles...and they don't really promote either in the stores...and you won't see either move really at all...but hey, Blu's WINNING, right?
Lamers. Wait until the American economy stabilizes a little, and the other major markets to similarly stabilize, then people will be more interested in things like high-def TV and less interested in things like whether or not they'll have a job and food to eat in a month. Then we'll talk format war again, probably around the time of next Christmas, and by then companies will have come up with low-chipcount machines on the cheap, and more than likely your precious Blu will win unless the HD DVD camp pulls a major (and I mean MAJOR one) out their collective butts. And all of us who want good-quality HD content on instant demand will be happy, just knowing that it'll finally take off.
Just chill out and wait, guys. It's still too early for anyone to declare victory or concede defeat...at this point, it can be winning the battle yet losing the war.
alienclays @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:12AM
@ kcmurphy88
yeah, i think they are tasked with at least one format war post a day to keep up the hits. it's starting to get obvious on slow news days.
at the same time, is there ANY pro hd-dvd news to report though? people rag on there being a pro-blu feeling instead of a more objective swing, but something like this is not entirely suprising or eventful. how are they biased when it seems like the vast public perception is that it's not a matter of 'if' anymore, but 'when' hd-dvd will finnaly roll over and die.
daschupa @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:41PM
I know I speak for a lot of fans when I say, who?
Jeff @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:01PM
Hey Engadget, how much of a kick back are you guys getting everytime somebody says how much they love blu, or go blu (which friggin apalls me since i'm a michigan fan), or anything else of the like?
EEL @ Jan 22nd 2008 10:33PM
@ Jeff
You do know they are owned by Time Warner, right?
Gus @ Jan 22nd 2008 11:28PM
Your right, thats why there are so many anti HD DVD stories here, this site is on the blu payroll, never mind the consumer choosing, this has all come down to graft and corruption.
John B @ Jan 23rd 2008 6:20AM
...except that the consumer hasn't chosen jack sh*t. The studios via exclusivity have forced their preferences upon the consumer. And once the consumer had the player type that a particular studio forced on them, the results were from that point on skewed towards that particular format.
So, knock it off with this BS that the consumers have chosen with respect to this format war. That's a complete and utter crock of sh*t.
alienclays @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:51AM
i guess that depends on your definition of choice,
your statement is true JB, exclusivity did play a big unfair part. content is king. there have been many a time i would stand at my local brick and mortor drooling at heros, or transformers and wishing i could have them on my ps3 HD media device, but it's not like sony put a gun to my head and made me buy a ps3, or prevented me from buying an HD-dvd, or combo player. i have the money. it was that i, like many other consumers, saw something inhearent to buying a reliable, 1080P24/30/60 hz, 7.1 uncompressed, media streaming, internet surfing, wireless, picture viewing, music storing, BD playing, hdmi 1.3, open, upgradeable, highly supported, high end device that for my money made made more sence at $600 (early 07) than anything else anyone in the competition had to offer or does (imo) to this very day. oh yeah, and it plays my favroite video games.
people talk about price a lot. yes that is very important, but what is also unsaid for is value. the consumer as a whole saw more value in buying a ps3 or BD player (even at it's higher price) for HDM and as a whole it consistantly outsold hd-dvd. if your definition of choice is all things being equal, than no, the choice was not clearly and evenly given on both sides. but even though the choice was not even, the consumer did make a coice, and i think we picked value over low price.
John B @ Jan 23rd 2008 1:50PM
But the only reason why it's a "value" to you is because you're a gamer. Let's face facts. You bought the PS3 to be a gaming console that just to happened to be a BD player -- and I have no issues with that at all! I want to make that clear. I'm a fellow gamer, so I feel for you on that front.
But you can't tell me that most people necessarily felt the "value" of buying BD. For you, yes, particularly if the PS3 is to be a gaming system as well as a BD player. However, it's VERY evident from a lot of posts on EngadgetHD that elitst snobbery came into play as well -- the whole feeling that buying a more expensive unit make you somehow better. That has nothing to do with value but rather with elitism.
Now, part of this whole thing is also HD DVD's fault. Whereas I got sick and tired of *constantly* seeing BD commercials on high-def TV channels, I saw nothing from the HD DVD group. Advertising? What advertising?
If you get value out of your PS3, great! That's fine. I have said multiple times that my HD-A2 is a great value, and I'm not going to be like those who can't see long-term that getting rid of their HD DVD hardware is pretty much a foolish move. Determining the "value" of an item also is only valid if you have all of the information to make an informed choice. I don't think the majority of people who bought into either format were given that. (Obviously, I'm not counting us. We're at EngadgetHD *because* we're more informed than most.)
Regardless, this war was not played on the level playing field that Warner and BD supports continually and inaccurately claim that it was. The consumers in general didn't choose anything. I take that back. They chose to stick with regular DVD.
Chris Frost @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:03PM
Are you kidding me? Grant's a major retailer - LOL! Might as well post that Bob's Truck Stop now has HD DVD players installed in their kitchen. It's just about as relevent.
CharlieX @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:18PM
Let's start a pool. I'll put $50 in cash down that in 6 months from now HD-DVD has breathed its death rattle. We'll need to establish a fair indicator that shows market dominance and sales, but I have little faith that HD-DVD will survive.
Remember Beta was a superior format too
Tye @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:49PM
I'll add 50 to that one.
Hey Eddie... why don't you give it a rest, man?? You're embarassing yourself and I I honestly am not trying to be mean when I say that. I read on another topic that you actually believe Paramount and Universal are going to stay Red...? Are you serious?? You should disappear from these forums or admit defeat now before you look even worse.
WebDev511 @ Jan 22nd 2008 10:22PM
Wow you mean every HD DVD player and HD DVD will cease functioning in 6 months? Not even up-convert anymore? Oh, that's not what you meant?
Well since that's the case I'll just continue to enjoy my collection. You won't believe how good Band of Brothers looks on HD DVD. Oh that's right, the blu-ray release date for that is still pending.
CharlieX @ Jan 22nd 2008 11:09PM
WebDev... are you drunk? Of course your HD-DVD player will still work. I'm betting in 6 months that the format in the industry is dying. i.e. no one will support it, people who own it will look like tools...
and WTF is that burning smell in my oven..???!!!!!
shit
HD4ME @ Jan 23rd 2008 6:39AM
I'll lay a $100 that blu ray goes down the same drain as HD DVD, overly expensive niche market product that will stagnate with saturating PS3 sales and eventually tank costing sony $millions and $millions, 18 months-2 years max.
ryan @ Jan 22nd 2008 7:54PM
Hey thanks engad get....way to go....slow news day? Let's try posting something that actually means something.
helvetian @ Jan 22nd 2008 9:31PM
Engadget, what's with the FUD? You guys being PAID by Sony to post this crud? Grant's is not dumping HD DVD.
gecain @ Jan 22nd 2008 9:51PM
I couldn't agree with aplen22 more:
"Engadget, can we please drop this Pro-Blu infested BS and stop posting news that will not swing the format war in either way."
Engadget has useful tidbits (every now and then), but the one-sided posts about blu has become disgusting. Any technical review (eg: Sound & Vision) of both products, given you can actually have an unbiased opinion, has been slightly in the favor HD. Quantitative research/analysis is more than personal opinion...and no, I don't own HD Dvd. Does anyonw care about quality anymore and delivering facts, or is it about who has the most money and advertising? You've already answered Engadget.
Gus @ Jan 22nd 2008 10:27PM
So, you cant call this story definite, and it's a retailer no one knows, but it is still an obvious story for this anti HD DVD, fud site.
The death of HD DVD will mean the overpriced BR product range is doomed to be niche market, and this one eyed site is doing everything it can to speed the process up, congratulations, your helping destroy HD media for us all.
Dave @ Jan 23rd 2008 6:33AM
You are just paid hd dvd fanboy. You know that toshiba is selling on loss right? If Blu-ray was gone now, they would not be underpricing their players too and the prices would be even more than BD! The difference is that BD price goes down naturally from sales (which is of course slower than underpricing it fool!).
BD is spread over the studios and hardware companies while hd dvd is solely toshiba format. Be a slave for them. I will have choice!!!
Fool!
HDpurist @ Jan 22nd 2008 10:40PM
yawn, another nail in the HD-DVD coffin.
regeya @ Jan 22nd 2008 11:50PM
Again, those Toshiba HD units will upscale just fine, so if you're still waiting for sensibly-priced, entry-level, feature-complete Blu-Ray players, need a good upscaler on the cheap, go ahead and by crummy ol' Grant's last HD DVD player. It'll work fine, trust me. I've tried lower-end DVD upscalers, have tried regular DVD players through my TV's upscaler, and it's been no contest so far in this price range.
Trust me, unlike buying Blu right this moment (though that's likely to change, given that HD DVD is being shoved out of existence) you're so not getting screwed. If you want slightly better and/or want out-of-region DVDs or other formats, spend $50+ more on an Oppo. It's your choice, really; I usually just convert everything to MPEG2, myself, so features like Divx playback aren't that big a draw to me.
(I will add the disclaimer that I have no idea how well-built these units are--mine's a 3rd-gen player, yet since it still needs active cooling, I'm a little dubious about that, though I've had computers chug along for close to a decade without cooling issues...ymmv, in other words)
Dave @ Jan 23rd 2008 6:34AM
You wish... its over.
jntaylor @ Jan 23rd 2008 10:23AM
Let me know when Best Buy or C City drop HD-DVD over Blu-Ray. That will be news worthy.
DesiWah @ Jan 23rd 2008 12:18PM
I told myself to show restraint and wait to buy a new HDMI receiver when the format war is over. Begin the drooling....