First things first: take this with a rather large dose of salt. Now, according to an anonymous tipster, Wal-Mart is currently on the hunt for an LCD manufacturer that will make it a 52-inch LCD HDTV to sell for $699 on or around Thanksgiving. Wally World's been known to do some fairly bizarre things on Black Friday, so we definitely wouldn't put it past 'em to figure out a way to make this happen. The real question, however, is what brand name this elusive set would sport. And just think -- eight months ago we were awestruck at the idea of a 52-incher costing "just" $2,200.

[Thanks, Anonymous tipster, image courtesy of TechLuver]

For the statistics freaks out there, you're sure to love this one. After DisplaySearch churned out a plethora of data surrounding Black Friday sales in the HD realm, Video Business took the liberty of breaking it all down for easier digestion. Interestingly, some 600,000 DVD players were moved while only 57,000 high-definition players were sold during the week ending November 24th, but less shockingly, (cheaper) HD DVD players made up 62-percent of that 57K. Nevertheless, Blu-ray hardware grabbed 52-percent of the revenue, even though it sold substantially less units than HD DVD. On the software side, BD titles made up 72.6-percent of all high-definition movie purchases, while HD DVD claimed the other 27.4-percent. We know, numbers only say so much, but it doesn't really look like any recent trends shifted over the US' biggest shopping holiday of the year.

[Image courtesy of SmackShopping]

At this point, it's no longer unusual for both sides in the format war to both claim victory in different areas, even on the same day. While the Blu-ray camp celebrates topping the 1-million disc sold mark in Europe and 73 percent share of all HD movies sold on the continent, HD DVD's Black Friday marketing push has put it over 750,000 dedicated players sold in North America. So far this doesn't mark a departure from the norm, while Blu-ray pushes sales via the PS3, HD DVD continues to ride its strategy of lower priced standalone players, we'll have to wait and see which one consumers choose this holiday season.

Read - HD DVD Surpasses 750,000 Dedicated Players
Read - Blu-ray outsells HD-DVD format in Europe

Ok everybody, here goes round thirteen. This time we've got a Slingbox Pro + HD Connect Cable. Ready? Here's the deal.

Some big ticket gadgets we'll leave open through the weekend, but the rest we'll put and you can only enter it until the next gadget lands (usually within a couple of hours). If you miss your shot, sorry, we're moving on to the next gadget. Good luck!

Oh, and don't forget the rules. (Yeah, there are always rules.)

• Leave a comment below. That's it! Who loves you, baby.
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) You can enter different giveaways in today's Black Friday giveaways, but you can only enter this one once.
  
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers or US contest laws if you have to be mad.
  
• Winners will be chosen randomly.
• Entries can be submitted until Sunday, November 25th, 11:59PM EDT. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

There are two kinds of people when it comes to Black Friday; those who love it, and those who avoid it like the plague. But, for those who'll do anything for a deal the anticipation of Black Friday can be better than Christmas itself. So if you've got high-def movies on your list, Format War Central has done the leg work and composed a list of the deals to be had. As expected, HD DVD wins again in the price category, and so far it appears that an HD-A3 will be had for $169, while at the same time the best deal on a Blu-ray player appears to be at Circuit City, where you can expect to pick up a Samsung BD-P1400 with three free movies for $377. Of course the PS3 for $319 (with coupon) from K-Mart is a better deal, but people don't buy PS3s to play movies, right?

We're not exactly sure what to make of this, but LG's BH200 combo HD DVD / Blu-ray player is currently listed on Circuit City's website for $799, which is about $100 cheaper than anywhere else and $200 cheaper than a certain blue competitor. It might well be a typo, of course (and probably is), but between Big Red's pre-Black Friday price-chopping and our own fervent hopes for format peace, we're going to keep on dreaming until we hear otherwise.

Update: Yep, too good to be true -- it's back up to $999 now.

[Thanks, Mike L.]

It's not like this type of activity doesn't happen every day-after-Thanksgiving here in the US of A, but 2007 is being seen as a banner year for "aggressive pricing" come Black Friday. As expected, competition will likely be most heated in the 40- to 42-inch range, where plasma and LCD manufacturers will both be vying for business from eager consumers. Furthermore, RPTVs and 720p sets in general are expected to sport rock-bottom pricetags as they attempt to compete with the fresher, more attractive 1080p flat-panels. As for pricing, analysts expect the lowest stickers to be found on Olevia, Westinghouse and Vizio sets, while other "top-tier brands" slash hundreds off in an attempt to still look appealing. Whatever the case, we'd suggest you gear up for madness if you're scouting a new HDTV on Black Friday, but apparently, the savings will make the mayhem worth dealing with.

[Image courtesy of MSNBC]

Don't say we didn't have a sneaking suspicion this would happen, but HDTVs flew off the shelves quicker than anytime in the past year just a few weeks back, when everyone and their grandmother swarmed big box (and online) retailers to get their palms on a sale-priced set. Presumably in conjunction with sinking LCD prices and staggeringly great deals offered on Black Friday, the NPD Group is reporting record-breaking sales jumps. It was noted that plasma and LCD TVs were "the most highly sought after" (not to mention promoted), and while LCDs above 30-inches experienced 208.5-percent revenue growth and 297-percent unit growth, LCDs under 30-inches grew 26-percent in revenue and 86-percent in unit volume. And just so RPTVs and LCDs didn't steal all the glamour, plasmas saw a 63-percent jump in revenue and a 140-percent increase in unit volume. So if you were just too groggy to set out at 4:00AM in search of door-buster deals, your next chance to snag a mind-boggling deal get mauled to save a few Benjamins is just about 11 months away.

[Via CEPro]

If your tiresome Black Friday campout left you incensed at that fellow ahead who snagged the very last HDTV that you had been eying, take heart. Panasonic feels your pain, and is opening up its exclusive help lines to help you deal with the hassles of searching for the perfect plasma. The company's Plasma Concierge service -- which opened earlier this year -- is stocking up on customer service representatives to field any questions you may have, regardless of whether or not you own a single Panasonic product. The program is open to the public through December 31st of this year to craft "customized flat screen profiles," determine which set would be better suited for your room, and even tips on mounting and wiring. So if you're befuddled over where to get some reliable, free information (aside from the site you're currently ogling) on which plasma to pick up this holiday season, give Panasonic a ring, but be sure to dodge those sure-to-come sales pitches while you're at it.

We still have a week to go before Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving in the United States when retailers offer some of their best deals of the shopping season -- and Vizio has already announced a one-day price reduction on their 42-inch plasma. The sale at Costco will mark the first time a high-definition-ready set of that size will be sold for less than $1000, which is considered by many analysts to be that magic number where mass adoption will kick off. As the predictions go, once consumers can see the bill for a HDTV starting out with only three digits in it, they will be much more likely to buy a new set to go with that PlayStation 3, or HD DVD add-on for the 360, or HD satellite. The Vizio VP42HDTV is a 42-inch 720p-capable plasma with HDMI, a 10,000:1 max contrast ratio, and an ATSC tuner. It's great news to see the prices for sets of all sizes and styles (CRT RPTVs, plasmas, LCDs, LCoSes, etc.) coming steadily down, and will spur that magical day when you can go to any relative's house for the Superbowl and not have to worry about watching on a standard-def set.

[Via Electronista]

Postscript: When this article went live, no stats had been released on this newer VP42 model at Vizio's website. As a few commentors have noted, the native resolution on this set is only 1024x768 (as compared to the more-normal 1366x768 for its sibling the P42), which is slightly less than the commonly-accepted resolution of 1280x720 for HDTV, meaning it will scale all your content down to this XGA resolution. This means the pixels also have a 4:3 aspect ratio rather than 16:9. While the set is widescreen, the pixel count will not be, so take that as you will, we just wanted everyone to be informed consumers. Good luck this Friday, and thanks to all the comments that brought this important point to our attention!

While the battlefield known as "the retail floor" is a tough place for an HDTV to be, it looks like rear-projection televisions -- of all types -- took the gold medal for sales according to the latest research from Pacific Media Associates. Although plasma sets certainly had their own walk in the park, RPTVs recovered from a weak performance this summer and surged "30 percent" in terms of units moved and revenue produced this past August. It was noted that buyers chose newer, more expensive 1080p-capable sets (particularly new units from Samsung and Sony) over the cheaper, more antiquated flavors, even though the average street price rose 0.5 percent. Samsung shareholders look mighty smart here as well, as the firm retained the top position in shares for both units and revenues, while Sony's mighty new 60-inch SXRD (the KDS-60A2000) became the best selling individual set (as confidently predicted). It should be stated, however, that all this could change when hoards of crazed buyers bombard retailers in search of rock-bottom LCD prices in just a few weeks, but we'll let the big-backed units have their 15 minutes for now.

Ah, Black Friday. Two incredibly delightful sounding words in the ears of bargain hunters everywhere, and this year's episode promises to emphasize HDTVs more than ever. With the big day looming, certain retailers have already disclosed attractive pricing on LCD and plasma sets, including the magical "$999" price point for 42-inch displays (albeit probably ED). Best Buy is hoping that the increase in volume will lead to increased demand for in-home installations, and with a new wave of gaming consoles hitting the market just a week earlier, HDTV sales could see a huge boost from gamers looking to take advantage of that 720p/1080i/1080p bliss. LCDs seem to be the biggest draw this year, as plasma pricing has hit a bit of a wall, while LCD technology continues to get cheaper. Marketing analysts have also predicted that consumers may see the stellar one-day deals as good reason to upgrade their old sets in order to take advantage of Blu-ray / HD DVD technology, and have also noted that this year is likely the "last hurrah" for EDTV sets. Regardless, getting your hands on any of the hotter deals will likely be a chore, and if you're not exactly keen with lining up outside a retailer's door at 3:00AM, just hold tight for that soon-to-come Cyber Monday, cool?