If VIZIO's brand new XVT Series is a bit rich for your blood, how's about a pair of plasmas for under eight bones? Yep, the 32-inch VP322 and 42-inch VP422 -- which were announced at CES at $689 and $999, respectively -- are now available in Wal-Mart locations across America, and they're selling for even less than that. Right now, those longing to hop in the HDTV game without breaking the bank can secure the VP322 for just $599, while the VP422 will set you back just $799. Both sets possess a 30,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 720p panel, 3 HDMI sockets (along with component / VGA) and a built-in ATSC digital tuner with ClearQAM support. Not too shabby for the price, wouldn't you agree? [Warning: PDF read link]

Sure, it's easy to get a great sounding system when money ain't a thang, but what if you're on the hunt for a 5.1-channel surround sound system from a company you've heard of in the last decade... and you've only got $50? Enter JVC's SXXSW6000, which is being sold now at Wal-Mart for a staggeringly low $49.88. The critics over at Sound & Vision actually took the plunge and decided to put the incredibly inexpensive system through the paces. Miraculously, reviewers found that the system wasn't nearly as bad as one might expect, even proclaiming that it was "definitely worth $50." Still, the kit had its flaws, particularly when trying to handle loud explosions, throaty voices and any manner of bangs / crashes. All in all, S&V couldn't really knock these guys considering just how cheap they were, but they still recommended that you hold off and save up until you could throw a few Benjamins on a real system.

If you'll recall, SonyNEC Optiarc was the same company that suggested BD prices would be halved by 2008 from what they were in late 2006, and while stickers are still relatively high on standalone decks, the prediction actually wasn't too far off. A new report from Tom's Hardware notes that the aforementioned outfit is expecting Blu-ray combo drives "to reach the $100 line before the holiday season." For around $50 more, it reckons you'll have access to slim-line notebook drives that handle the same duties. Granted, there's no real confirmation surrounding the assertions, and we'll be the first to blindly hope such wishful thinking comes true, but we'd say BD prices in general have a whole lot of falling to do in six short months for this one to even stand a chance.

[Via TechDigest]

It's funny, in a sad sort of way -- in January of this year, we reckoned that a no-name Profile 1.1 player hitting in Q2 at $300 would seem grossly overpriced. Sadly, it still seems like a fairly decent deal. As BD players refuse to fall in price, Funai's NB500 (which is being spotted in Magnavox and Sylvania attire) has found its way into a number of Wal-Marts. Judging by the picture snapped above, you can bring home the somewhat outdated deck for a mere $298. Unfortunately, we aren't entirely sure how the unit performs, but if anyone's man / woman enough to take the leap and check it out, please toss out your impressions in comments below.

[Thanks, Fernando]

Grabbing a laptop with a built-in Blu-ray drive isn't at all difficult; finding one that's reasonably affordable, however, is. Starting today, users looking to pick up a new BD-equipped lappie can get their kicks for under nine bills, as the base model Inspiron 1525 can be fitted with a Blu-ray combo drive (and the requisite 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo T5550 processor) for the low, low price of $879. Kicking things up to a Blu-ray burner will tack on another $200, and given the 1,280 x 800 screen resolution, we get the idea you'll be utilizing that HDMI output in order to enjoy the 1080p capabilities (if it'll even reach above 720p). Still, the aforesaid configuration is pretty lacking in most respects (1GB of RAM, 80GB HDD, and a woefully underwhelming GMA X3100 graphics accelerator), but hey, at least you'll have Blu-ray! Grab yours now if you're situated in Canada, Europe or the US of A.

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]

When we posed the question of buying a Blu-ray player now or simply holding tight for prices to inevitably fall, we received a variety of responses. Still, just about everyone could agree that lower prices on standalone players would be excellent for consumers, but those delectable deep discounts may be quite aways off. According to Stan Glascow, the president of Sony Electronics, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) -- the group that maintains control over the BD standard -- has yet to license the technology to any Chinese manufacturers. In other words, prices are staying relatively high due to the lack of competition from China, not to mention the lack of another major format to keep things in line. Continuing future, he did admit that there would eventually be Chinese Blu-ray players on the market, but he did note that it didn't "need to drive that and hand the technology over" any time soon. So much for those Christmas in July (2008) wishes, eh?

[Thanks, Jake B.]

Update: For whatever it's worth, China Hualu Group Co., Ltd is listed on the BDA's website of licensees. Interesting. Thanks for the heads-up, Dave!

DXG is no stranger to bottom-end, über-cheap kit, and while the vast majority of its products are simply laughable, this one may just be cheap enough to respect -- maybe. The all new DXG-566V HD, set to debut officially at CES, sets a new bar for HD camcorders, as this bugger rings up at a mere $149. You heard right, for under two bills you can snag a craptastically designed handheld camcorder with a 5-megapixel sensor, a 3-inch flip-out LCD monitor, 32MB of onboard memory, an SD expansion slot and the ability to capture video at 1,280 x 720. 'Course, you better pack along quite a few SD cards (there's no SDHC support to speak of) if you're headed to a graduation or the like, but hey, what else did you really expect for $149? Click on through for one more look.

Generally speaking, ByD:Sign tends to think its displays are among the cheapest known to man. In reality, however, that's just not even close to true -- in the price department, anyway. Regardless, this rather hideous 42-inch plasma checks in with a 1,024 x 768 resolution, 1,500 cd/m2 brightness, a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, side-mounted speakers and a built-in digital TV tuner. Additionally, you'll find HDMI, component, composite, S-Video, VGA and optical / stereo audio ports, but even still, we have a hard time believing this thing is truly worth the ¥144,800 ($1,299) asking price.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

With prices on HD DVD players in a perpetual state of free fall, it was only a matter of time before the slashings bled over to the other camp. Sure enough, Samsung's fairly well spec'd BD-P1400 -- which was announced at $549 and sold at $499 in late August -- has sunk to $298.76 at Amazon. In case you needed a refresher, this one's packing 1080p24 support, Dolby Digital Plug / True HD, DTS HD, HDMI 1.3, 1080p DVD upconversion and a pretty snazzy design, too. And hey, if you need extra incentive, there's always the five free flicks that come along with it.

[Thanks, Adam]

Remember when all our hopes were lost after Fuh Yuan retracted a statement that got us worked up over a $299 HD DVD player at Wal-Mart? Ironically enough, an off-brand player is indeed finally available through the aforementioned retailer some seven months later, but frankly, we're underwhelmed. Sure, the 1080i SHD7000 -- which is being sold at $199.98, a full $50 lower than we'd heard previously -- isn't exactly a terrible deal, but considering that Toshiba's own HD-A2 can apparently be had for the same, what's to get all jovial about? Nevertheless, we're also hearing that Venturer is getting set to launch the SHD7001 -- which should boast minor cosmetic enhancements, if anything -- a month from today through the UK's QVC TV Home Shopping Channel. Regrettably, there's no word on how pricey that model will be, nor if it will be a UK exclusive, but considering the exchange rate right now, we've all ideas the Americans won't be keen on importing one no matter what.

Read - Wal-Mart's $199.98 SHD7000
Read - SHD7001 set for December launch

As if this dead horse hasn't been beaten enough, a Pittsburgh reporter is pleading with the public yet again to turn a cold shoulder to those wildly packaged, generally overpriced cables that catch your eye. As we've seen time and time again, "gold plated" and "speed-rated" cabling essentially produces the same image as sturdily constructed alternatives that ring up at substantially lower prices, and it's no surprise to hear that confused HDTV buyers are still being lured into dropping hundreds on wires that offer up little additional value in return. Another tip put forth by Aaron Saykin is to make sure you're picking the best type of cable for your particular application, and of course, we'd recommend avoiding big box retailers for your cable needs and surfing over to one of the many e-tailers that offer similar items in less fanciful packaging for gobs less money. So whether you're planning to go all out on a new home theater setup, or if you're simply looking to wire up a snazzy new component, just make sure you're not padding someone's pocket in exchange for a fantastically attractive marketing campaign.

[Image courtesy of GaffleTopia]

Looks like it's not just the HD DVD camp that's talkin' lower prices, as now we're hearing that Sony has plans to unveil a Blu-ray reading (sorry, no burning capabilities of any kind on this one) optical drive early next year for around two Benjamins. All that was according to Bob DeMoulin, Sony's marketing manager, branded optical storage, who also stated that "a Blu-ray player at a sub-$200 price point becomes real attractive to the consumer." Of note, he also hinted at a possible external flavor of said drive, but apparently, there's been no final decision made on that just yet.

We know, cutting edge technology inevitably becomes cheaper as its launch day gradually fades into the past, but a $1,000 HD DVD-equipped laptop is still a milestone we're looking forward to seeing. As the prices of standalone players continue to sink, Toshiba in particular is hoping to get HD DVD drives into laptop computers that the majority of potential consumers would view as affordable. More specifically, Carl Pinto, vice president of product development and product management at Toshiba, stated that before this year concludes, we'll "be able to buy [HD DVD-equipped laptops] at retail stores for under $1,000." Granted, we aren't going to hold our breath or anything, but with certain manufacturers already offering up the technology as standard on their mobile rigs, we suppose the idea isn't all that far fetched.