More news from the DisplaySearch / NPD HDTV conference out in California, and this time it's from the Blu-ray Disc Association. Andy Parsons, the BDA's chairman, told attendees that Blu-ray player and disc pricing were behaving the same way as when DVD was the hot new thing. Parsons noted that "there [wasn't] enough market volume to lower prices," adding that firms first have to "build awareness and demand for the technology" before stickers can shrink. Granted, this opens the whole "chicken before the egg" debate, with pundits asserting that awareness and demand won't build until prices are low enough to be digested by the masses. Also of note, Andy suggested that consumers still wanted something "they could hold in their hands" when asked about the threat of digital downloads, but then again, would you really expect to hear anything different?

Not even four whole months ago, Best Buy was pushing its Insignia NS-BRDVD Blu-ray player for $349.99 with a $100 coupon book. Now, that same pamphlet of discounts comes bundled in a box stickered at just $229.99. We've reckoned here lately that once the $200 price point was met by a few manufacturers, BD units would start flying off shelves more briskly; we can't say $230 is close enough just yet, but it's sure good to see things moving in the right direction.

[Thanks, Anthony]

Earlier this month, we found that North American TV shipments were up a whopping 28% year-over-year, yet some analysts are strongly suggesting that across-the-board price drops are near. Granted, one research institute already predicted that flat-panel prices would decline substantially in 2008, so it's not like this assumption is brand new or anything. Nevertheless, Andrew Abrams, executive director and senior analyst at Avian Securities, is proclaiming that a "substantial" drop could come in October, leaving us to wonder just how cheap sets will be on that fateful day-after-Thanksgiving. Any wild guesses out there?

Look, don't act like you didn't know this was coming. Microsoft has started selling its Xbox 360 HD DVD drive for the ultra-bargain price of $49.99. So now's your chance to get one super-duper cheap. Or you could just throw that $50 into the garbage... same thing.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

We've already seen some fairly notable deals for a variety of Toshiba HD DVD players in America and Australia, so it's only fair that the Canucks get a bargain of their own, right? Starting at 6:00AM on Boxing Day (that's December 26th for us Americans), Futureshop will be offering up the HD-D3 for a mere $99.99 while supplies last. It needn't be said, but we'd recommend queuing up a few hours in advance if you're dead set on securing one.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Whoa, Nelly! Just three days after we saw Samsung's BD-P1400 crack the $300 barrier, the unit is now down below $270 at Amazon. More specifically, it can be had right now for $269.98, which certainly brings it a lot closer to the price range currently dominated by HD DVD. The only question now is: how much lower will it go (and when)?

[Thanks, Adam]

Now this is more like it. Sure, we've seen the prices of HD DVD players slowly but surely sinking over time, and while there's been more than a few inconvenient rebate offers of late, it looks like a new precedent has been set. Crutchfield is now offering up Toshiba's HD-A2 HD DVD player for a mere $199 after a $100 instant rebate, but we wouldn't count on this thing showing up anytime soon. According to the site, not only is inventory sitting at zero, but it also admits that the ship date is unfortunately "uncertain." Still, $199 for a second-generation HD DVD player ain't too shabby (have you seen one for less?), so be sure to check out the previous impressions before grabbing your place in the ever-growing line of customers trying to take advantage.

[Thanks, Andrew]

UPDATE: Too bad -- looks like Crutchfield was forced to jack the price up by a Benjamin or face an order backlog beyond belief.

HD DVD and Blu-ray players don't cost quite as much as they used to -- if you know where to look. Amazon and other retailers have recently slashed prices on Samsung's BD-P1000 Blu-ray player, as well as Toshiba's HD-A1 and HD-XA1 HD DVD players. VideoBusiness quotes a few smaller retailers as saying they're "just trying to stay competitive" with price adjustments, unexpected for technology that's only been out for a few months. They also mentioned that while HD DVD sales are as expected, Blu-ray sales have been less than expected. Whether it's the prospect of upcoming hardware revisions or reports of early glitches, some stores are bending over backwards to move first generation players off shelves while others (Crutchfield, Best Buy, Tweeter) see no need to. If you're confident enough to jump into the next generation of DVDs with one of the players already available, just be sure to price check first.



[Thanks, Tyler]