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Sony to leave the "battle to the bottom" of Blu-ray player prices alone, for 2009 at least

by Richard Lawler, posted Jun 26th 2009 at 1:12PM


Just in case you were wondering whether Sony would get down and dirty with the low-priced rabble this year, word from its community blog is the company predictably held its premium brand mantle high, proclaiming during a recent industry analyst meeting that it wouldn't be launching a value-priced Blu-ray player. Still, after turning around and selling TVs bearing its name at Wal-mart of all places, we would be surprised to see Sony flip on this policy and offer price-conscious shoppers a Vizio alternative sooner rather than later.

Vizio's VBR100 Blu-ray player is a $188 Wal-mart exclusive next month

by Richard Lawler, posted Jun 25th 2009 at 6:12AM

We still don't know what it looks like, but during its line show, Vizio let slip that the sub-$200 VBR100 Blu-ray player announced at CES is now scheduled to come to Wal-mart only in July. For $188 (just not that cheap anymore) Wal-mart shoppers can expect a BD-Live ready (with optional 1GB+ USB thumbdrive attached) player, though no details on codec or output support. Don't shop at Wal-mart for philosophical reasons, quality concerns or fear of being trampled during an early Black Friday rush? A similar VBR110 model should follow, coming to other retailers around November/December, just in time to match with that brand new WiFi connected Netflix / Amazon / Twitter etc. widget packing LCD.

iSuppli sees TV sales continuing to expand despite the economy, Samsung keeps the overall lead

by Richard Lawler, posted May 28th 2009 at 9:08PM


Even the economy can't keep HDTV sales down, according to iSuppli's research. In lieu of travel and going out, we're buying bigger TVs to stay home and watch, with sales of flat panel displays in the $600 - $999 range rising the fastest, while Wal-mart is very close to catching Best Buy in marketshare. Samsung's plasma sales kept it narrowly in the overall lead over upstart (and new LCD champ) Vizio, but we'll have to wait and see how long that lasts.

[Via Yahoo Tech]

Best Buy still leads in Blu-ray sales, but Wal-mart is closing in

by Richard Lawler, posted May 11th 2009 at 12:49PM


Looks like the gap among HD media retailers is narrowing, with Wal-mart slowly closing in on Best Buy's 40 - 50% marketshare estimated by retail analysts asked by Video Business. As the DVD market shifts to Blu-ray, it's expected that market shares begin to resemble those of DVD where Wal-mart holds sway with 40% of the sales. Our poll results show that most of you report copping at Amazon (home of the frequent BOGO, low prices and other promotions,) but do you see changing dealers as Blu-ray goes more mainstream?

Best Buy aims to match Walmart's HDTV prices while sprucing up stores

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 17th 2009 at 12:08AM


If you thought the death of Circuit City would lead to even higher prices at Best Buy, you're obviously not considering the Bentonville powerhouse in your calculations. Since the downfall of one of America's most well-known electronics retailers, Best Buy has now refocused on rivaling Walmart, who has done quite a lot over the past year or so to become a serious venue for buying new HDTVs. Granted, most of Walmart's offerings boast labels like VIZIO and Emerson, but that's beginning to change. In a new piece from the Wall Street Journal, incoming CEO Brian Dunn asserts that he's planning to "match" Wally World's famously low prices while making Best Buy stores more of an "experience." How exactly it plans to lower TV margins while sprucing up retail space is beyond us, but maybe it's looking to those $150 Monster-branded HDMI cables to pick up the slack.

Netflix and Walmart sued over online movie rentals

by Darren Murph, posted Jan 17th 2009 at 1:54PM


Industry big shots Walmart and Netflix have both been named in a consumer lawsuit which accuses them of "trying to build a monopoly for online DVD rentals." The complaint, which was filed by San Francisco-based Andrea Resnick in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that both firms "unreasonably restrained trade, sending up prices." As the story goes, the duo decided back in 2005 that Wally World would shut down its online rental business and refer those customers to Netflix, and the plaintiffs allege that these actions would end up promoting Walmart's DVD movie sales. Netflix spokespeople declined to comment, though Walmart spokeswoman Daphne Moore did acknowledge that it had received the gripe and would respond to the court at the appropriate time.

Walmart pushing Lionsgate Blu-ray Discs for $10 a pop

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 5th 2008 at 4:45PM


Generally, we wouldn't bother covering that Wally World was moving Blu-ray Discs at a discount -- after all, isn't that store like the low price leader or something? But this just reeks of something different. This just reeks of change, and we certainly hope it's a sign of things to come. With Black Friday far behind us, Walmart has seen fit to start selling a few Lionsgate (read: non-sucky) BDs for $10 each, and the news comes just days after one reporter questioned when Blu-ray software would fall more in line with the hardware in terms of dollars. Really, every other retailer out there has to pay attention to this should Walmart start to drastically undercut the rest in terms of BD pricing, so here's hoping the store puts even more at the $10 level, and soon.

[Thanks, Joel]

Black Friday 2008 roundup: HD deals

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 26th 2008 at 12:00PM Featured Story


Let's face it -- it's easy to get overwhelmed when it comes to Black Friday. For starters, it's the day after Thanksgiving, a day in which you're likely already stressed out about what to cook, where to clean, who to invite and how to get off work early. The last thing you need is more stress when thinking about what HD gear you'll be adding to your collection a few days from now. Thus, we've scoured the intarwebz and scrubbed the deal sheets in order to present a slimmed down, easy-to-digest guide of where the best buys on high-def-related kit will be on November 28th. Hop on past the break to start making your list.

[Image courtesy of SmackShopping]

Continue reading Black Friday 2008 roundup: HD deals

Magnavox Blu-ray player to be $128 at Walmart on Black Friday

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 19th 2008 at 3:26PM


We casually mentioned this here deal a few days back upon spying Walmart's leaked Black Friday list, but just in case you missed it, there will be at least one Blu-ray player out there for well under $150. The Magnavox NB500MG9 (which is really a Funai NB500 underneath the logo) will be offered for just a buck twenty-eight on the day after Thanksgiving here in the US, and while it's far from the most highly acclaimed BD deck in existence, there's no denying that the price is right. Our hopes and dreams? That five other players undercut it.

[Via DVICE]

Walmart Black Friday doorbuster deals leak out early, we'll sleep in

by Richard Lawler, posted Nov 14th 2008 at 9:47PM

If you skipped Walmart's pre-Black Friday festivities pat yourself on the back, as -- despite its lawyers hard work C&Ding unauthorized early ad postings into oblivion -- CNNMoney reveals the "doorbuster" highlights probably not worth getting trampled for this year. Between 5-10 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving the already-discounted Magnavox Blu-ray player drops from $198 to $128 (a BDP-S300 might still be a better value), 50-inch Samsung plasma of unspecified resolution is only $798 (720p, bet on it), and Xbox 360 + Guitar Hero III & wireless guitar pack (all the real plastic guitar aficionados have moved on to Rock Band 2) drops in for $199. Slightly lower profile are a $398 HP desktop PC and $175 gas grill but c'mon, we all know it's the high definition (it'll be a lonely holiday without the suddenly too-good for us Vizio) that will have you shivering outside your local retailer with the soccer moms and other deal hunters.

[Thanks, Jason]

Walmart downsizing shelf space for music CDs, giving more to Blu-ray

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 11:54PM


Remember the days of watching big box retailers like a hawk to see if more shelf space was being given to Blu-ray or HD DVD? Yeah, epic times. Now, however, a new report is suggesting that Walmart may be giving more of its packaged media space to Blu-ray Discs rather than music CDs. The reason? A 23% decline in CD sales during the first four weeks of Q4. According to Richard Greenfield, analyst with Pali Capital, he believes that Wally World is "increasing its exposure to consumer electronics, video games and Blu-ray, and reducing floor space devoted to CDs and standard DVDs." Furthermore, it's bruited that John Fleming, chief marketing officer with Walmart, insinuated that "electronics would be getting space expansion in stores due to the decline in physical packaged media." We'll be keeping an eye out to see if we spot any shifts in our local Walmart stores -- won't you do the same?

[Image courtesy of TeamSugar]

Larcenists get a cheap Blu-ray player (the illegal way)

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 3rd 2008 at 12:17PM


Can't wait for Black Friday? Neither could two suspects in Virginia Beach. Reportedly, a crafty duo entered a local Walmart late last week, with one placing a Samsung Blu-ray player in her cart while the other placed a DVD / VCR combo unit in his cart. Once that was complete, the two met in the pet section, swapped the unwanted DVD / VCR unit out for a Blu-ray deck and proceeded to checkout. The cute couple paid for dog food and a rather inexpensive DVD / VCR player, yet arrived home with dog food and an improperly boxed Blu-ray player. Moral of the story? Blu-ray adoption would clearly soar if manufacturers would just price the players right. (We kid, we kid.)

[Via CDFreaks]

AT&T to push U-verse services at Circuit City and Walmart

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 13th 2008 at 1:28PM


AT&T's not messing around with spreading the good word on its U-verse services, as it has just nailed down an agreement to sell the aforementioned products in two of America's largest retail outlets. Beginning this month, U-verse kiosks will emerge in over 600 Circuit City and Walmart locations, which will give unsuspecting consumers the chance to ditch their current cable / satellite / fiber provider and sign up for AT&T's own programming / high-speed internet / digital phone suite. The move comes in the midst of its nationwide Total Home DVR rollout, which enables any connected TV in the crib to watch a recorded SD or HD show. Of course, U-verse still serves a comparatively small amount of the country at present time, but with an initiative like this, we feel pretty good about future expansion.

Sony's XEL-1 OLED TV spotted at Sam's Club for $1,748

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 5th 2008 at 1:47PM


You can order up Sony's XEL-1 OLED TV from SonyStyle.com right now for $2,499.99 and hope that it ships by tomorrow. Or, you can waltz on down to your local Sam's Club, plunk down for a membership and walk out with the previously mentioned set for just $1,748.51. We can't say for sure if these units are available at Clubs nationwide just yet, but that's a comparatively delicious price for those in the market for an ultra-small, ultrathin OLED TV. Anyone care to guess how cheap this thing will be on Black Friday?

[Thanks, Vishal]

Poll: Where do you buy your Blu-ray Discs?

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 12th 2008 at 12:00PM


With a report emerging this week pegging Best Buy as the go-to location for Blu-ray Disc purchases, it stirred up some curiosity here at Engadget HQ. Personally, we prefer to snag our discs online; there's just something about receiving those corrugated boxes on our doorstep that does it for us. We're interested to see where you procure most of your own BD titles -- in a store (which one?), online (which e-tailer?) or out of the back of a white panel van? You can keep quiet if it's the latter.

Where do you buy your Blu-ray Discs?





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