I dropped by my local Fry’s on the way home from work and saw a nice stack of new Xbox 360 HD DVD Add-On players for $39.99, and picked one up. Now that I have my backup HD DVD player, I can more realistically think about picking up some additional HD DVD titles, with all these crazy fire sale prices.

I brought home a $15 five-pack of old-school Kung Fu movies on DVD, and also got Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon on HD DVD. Sales associates were still marking down lots of titles to $6.99, $7.99 (like Transformers), and $8.99. I saw the BBC Planet Earth for $39.99, but it was that price when I dropped by a couple of weekends ago too.

Visiting the store can be a hit-and-miss proposition because you can only pick from whatever they’ve got on their shelves (and they may also have scattered these around the store at various endcaps and clearance bins). You can get a nice list of HD DVD sale prices over at their website.

You can order from the site instead of visiting a store, but the typical things to consider are that Frys.com does not have discounted shipping (like the free shipping at DeepDiscount.com), and you may also be paying sales tax on top since Fry’s has stores in so many states. (more…)

If you somehow managed to miss (or skip) the love-fest that HD DVD fans have had with Planet Earth, Discovery Channel wants to give you another chance.

The Discovery Channel store has a new HD DVD sale which includes the ever-popular Planet Earth set for $29.95, as well as Sunrise Earth for $24.99, both with free shipping. A third disc, Planet Earth: Pole to Pole, Mountains & Deep Ocean is only $7.99 and is actually just one of the discs from the Planet Earth collection. Just remember that these are Discovery versions which aired on that HD channel, and not the exact same as the BBC versions.

Another box set with a good sale price is Battlestar Galactica: Season One over at INetVideo.com, currently going for $19.99. If you order by midnight on Monday (Eastern time), then the BSG order can help qualify you for the 15% off shipping promotion they’re also running. It’s 15% off shipping on orders over $25. A prior promotion had free shipping on orders over $50, and many HD DVD fans easily found enough $7.99 and $9.99 discs to be able to take advantage of that deal.

While we’re on the subject of box sets, DeepDiscount has two notable collections on sale: The Ocean’s 11/12/13 set is only $19.98, and more remarkable is their $28.99 price on the The Ultimate Matrix Collection. DeepDiscount has a bunch of other HD DVD discs on sale too, all with free shipping.

I know some people think, “why the heck do you people keep buying these discs?” Well, it’s something you can only understand if you have an HD DVD player, and you’ve seen that many movies are now as cheap as, or cheaper than, the standard DVD or Blu-ray versions. For example, even though Amazon currently has a nearly 50% off sale on over 80 Blu-ray titles, most cost around $20, with Ultimate Matrix taking pre-orders for $90 on that system.

Special thanks to readers patrick and Applezz for tipping me off to a couple of these deals. Feel free to add any of your own deals in the comments.

• Planet Earth for $29.99, Sunrise Earth for $24.99 at Discovery Channel Store
• Oceans 11, 12, 13, $19.98 and Ultimate Matrix, $28.99 at DeepDiscount.com
• Battlestar Galactica – Season One at INetVideo.com

A reader suggested that I should be showing all of you how to transition over to Blu-ray considering that there’s usually not much to talk about regarding HD DVD. That reader happens to be a Blu-ray fan, so that bit of advice is to be expected. However if you are an HD DVD person, then you know that there’s still lots going on in terms of stores and their fire sales. Thanks to these big sales, you can often pick up some HD DVD movies at prices similar to, or even lower than, regular DVDs.

In recent months, people have discovered the deals over at INetVideo.com. At first, some were concerned that the discs might be Canadian, and others were unimpressed by the shipping charges. But word-of-mouth has generally been good regarding these folks. Their recent promotion is free shipping on orders over $50, and they’re even selling some used discs for $5.99.

DeepDiscount.com is another favorite, and they’ve got a 60% off HD DVD blowout sale going on right now. The slighly inconvenient thing about this sale is that you need to weed through the movie listings to find the cheapest prices because their sort “Low to High” seems to skip right over a lot of titles such as Troy and V for Vendetta, both of which are selling for $8.58, and even I Am Legend which is $8.99. Click around at the site and you’ll increase your odds of finding more of the sale items. Don’t forget that these guys have free shipping.

If you’ve got a Fry’s near you, then drop by and check out their HD DVD selection, which features some discs in that $10 or $11 and below range. While it doesn’t trump free shipping or gas money for driving over, if you’re looking for a particular movie, it’s better to pay an extra buck and ensure that you get it instead of losing your chance forever.

I haven’t actually transitioned myself over to Blu-ray just yet. I did get a PS3, but it’s been playing a few games (I already have most of the big games on my 360 and there’s no reason to double-dip them). I still have lots of HD DVD discs in my Netflix queue, and I’ll probably start using my PS3 for its other purpose in life a little later in the year when the summer movies start appearing on disc.

• DeepDiscount.com’s HD DVD Blowout (includes free shipping)
• InetVideo.com has free shipping on orders over $50

UPDATE: While checking into a reader query, we find out that the Star Trek Box Set is only £ 24.97 at Amazon.co.uk (As of Sunday night/Monday August 18, it’s now 14.97 which is roughly $30)

Walmart is finally getting into the HD DVD firesale action. Word at the AVS Forum, and confirmed by a few people who’ve bothered to check, is that Warner HD DVD titles are on a 2 for $10 sale at Walmart stores in Canada. This is great news for those of you living in Canada, or some of you who live near enough to make a quick trip.

If you happen to be over in or dropping by Canada, you might also want to check over at Future Shop stores (related to Best Buy) and see if their 50% off sale on HD DVD discs is of any use to you.

The other 2 for 10 sale is happening in the UK at dvd.co.uk who have a 2 for £10 deal, but on Universal titles. Prices at the site show £6.95, but the discount on buying two is applied at checkout.

Feel free to share about any other sales you might come across. The last few posts have been about sales at Fry’s and other places, and some of those deals are still available.

You’d think that so many months after February when Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD, and even after May when the last of the Warner Bros. releases came out, and we’re heading into July when Universal finally puts out movies on Blu-ray, that there would be nothing to talk about in terms of HD DVD.

Nope.

There are still sales on HD DVD discs here and there. The few that I just came across today are located in the US and UK. One US deal is from Borders.com, who have a $9.99 sale on 34 Universal titles. The prices listed range from $16.99 to $24.99, but the discount takes effect during checkout. Best Buy has a similar sale, with some movies selling for $8.39 and others getting closer to $11. It’s not as big of a sale as the one at Borders, but it’s still something.

HD DVD fans in the UK are not left out of the big sales with the £2.99 and £3.99 sale at HMV.com. This is a great deal even if you’re US-based and ok with importing discs, because this amounts to about $6-8 per disc! The selection of titles is just slightly greater than at the Borders sale, and they’ve got many titles for £4.49 (like all the Harry Potters), and many Warner hits. UPDATE: Mark pointed out in the comments that HMV charges £4.25 shipping per disc, so the end result is not as inexpensive as some other retailers who charge for the whole order based on total weight. To that, ‘bigdmelt’ suggests a visit to TheHut.com for better shipping rates on imports.

I know from the emails I get that some of you have already moved along to Blu-ray in some way, by buying a PS3 perhaps. I had thought of doing the same, but I think I’ve subconsciously chosen the most difficult way to do so: I only want the 80GB PS3, like the one from the recent Metal Gear Solid bundle. And this happens to be the configuration that’s always out of stock everywhere, including Sony’s own online store. But I’m not too stressed out over it. I still have a lot of HD DVD movies coming my way via Netflix as well as movies I bought but still haven’t opened up. I also enjoy watching this summer’s big hits with the family at a theater, and that further removes some of the urgency to get all caught up on my home theater viewing. Maybe I’ll get more serious about it a little later in the summer…

• Borders.com $9.99 sale (ends July 28)

— By the way, here’s a link to a 30% off coupon good until August 17 for new customers making other purchases at Borders.com

• Best Buy 40% off sale
• HMV.com in the UK has discs for as little as £2.99 (note: shipping is a little expensive)
• TheHut.com has prices like HMV, but the shipping charges are better

Australian site, ezydvd.com.au is turning up the summer heat with an HD DVD fire sale and promotion. Buy any three HD DVDs from a list of 28, some of which are going for as low as AU$3.92, and get Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix free. At the current exchange rate, 1 Australian dollar is equal to 95 US cents, so these prices are actually pretty good. Yes, you’ll pay a little more to get discs from Australia, but the final price after shipping is still favorable.

If you’d rather shop more locally for your HD DVD bargains, then look no further than DeepDiscount.com whose 20% off sale has been extended to June 29. Buy.com has similar prices, and the deal is sweetened if you can use Google Checkout to save an extra $10 on your first purchase. This Google discount ends at Buy.com on June 29, so go quickly if you still want to use it.

Even more local than a website is a Fry’s Electronics store, if you happen to have one in your area. They’ve been selling many titles for $9.99, and the selection varies according to the inventories at each store.

Lest you forget, $10 and $15 for an HD movie is a very good deal, and if you can get them for less than that, all the better for you.

• DeepDiscount.com’s 20% off sale extended until June 29
• HD DVDs on sale at Buy.com
• EZDvd.com.au fire sale and Harry Potter promotion

Buy.com is the latest retailer taking advantage of the opportunity created by Amazon’s lack of HD DVD sales and promotions. They’re apparently duplicating the same deals currently offered at DeepDiscount.com, but with no coupon code hassles. Same $9.58 price, but no coupon is needed.

Additionally, Buy.com is one of those “Google Checkout” vendors, which means that you can get $10 off your first order using Google Checkout at Buy.com. Taking advantage of that additional $10 discount should result in even greater savings on your purchase.

• HD DVDs on sale at Buy.com

Many have taken advantage of the $5.99 sale over at iNetVideo these last couple of weeks, and have noticed that a few of the titles over there are no longer $5.99. A few people have been slightly miffed that the iNetVideo discs are Canadian and come with slightly different covers or cases, or that shipping and handling fees bring up the disc cost closer to $9 each.

As June rolls in, prices on HD DVDs at Amazon have also creeped up a little bit. So what’s the HD DVD shopper to do? (no snide remarks about going Blu, ok?) It’s DeepDiscount.com to the rescue, with their big sale, bringing several HD DVD titles down to $8, $9, $10 and $12 a piece, which is at least two to four bucks less than Amazon, and all with free shipping to boot!

Most Universal and Paramount titles are $11.98, but not all of them. It’s better than no sale at all, especially if you don’t have American Gangster and several others.

The sale was supposed to be from June 6 to June 22, however I got an email from them saying it’s already up.

Here’s the best part: use coupon code DDAF to get 20% off. I have read that some people have not had any luck with that code just yet, but give it a try on June 6 and see if it works any better. That means you can get those $11.98 titles for only $9.58!

I’ve also read that these codes might work: SHARK, WGN, DEALNEWS, USATODAY. Please share in the comments if you come across any other coupon codes.

• DeepDiscount.com’s 20% off sale from June 6-22 extended to June 29

UPDATE: Some of the site issues mentioned in this post appear to be resolved. Visit this store via the following link:
http://stores.channeladvisor.com/inetvideocom/

Nowadays, most of the really big deals on HD DVDs are happening at European and Aussie sites, but in the last few days, a North American site has suddenly drawn a lot of attention for their $5.99 sale. The company is inetvideo.com and they’ve also been selling discs through eBay and Amazon’s Marketplace for a while. The catalog is largely (or perhaps only) composed of Univeral titles including The 40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and many others.

There are a couple of things you should know before heading over there. First is that the site goes down frequently because it’s running on a weak server — they didn’t expect so much demand from this HD DVD sale. Fortunately, they have live customer service people who can take your order, allowing you to bypass some of the server issues.

You’ll need to browse through the store to check out their selection, and make a list of the movies you’d like to order, adding them to your cart as you go along. If the stars are in your favor, and your online mojo is close enough to a peak, you’ll probably be able to order a bunch of discs with no worries. However, if you’re experiencing issues with the site, then just contact them via email at support@inetvideo.com or use their live chat feature and they’ll get everything squared away.

You can also bypass these server problems by going straight to their store on eBay, but the product listings are a little more tedious to navigate through, and the “buy it now” price is $7.98.

The other thing you should know is that shipping is around $2 per disc, and your final cost wil be around $8 for each movie. This is still a great deal because most of those movies are going for at least $13.95 at Amazon.

International shoppers trying to take advantage of their currency’s strength over the weakened US dollar might be taken aback by higher shipping rates, but it’s worth a look, just as it’s sometimes worth the effort for a US-based customer to check out foreign stores.

• iNetvideo.com – the main site
• iNetVideo’s store on eBay
• Page at their site listing their HD DVD movies, but not all are are at this $5.99 price