“Black Friday” is different this year than in the past, with many retailers either starting their deals earlier or (deliberately or accidentally) “leaking” news about their sales. We already know that Sears is planning on offering the HD-A3 for $169 this Friday, but for only half a day. This is a pretty good deal, but Amazon has come up with a few more convenient HD DVD deals that are worth considering as well.

First off, they have the HD-A3 for $199 with 10 movies. They are throwing in three movies at the time of your purchase, which is similar to deals that Best Buy has been offering. The other seven movies consist of the two that come free in the box (300 and The Bourne Identity) and five from the “5 free movies” deal. This deal is better than the $169 at Sears, because you don’t have to brave the crowds at the mall on Friday, and can take advantage of it immediately. By the way, the 10 free movies part of the offer also applies to the HD-A30 and HD-A35, except those players are not on sale.

The other Amazon deal is a 47% off sale on several Universal discs, making them all $16. This seems to be an extension of a previous 47% off sale on only six Universal titles. No expiration date is listed, but these movie sales are usually only good while supplies last, or for a limited time.

Special thanks to reader Josh for tipping me off on the $199 deal. We’ll list as many of the good holiday HD DVD sales as we find ‘em, so feel free to send in your leads via the comments.