Comments on: Walmart Pulls Another Fast One

By: Pravin

Pravin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 08:06:46 +0000

The “5 Free Discs” offer hasn’t been extended to Venturers sold in North America just yet. I have no doubt that it eventually will, but for right now, it’s only the Europeans who are going to get the extra discs.

I think this has something to do with the fact that there’s no HD-A3 in Europe, and the Venturer model sort of takes its place there. But that’s just my conjecture.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 08:02:20 +0000

I remember seeing an article recently about the new Venturerer HD DVD player that stated it will come witha free HDMI cable and 2 free ovies in the box ad it does qualify for the 5 free discs.

By: Pravin

Pravin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:29:49 +0000

The internet is full of stories based on a tiny germ of truth which then has many people add their own two cents to create a much bigger story.

The Xbox 360 HD DVD drive went on sale briefly at Amazon for $129, and the next thing you know, many sites reported that Microsoft dropped the price, and they even elaborate about this as if they’ve read an official release on the matter.

The truth is probably that the price will be dropping, however it has not officially been dropped. If you look around, there are still new stories about this coming up at various sites.

Similarly, the Onkyo player story is true in some amount for Italy. And that’s about all anybody can go on.

By: Pravin

Pravin — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 01:54:29 +0000

The only story that says Onkyo's product was pulled is something from Italy, where the overall HDM market is tiny in the first place, and even your beloved format doesn't sell that well. Do you have a link to some information that says this product is discontinued? It's still here at Onkyo's site:
http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=DV-HD805&class=DVD&p=i
and it's still on sale at B&H Photo:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/484716-REG/Onkyo_DV_HD805B_DV_HD805_HD_DVD_Player.html,
so maybe you PS3 guys know more than those of us who follow HD DVD more closely.

By: Bret

Bret — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 01:39:52 +0000

What do you have to say about Onkyo discontinuing their HDD player due to this pricing by Toshiba products? How will any other manufacturer be able to produce these players to compete with the much cheaper Toshiba prices, unless they are virtually a no name producer, such as Venturer? Just curious as to what you know that I don’t.

By: Steven

Steven — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:32:24 +0000

This is what I want all the retailers (Best Buy, Circuit City, Target & Wal-Mart) to do so I can buy my HD DVD player. Drop the price of the Toshiba HD-A3 back to $98 so I can buy one along with all my family and friends. You can’t go back to charging $300 for a player that sold for $98; the majority of people will not buy. At $98 I may even pick up two; one for my bedroom too.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:59:38 +0000

I work at a fairly large electronics retail chain (not bb or cc) and so far just off of the new generation disc changers (hda3 and hda30) which have been out maybe 3 or 4 months we have sold 115 units of stand alone players, however in the bluray players (bdps300) which has been out longer we have only sold 41 of them. so go figure the players are selling very well (hddvd that is) and I myself have one the only problem I have is finding discs on hd dvd seems like there are way too many titles on br. I wish the studios would pay attention to the numbers of players and atleast do both formats.

By: Art

Art — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 23:36:10 +0000

It is a shame that a winner has not been named for this Xmas season…I own a neighborhood video store and still waiting to see where I am going to but my money…Video stores can really generate a consences to the public and will make the decision for the consumer for its local customer base. My vendor as decided to stock BD but I am not sold. I will partner with a local full service local TV retail co. and he is waiting for me to make a decision, so we can cross premote our decision. With video stores going out of business every day, to survive, you can not make a mistake and to have both formats is a no-can-do, but to do nothing is the kiss of death. With all that the consumer has to choose from, it make it tough to make a buck.

By: Randy

Randy — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 16:15:39 +0000

I wouldn’t have a HD DVD player if it were not for Walmart’s amazing $98.87 HD-A2 deal. Blu-Ray fans like to ignore the high price of BD. But in the end it is about how many stand alone players are out there? HD DVD is selling for $99-$399, and Blu-Ray is selling for $399 and up. I think this gives HD DVD a big advantage. People are looking for a bargain and HD DVD fits that category. Blu-Ray is no bargain. There are a lot more people shopping at Walmart for electronics than there are people who are willing to pay anything for Sony quality. I think the Sony CEO was telling the truth when he recently called the war a “stalemate”. Just when Sony thought the prize was theirs to win; HD DVD comes along with a price that makes it clear this isn’t over yet. I absolutely got my money’s worth from buying an HD-A2. I could have opted for BD, but that would mean I would have $400 less to spend on HD movies.

By: Pravin

Pravin — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 13:41:44 +0000

Blu-ray movie sales have done really well, however they could have done even better if the players were cheaper and more accessible. I remember when I was looking at getting my HDTV, that it hurt to think that I’d have to come up with another $500 or more for a disc player. Hey, if I had the extra $500, I’d rather have purchased a bigger or better HDTV instead!

This is where a $200 (or less) player comes in to save the day, and it’s the lesson that Walmart and HD DVD are teaching. Early adopters are accustomed to paying more, but bigger success happens when the mainstream consumers embrace your product. In that regard, Walmart, Kmart, QVC, and lots of other mass merchandisers will end up being a big part of the HD DVD success story.