UPDATE: Getting a head start on Wally, Circuit City has the Toshiba HD-A2 at $197.99 right now!

There had been talk earlier this year about Walmart selling an HD DVD player for $199, and lots of speculation about whose player it would be. One statement from Walmart indicated that they were only interested in carrying a major brand, which ruled out the cheapest of players coming from China. It also appeared to rule out Toshiba because their lowest player was still retailing at $399.

Now that the fourth quarter is solidly upon us, and Toshiba has a third generation of players to put out, it appears that Walmart did indeed score their rumored $199 player. It’s the HD-A2, which is in the process of being superceded by the similar HD-A3 in Toshiba’s current lineup. The A2 is not significantly different enough from the A3 to make this a bad deal. It even qualifies for the “5 free movies” offer. Walmart already contributes its fair share of new HDTV customers, and the $198 price point will now allow them to contribute to the population of HD DVD owners in a meaningful way.

According to the message thread at AVS Forum, this deal was to go live on November 3, but it appears that some stores jumped the gun and might have prepared their displays a little early. News about this was already floating around two weeks ago, so it comes as no surprise. Considering that the HD-A2 has been selling in the low $200s for the last several weeks at Amazon, it’s even less reason to be surprised or amazed that Walmart has this offer.

• Picture of Walmart display in AVS Forum thread

UPDATE: This appears to be an in-store only price, and the quantities available to each store are not limited (as had been reported in a few places). Stores may wait until the official November date to start offering this price.