Deal or no deal? HD DVD player cracks $200 barrier
Toshiba's entry-level HD-A2: yours for $198.
(Credit: Toshiba)I know that no one's going to be terribly shocked by this, but I thought I'd point it out, just in case you missed it. Engadget HD, after another stroll through AVS Forum's message boards, is reporting on how Circuit City, Wal-Mart Stores, and Amazon.com have reduced the price of Toshiba's HD-A2 HD DVD player to $198 (Amazon's deal includes free shipping).
This kind of price drop on standalone HD DVD players has been widely expected, and we think you may see $180 by Black Friday. Of course, if you're an Xbox 360 owner, you can pick up the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player for $180 right now. But we're talking standalone player here, and the HD-A2's as cheap as you get.
Other bloggers have pointed out that Toshiba's entry-level model only does 720p/1080i, not 1080p. But that's not really the end of the world, since it's really hard to tell the difference between 1080p and 720p/1080i, anyway, especially if your TV doesn't do 1080p (insert wink).
The big question is whether $200 (or $180, for that matter) is the magic price point that's going to make HD DVD players fly off the shelves this holiday season and leave Blu-ray Disc backers wondering how they squandered the big lead. Or can Sony hold its own with its $400 PlayStation 3 and watch as the price for HD DVD players erodes further? Who's holding out for $100? $79? $49? Free?
Hunkered down in New York City, Executive Editor David Carnoy covers the gamut of gadgets and writes his Fully Equipped column, which carries the tag line "The electronics you lust for." He's also the author of "Knife Music," a novel. E-mail David. Follow David on Twitter.
Now that HD-DVD players are so cheap, people might be willing to take a risk and jump in. About time...
Now that HD-DVD players are so cheap, people might be willing to take a risk and jump in. About time...
2. Did it matter at all?
2. Did it matter at all?
That is why the Toshiba HD-A2 is the best selling HD disc player EVER of either HD format. Why pay for something that you don't need?
For that majority who only needs 1080i, these players are great. For you and others with nice enough TVs to tell the difference, there are plenty of better and more expensive options.
The picture on your digital HDTV is NEVER interlaced.
If the player outputs at 1080i, it simply means that
your TELEVISION has to reassemble the two frames into
one. ALL of the 1080p information is STILL there.
The only advantage to a player that outputs 1080p is if
your television does a subpar job of deinterlacing.
End of story.
There are no 1080i digital HDTV displays. They either have 720 actual lines of vertical resolution or 1080 actual lines of vertical resolution.
ALL of the pixels are filled with EACH frame. No half and half.
That is why the Toshiba HD-A2 is the best selling HD disc player EVER of either HD format. Why pay for something that you don't need?
For that majority who only needs 1080i, these players are great. For you and others with nice enough TVs to tell the difference, there are plenty of better and more expensive options.
The picture on your digital HDTV is NEVER interlaced.
If the player outputs at 1080i, it simply means that
your TELEVISION has to reassemble the two frames into
one. ALL of the 1080p information is STILL there.
The only advantage to a player that outputs 1080p is if
your television does a subpar job of deinterlacing.
End of story.
There are no 1080i digital HDTV displays. They either have 720 actual lines of vertical resolution or 1080 actual lines of vertical resolution.
ALL of the pixels are filled with EACH frame. No half and half.
I feel no loss, however: My DVDs really look quite nice on my 42" HDTV at the distance I sit from it (12 feet). Sure, there are a few videos I'd really like to have in high def, but less than 2% of my entire collection. It just isn't worth the risk of this format war. Get it, Sony? Get it, Toshiba?
--mark d.
I feel no loss, however: My DVDs really look quite nice on my 42" HDTV at the distance I sit from it (12 feet). Sure, there are a few videos I'd really like to have in high def, but less than 2% of my entire collection. It just isn't worth the risk of this format war. Get it, Sony? Get it, Toshiba?
--mark d.
For me, a $100 player would be worth it just to get Serenity, Transformers, and Batman Begins. I mean common, $100 is worth it ever if you never buy an HD-DVD in your life just for the upconversion of regular DVDs!
But if it was $150 and came with 6 free movies that i wanted, then I'd go for it.
For me, a $100 player would be worth it just to get Serenity, Transformers, and Batman Begins. I mean common, $100 is worth it ever if you never buy an HD-DVD in your life just for the upconversion of regular DVDs!
But if it was $150 and came with 6 free movies that i wanted, then I'd go for it.
Looking at the posts over at AVS, and you'll see I wasn't the only one who picked one up over the weekend. Seems as though a lot of geeky people, just like me, who have been following HD-DVD and Blu-Ray finally took the plunge when they saw they could get into the game at $160. There were at least 30 people who all posted that they got one this past weekend. And these are the geeky people who have been drooling over these players for months.
There's no way you can say that hardware prices don't matter, if even geeks want to wait it out a bit before they fork over their cash. The average Joe who knows less about the benifits will be even more cautious unless it's inexpensive. Hardware prices are CRITICAL to the adoption of a new format.
Ohh, and by the way, if you look at black Friday sites, you're likely to find the Sears will be selling the HD-A3 for $180! This is a 3rd gen player with Bourne Identity and 300 in the box, plus the 5 free movies you mail in for, all for $180. Makes me kinda wish I had waited just a little longer before taking the plunge, as I found out about this Black Friday sale about 1 hour after I cut the UPC off my A2 box so I could mail in for my free HD-DVD's. Ahh well.... such is the life for tech geeks. There's always something better around the corner....
- Got my HD-A2 last weekend at Circuit City for $160
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by droobage
October 30, 2007 6:48 PM PDT
- I had a coupon for $40 off anything $199 or more, so I used it on the HD-A2 I've been waiting 6 months for. Totally worth it, as I was planning on getting one on Black Friday, but now I get it a month earlier, and I don't have to wake up at 4:00 the day after thanksgiving to get it.
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Reply to this comment
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (84 Comments)Looking at the posts over at AVS, and you'll see I wasn't the only one who picked one up over the weekend. Seems as though a lot of geeky people, just like me, who have been following HD-DVD and Blu-Ray finally took the plunge when they saw they could get into the game at $160. There were at least 30 people who all posted that they got one this past weekend. And these are the geeky people who have been drooling over these players for months.
There's no way you can say that hardware prices don't matter, if even geeks want to wait it out a bit before they fork over their cash. The average Joe who knows less about the benifits will be even more cautious unless it's inexpensive. Hardware prices are CRITICAL to the adoption of a new format.
Ohh, and by the way, if you look at black Friday sites, you're likely to find the Sears will be selling the HD-A3 for $180! This is a 3rd gen player with Bourne Identity and 300 in the box, plus the 5 free movies you mail in for, all for $180. Makes me kinda wish I had waited just a little longer before taking the plunge, as I found out about this Black Friday sale about 1 hour after I cut the UPC off my A2 box so I could mail in for my free HD-DVD's. Ahh well.... such is the life for tech geeks. There's always something better around the corner....