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?

[epitone]

Hardware prices mean NOTHING.

Are the manufacturers ever going to figure this out? Stop taking a loss on the players and put your energy into resolving the format war. I'd gladly spend $500 on a hi-def player if there were a single format. But even if HD-DVD players dropped to $100 tomorrow I'd stay away, because NOBODY knows when those discs will stop being manufactured... next year, next month, tomorrow, after lunch. (This is just as true of Blu-Ray.) And if and when that shoe drops, HD players will become the home theater equivalent of the Philips CDi. Remember that? Neither does anyone else.

[epitone]

Hardware prices mean NOTHING.

Are the manufacturers ever going to figure this out? Stop taking a loss on the players and put your energy into resolving the format war. I'd gladly spend $500 on a hi-def player if there were a single format. But even if HD-DVD players dropped to $100 tomorrow I'd stay away, because NOBODY knows when those discs will stop being manufactured... next year, next month, tomorrow, after lunch. (This is just as true of Blu-Ray.) And if and when that shoe drops, HD players will become the home theater equivalent of the Philips CDi. Remember that? Neither does anyone else.

[Gasaraki]

Everyone's fault

You know who will win the format wars? The format who has the most market share. By "waiting" you are helping to delay this war. <br />Now that HD-DVD players are so cheap, people might be willing to take a risk and jump in. About time...

[Gasaraki]

Everyone's fault

You know who will win the format wars? The format who has the most market share. By "waiting" you are helping to delay this war. <br />Now that HD-DVD players are so cheap, people might be willing to take a risk and jump in. About time...

[epitone]

2 questions...

1. Who had the greater market share, DVD-Audio or SACD?<br /><br />2. Did it matter at all?

[epitone]

2 questions...

1. Who had the greater market share, DVD-Audio or SACD?<br /><br />2. Did it matter at all?

[BCF1968]

Doesn't matter

If you're someone who likes the Spiderman movies or Pirates of the Caribean or other Disney movies or other movies exclusive to blu-ray it won't matter how cheap a HD-DVD player is. Blu-ray has more titles. If stupid Paramount hadn't made that exclusive deal with HD-DVD this war would be over after Christmas.

[natejohnstone]

Blu-Ray has 6 more titles, big deal

Blu-Ray only has 6 more titles available than HD-DVD right now. I can't see how that's a big argument. BR may have "studio support," but all that matters to most people is what's on the shelf.

[BCF1968]

Doesn't matter

If you're someone who likes the Spiderman movies or Pirates of the Caribean or other Disney movies or other movies exclusive to blu-ray it won't matter how cheap a HD-DVD player is. Blu-ray has more titles. If stupid Paramount hadn't made that exclusive deal with HD-DVD this war would be over after Christmas.

[natejohnstone]

Blu-Ray has 6 more titles, big deal

Blu-Ray only has 6 more titles available than HD-DVD right now. I can't see how that's a big argument. BR may have "studio support," but all that matters to most people is what's on the shelf.

[brandonh33]

Cant tell between i and p?

I am sick of these hd-dvd fanboys saying that the difference between 1080i and 1080p is not noticable. Well there is some truth to it. I admit that on the smaller hd-tv's that are 38 inches and on down, it is hard to see anything different. But may i mention that on these same tvs, an upconverted dvd looks very similar to 1080i if filmed good. On my 42 in plasma there is a huge change in picture with 1080p compared to 1080i, as on my 60 in of course. hd-dvd is just getting desperate, along with all of their fan boys. They are forced to take out key technology out of their players and say that it wasnt that great anyway. There is a reason that major hd channels like ESPN switched to 720p because the picture actually looked better because of the P(the way that the picture is projected onto the screen)even with the loss of pixals.

[natejohnstone]

Most HDTVs are i not p

The vast majority of HDTVs in people's homes right now are 1080i not 1080p (near 80% according to Engadget).<br /><br />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? <br /><br />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.

[Spacemawazi]

You don't know what you're talking about, brandonh

Movies are stored at 1080p on the HD-DVD disc.<br />The picture on your digital HDTV is NEVER interlaced.<br />If the player outputs at 1080i, it simply means that<br />your TELEVISION has to reassemble the two frames into<br />one. ALL of the 1080p information is STILL there.<br />The only advantage to a player that outputs 1080p is if<br />your television does a subpar job of deinterlacing.<br />End of story.<br /><br />There are no 1080i digital HDTV displays. They either have 720 actual lines of vertical resolution or 1080 actual lines of vertical resolution.<br /><br />ALL of the pixels are filled with EACH frame. No half and half.

[brandonh33]

Cant tell between i and p?

I am sick of these hd-dvd fanboys saying that the difference between 1080i and 1080p is not noticable. Well there is some truth to it. I admit that on the smaller hd-tv's that are 38 inches and on down, it is hard to see anything different. But may i mention that on these same tvs, an upconverted dvd looks very similar to 1080i if filmed good. On my 42 in plasma there is a huge change in picture with 1080p compared to 1080i, as on my 60 in of course. hd-dvd is just getting desperate, along with all of their fan boys. They are forced to take out key technology out of their players and say that it wasnt that great anyway. There is a reason that major hd channels like ESPN switched to 720p because the picture actually looked better because of the P(the way that the picture is projected onto the screen)even with the loss of pixals.

[natejohnstone]

Most HDTVs are i not p

The vast majority of HDTVs in people's homes right now are 1080i not 1080p (near 80% according to Engadget).<br /><br />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? <br /><br />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.

[Spacemawazi]

You don't know what you're talking about, brandonh

Movies are stored at 1080p on the HD-DVD disc.<br />The picture on your digital HDTV is NEVER interlaced.<br />If the player outputs at 1080i, it simply means that<br />your TELEVISION has to reassemble the two frames into<br />one. ALL of the 1080p information is STILL there.<br />The only advantage to a player that outputs 1080p is if<br />your television does a subpar job of deinterlacing.<br />End of story.<br /><br />There are no 1080i digital HDTV displays. They either have 720 actual lines of vertical resolution or 1080 actual lines of vertical resolution.<br /><br />ALL of the pixels are filled with EACH frame. No half and half.

[markdoiron]

Unfortunately, Not Yet for Either Format

Unfortunately, the price of an HD DVD (or Blu-Ray) player is irrelevant. I'm not tying up money in the videos of either format until either this war is resolved, or until the hardware mfg's commit to always and forever manufacture dual-players. That would ensure the ability to play thousands of dollars of media I might purchase in the future, no matter who might win this silly format war. <br /><br />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? <br /><br />--mark d.

[markdoiron]

Unfortunately, Not Yet for Either Format

Unfortunately, the price of an HD DVD (or Blu-Ray) player is irrelevant. I'm not tying up money in the videos of either format until either this war is resolved, or until the hardware mfg's commit to always and forever manufacture dual-players. That would ensure the ability to play thousands of dollars of media I might purchase in the future, no matter who might win this silly format war. <br /><br />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? <br /><br />--mark d.

[sscroggins]

Ha! You're worried about this format war?

I dropped $600 on a laserdisc player in the early '90's and bought about 10 movies that all cost me at least $40. My directors cut of Blade Runner was $100. The sad thing is that my copy of The Rocketeer still looks better than the same title on DVD. Anyone that says that hardware costs don't matter is nuts. If I can get HD quality movies (5 free with HD DVD still) and only drop $200 on a player it's very tempting. That's $40 per "free" movie. Sure, there not all things that you're terribly excited about, but with your hardware cost basically offset, it's pretty hard to side with Bluray.

[BCF1968]

Some facts for you

You can get 5 free movies with blu-ray too. In fact for $400 you can get a PS3 with Spiderman 3 PLUS 5 free blu-rays. For a toal for six and you're getting a blu-ray player AND a next gen game machine for $400. Now that's a deal.

[sscroggins]

Ha! You're worried about this format war?

I dropped $600 on a laserdisc player in the early '90's and bought about 10 movies that all cost me at least $40. My directors cut of Blade Runner was $100. The sad thing is that my copy of The Rocketeer still looks better than the same title on DVD. Anyone that says that hardware costs don't matter is nuts. If I can get HD quality movies (5 free with HD DVD still) and only drop $200 on a player it's very tempting. That's $40 per "free" movie. Sure, there not all things that you're terribly excited about, but with your hardware cost basically offset, it's pretty hard to side with Bluray.

[BCF1968]

Some facts for you

You can get 5 free movies with blu-ray too. In fact for $400 you can get a PS3 with Spiderman 3 PLUS 5 free blu-rays. For a toal for six and you're getting a blu-ray player AND a next gen game machine for $400. Now that's a deal.

[natejohnstone]

DEAL at $100...or $150 with good free movies

I'm getting the $399 PS3 next week. So I'll hold out on the HD-DVD player until it gets too low to pass up.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />But if it was $150 and came with 6 free movies that i wanted, then I'd go for it.

[natejohnstone]

DEAL at $100...or $150 with good free movies

I'm getting the $399 PS3 next week. So I'll hold out on the HD-DVD player until it gets too low to pass up.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />But if it was $150 and came with 6 free movies that i wanted, then I'd go for it.

[patrickbateman1]

HD DVD is 1080P

HD DVD is 1080P except on the cheap A2/A3 units. Not sure what you mean

[patrickbateman1]

HD DVD is 1080P

HD DVD is 1080P except on the cheap A2/A3 units. Not sure what you mean

[droobage]

Got my HD-A2 last weekend at Circuit City for $160

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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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....

[droobage]

Got my HD-A2 last weekend at Circuit City for $160

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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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....