Get a Toshiba HD DVD player and 7 movies for $129.99

(Credit: TigerDirect)

Welcome to the HD DVD Deathwatch, Day One. TigerDirect has the Toshiba HD-A3 player with 2 movies in the box (300 and The Bourne Identity) and 5 more by mail, all for just $129.99. That's practically a Black Friday price, which begs the question: Could this be the beginning of the end for HD DVD?

As you've no doubt heard by now, Warner Bros. Entertainment has decided to put its high-def eggs in Blu-ray's basket. It remains to be seen whether HD DVD can survive this move--the format's not much good if there are no movies available for it--but it could produce some killer deals on players. Like this one.

CNET hasn't officially reviewed the HD-A3, but you can check out a summary and some user ratings (7.2 out of 10 on average). The key thing to note here is that the A3 tops out at 1080i, not 1080p. I don't consider that a major shortcoming (my eyes can't see a difference between the two), but videophiles will no doubt raise the red flag.

What do you think? Good time to scoop up a clearance-price HD DVD player? Or is there no sense spending money on a doomed format? I'm eager to hear your thoughts. In the meantime, don't wait if you want this player; I guarantee they won't last long.

[PBMpharmacist]

Is it a good deal? Heck yes! But I'm getting out of the format due to the Warner announcement. If anyone wants a truly KILLER deal, check out ebay auction number 230212142954 for a MINT top-of-the-line Toshiba HD-A35 HD DVD player with Transformers and Blades of Glory.

[R.Jefferson]

Tigerdirect ahahahahhahahahahahahaha. Good luck on that one. The resellerrating for tiger has changed for the better as of late. When I was building a rig last summer I ordered parts from them. Thier OEM products are DOA and rebates are a scam and their rebate gararontee is even more of a scam. If you need an RMA, customer service is going to drop your call atleast once and then when you call back the issue is resolved and everyone knows who you are before you complain for the dropped call. They do this to see if you will just give up.

The only postive for tiger is that they seem to be exclusive sellers of Ultra products.

[ronnopiano]

I've never had a problem with tiger direct, (as the post above claims) and have built several high-end computers. However, I'm old enough to remember buying a Sony Betamax when they first came out. Spent close to $900, (which was a lot even in those days!) only to see my investment sit on a shelf when I became bored of taping television, (the remote was a corded remote!). There were very few Betamax movies available. This is what I see for HD-DVD, very few movies available. Sony wins this time!

[Johnny Mac 7]

What I would like to know is how HD-DVD is doing in the rest of the world. Americans aren't the only ones who make movies.

[konfuzion]

Americans are the only ones who make movies... that blow up in ways you want to see in HD.

Sure, you can watch that new french indie flick about the little baguette boy, but you wouldn't get excited watching it in 1080p

[niyooh]

Your idea of french people is just plain wrong... I'm belgian (pretty close to France) and the way our system works, the music we listen to, the movies we watch are all the same as in the states.

Now, what do I think of this deal? It's awesome, there is still a lot of hope for HD DVD and people need to stop saying it's dead. Toshiba has delivered on all of it's promises and HD DVD has a lot more cool stuff than Blu-Ray for a cheaper price.

Go buy it if you can, I sure would.

[itsdanaman]

Yeah this is a good deal. I bought one of the H2's before Christmas for 100 bucks. These players are great up converters for regular DVD's (honestly, there isn't a huge difference between the HD and SD on my 46in TV when using this player, there is some difference but not the staggering difference that some would lead you to believe). I have resigned myself to the fact that Blu-ray is going to win but honestly for the price what are you out? Oh yeah, 1080p is all marketing, unless you have a gigantic screen you will not be able to tell a difference between it and 1080i or 720p (even then you might not notice a difference), don't be a sucker for marketing.

[superdynamite]

"Get a Toshiba HD DVD player and 7 movies for $129.99! Hurry! Get them while they last! Once the Stock runs out, that's it! You'll never see HD-DVD again."


I feel bad for the first batch of people that fell for the Toshiba $99 hd-dvd firesale. Who the hell would buy HD-DVD now that it's 2 months from being gone.

[xZero2007x]

Wow so many comments from people who aren't being denial about HD-DVD's impending doom (or at least as it seems now). Usually people from both sides would be here to start flaming each other over this, but I think just from reading the initial feedback, HD-DVD fans failed to be proactive this time and have lost the initiative to flame first/back, which says a lot about the morale about this entire ordeal. That could very well (in an unscientific way), be an initial sign that the "HD-DVD Deathwatch" is real.

Well, if people don't mind having two players in their house, I think this is a good deal. I mean sure, only movies released now and till May may give the player a purpose, but no sense in going back and re-buying every single movie you already bought on HD-DVD. I say if you have a universal remote and room in your home theater, snap this deal up and just make use of your HD-DVD collection now before Blu-ray fully picks up it's killer momentum after May.

[kazzyD]

Actually, after shipping it's somewhere in the $140's. So it's cheaper to get it through Amazon for $139 (but with free shipping!):

http://www.techconsumer.com/2008/01/12/hd-dvd-price-drops-while-blu-ray-screws-early-adopters/

[tarrantm]

I'll second the tigerdirect issues - especially the rebate part. Their hardware was ok. Only ever had a DOA with one mobo ordered from them. However, rebates weren't honored for a vid card, cooler, power supply and dvd/rw despite their rebate guarantee. That's why I get my stuff from newegg and a buncha other places that don't rip me off anymore.