HD-DVD Players now being given away, will Sony Blu-ray do it?
February 11, 2008 | Filed under Electronics, High Definition

It was just last week that HD DVD defied the rumored slow death and started selling out on Wal-Mart, but now Toshiba’s HD-DVD players are getting so cheap that they are being given away.
The prices have come down a lot on HD-DVD players, so much so that you can get one free with an $899 Yamaha/Klipsch audio package, the free player is a Toshiba HD-A3.
Many of you said that a cheap HD DVD player will make you buy one, while others said what’s the point if most of the Movie Studios are backing Sony Blu-ray…will the studios change back if everyone got cheap HD-DVD players.
2008 will be interesting in the HD DVD and Sony Blu-ray story.
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I support HD-DVD. I also support SACD and DVD-A.
The price of the HD-DVD players is really good. But the media for both HD-DVD and Blu-ray is still expensive. For casual users, I would say SD DVD with a up-converting DVD player will serve the purpose.
Like any techonlogy, the price will slide and there will be more features coming. It’s a waiting game. If you think the price is good today, the price will even be better in one month. Who knows, may be there will be a better technology that will take over the Hi-Def market sooner than we know.
There have been free player promotions (or rebates that amount to the same) from Sony, Sharp and Panasonic for months. For example, Panasonic has $499.99 of an HDTV if you buy an $499.99 player:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=pcmcat138200050160
The Future Is Blu.