Leading UK supermarket Asda, who are owned by Walmart thinks sales of Blu-ray players will be bigger than those of DVD players this holiday season. TechRadar is reporting that the retailer is going to focus more on the HD format.

The retailer feels the reason why it has taken the platform five years to really flourish is “more subtle, though significant, difference in image quality“, but the tipping point has now been reached in Asda’s eyes. Vision expert from Asda Wayne Steenson said that a bigger amount of homes in the UK now have the ability to enjoy the platform, and the company is “pleased to be offering Blu-Ray players at the lowest price in the market.”

Consumers can pick up a Blu-ray player in the store for only £40 via the ONN branded unit offering a cheap entry into the platform. The Blu-ray platform managed to shrug off the competition it once had from the HD-DVD format that is now extinct, and is now making headway into the market. There are consumers now though who like to download HD versions of films as new TVs become connected directly to the net.

The platform has been helped by the lower prices of the movies that were once a lot more expensive than the DVD equivalent. But now you often see retailers selling Blu-ray movies at a reduced rate only a few weeks after first becoming available. Are you planning on purchasing a Blu-ray player this Christmas?

Where the likes of Sony have gone down the route of offering consumer electronic customers the ability to use a Google browser, Panasonic thought that they would start to integrate Skype into more of their products, and the Blu-ray player must have seemed like the obvious choice. It has taken almost a year, but some will say that it has been worth the wait.

These new devices form part of the VIERA Cast™ Blu-ray disc player range and there are three new models in all, these are the DMP-BD75, DMP-BDT110 and the DMP-BDT210. The prices are $100, $150 and $200 respectively. All three models should be available some time this month.

Using Skype on one of these new devices is very easy, all you do is press the Skype button on the remote and the program will then load up. The only issue is you will need to purchase the FREETALK camera, which comes with a built-in microphone. However, if you live far away from your friends or family, then this is a small price to pay. For more details visit the Skype Blog.

Would you rather buy a Skype enabled Panasonic TV or Blu-ray player?

The reason we say this is because back in August 2009 Panasonic revealed the CY-BB1000D; but I cannot be certain if it finally made it to market or not. SlashGear did report that it would be released in September of that year. CNET Reviews did report about the AVDBR1 back in November 2010, so it was certain to make an appearance during CES 2011.

There are a number of places where you will be able to store the Audiovox AVDBR1 in-car Blu-ray player, such as under your seat or any other storage area. There is also room for improvement with the tech as well, as you will be able to use BD-Live for future firmware updates; that is said to be later this year.

We are not convinced why you would need a Blu-ray player in a car; the reason we say this is because most of us will not notice the difference between HD and Standard content on a screen as small as those used for in-car entertainment. So is this the first of its kind, or have there been others before?

As with all blu-ray players you get cinema-quality resolution, and he does not even have to throw his DVDs away, as the player will upscale them for him – making classic movies come back to life. It is not just image quality that is improved, sound quality is to; although there will be an issue when you connect this device to your new Samsung LED TV with those underpowered speakers.

Most of you with a Samsung device will know that you will be able to stream your media content from your PC direct to your Blu-ray player – I can do that with my Sammy LED TV. The best part is, this can be done wirelessly with the BD-C6500.

Some of the features include Web-Connected Samsung Apps, BD Live, HDMI CEC, Progressive Scan, BD Wise AllShare and so much more. For details of where you can buy the Samsung BD-C6500 Blu-ray Player visit Samsung’s U.S. website. If you would like an alternative, then maybe you should consider the LG BD690 or the Vizio VBR220.

We’ve already brought you a couple of Christmas gift ideas such as the Vizio VSB200 high-definition sound bar and the Leapfrog Leapster 2 Learning Game System. Now we have another gift idea – the Vizio VBR220 Blu-Ray player, which plays both Blu-ray discs and DVDs.

The VBR220 features integrated 802.11n dual-band wireless networking, up to 1080p upscaling, progressive scanning and JPEG photo playback, for viewing all your favorite pictures. The VBR220’s Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio processing support will deliver a great home theater experience.

You can read more about this product via walmart.com. Are you thinking of buying anyone a Blu-ray player for Christmas this year? If so, do you like the sound of the Vizio VBR220? Maybe you have some gift ideas of your own that you’d like to share with our other readers.

According to Ben Bowers over at engadget.com (sourced from zatznotfunny.com), the LG BD690 has recently emerged as the very first Blu-ray player on the Wi-Fi Direct certification list. However, we still have no word on when the LG BD690 will arrive, or how much it will cost.

You will only need one Wi-Fi Direct certified device to be able to connect with all your other Wi-Fi products. This of course means that if you do purchase the LG BD690 Wi-Fi Direct certified Blu-ray player, there might not be a need for dedicated media streamers.

Have you already got any Wi-Fi Direct certified devices? What do you think of the LG BD690 and will you be buying one?

The HP90S is said to be the first 3D capable Blu-ray player from Sharp. It can be wall mounted if desired, and also supports JPEG, MP3, DiVX-HD, CD, DVD and BD formats. You will able to connect to YouTube via the integrated wireless and DLNA.

We do not know an exact date, but are aware that sharp’s new Blu-ray player will be released sometime in November priced up at £379.99 for the UK. What do you think of the new BD-HP90S and is it slick enough for you to buy?