Price Drop: Sub-$200 HD DVD Player from Toshiba?

neal77 · 10-18-2007, 01:45 AM

Just a year-and-a-half since they launched, high-definition players are breaching the $200 barrier. If reports on the Web are correct, HD DVD is poised to break the $200 mark before the holidays. Toshiba has told me there's no official pricing moves with regard to their MSRP; however, reports on the Web indicate Wal-Mart may be prepping to sell a $198 HD DVD player.

If so, this is a significant and aggressive move in favor of Toshiba and the HD DVD format: They would be delivering what--up until now--only a no-name manufacturer based in Hong Kong has promised. And even then, Venturer Electronics has yet to release its $199 HD DVD player to market.

Given the need for frequent firmware updates, a player such as the one posited from Venturer gave reason for concern: Would a company like Venturer, which outsources its technical support, be able to stay on top of the updates required as HD DVD discs evolve? Toshiba getting there is a whole other story, though: That's a big gun going out to the masses--complete with established and experienced technical support. Toshiba playing at the sub-$200 level makes the cheap high-def player far more interesting--even if that player is "only" capable of outputting at 1080i resolution (a drawback considering the movie content is presented at 1080p; HDTVs can deinterlace the 1080i input, but that requires you to have a TV that's up to the job).

Reaching $200 is a notable milestone, says Paul Erickson, Director of DVD and HD Market Research at DisplaySearch (a market research arm of NPD Group). "The $200 price point is considered an important financial and psychological barrier to cross for a consumer electronics device to become affordable to mainstream audiences," Erickson says. "This has been borne out in the past with DVD player, game console, and more recently, upscaling DVD player sales figures. And, according to our analysis of NPD retail sales data, consumers have thus far clearly demonstrated to be much more responsive to price, rather than content or features, when purchasing next generation DVD players. As such, getting below $200 and even $150 may actually be even more crucial for next generation formats to generate the mainstream sales numbers to succeed."

The price drop rumor stems from posts at the AVS Forum and the HighDefForum.com, where an astute Wal-Mart employee noticed that there was a new SKU entered for a $198 Toshiba HD DVD player, the HDA2-W.

If this turns out to be true, I'll be interested to see how the Wal-Mart factor impacts Toshiba's hardware sales. Earlier this year, Toshiba saw major boosts in sales with price drops this spring; a further price drop and availability in Wal-Mart could help the company, and the HD DVD format, widen its appeal to shoppers.

http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/005711.html

Type A · 10-18-2007, 01:55 AM

How long did dvd players take to get to this price point? Man, if this walmart sku turns out to be true, this is going to be great to help this format along. I personally would never buy 'venture' anything, I dont care what it is, perhaps most dont mind it though. I kinda hope blu ray follows suit with a cheap name brand player in the near future, but then I hope they dont....its a very strange sensation

oblioman · 10-18-2007, 02:00 AM

Be careful of those chinese toys!!

MikeRox · 10-18-2007, 04:21 AM

What you don't like Toshiba products now oblio? It's the A2 thats supposed to be going for $198.

oblioman · 10-18-2007, 04:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeRox

What you don't like Toshiba products now oblio? It's the A2 thats supposed to be going for $198.

Me bad,,just thought that me would interject a bit of humor. For Toshiba,,great products. Matter of fact me just purchased an up-converting Sammy DVD player for the bedroom and gave the lass's daughter me old Toshiba dvd player. The up-converting Sammy does a good job (not hd) but load times are slloooowwww compared to me old Toshiba.

Super XP · 10-18-2007, 05:48 AM

This is phenominal news, should further drive HD DVD into peoples homes Big Time

Topped with JB HI FI to STOCK HD DVD fully with both players & movies. Nothing but good news IMO.

The Venturer HD DVD player is a very good quality player. Wait until it comes out and you will see what I mean.

cougardew · 10-18-2007, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oblioman

Be careful of those chinese toys!!

That's funny as hell! Thanks for the laugh

myturn · 10-18-2007, 08:47 AM

Quote:

reports on the Web indicate Wal-Mart may be prepping to sell a $198 HD DVD player.

If this happens to the Blu-ray players as well
then I might look into getting one of them,
as long as they are 1.1 compliant.
I'm king of tired of paying those "extra" prices for
the HD imports when the BR prices of those same
dvd's are much less.
Xploited cinema is has been a great place so far
but.......

And since our Sony HDTV has 3 hdmi inputs it would
be nothing to add another player to the main system.

That plus the fact we received a great deal on the
hdmi cables when we first bought them so we picked
up 3 of those at the same time for under $30.00.

Superman · 10-18-2007, 08:48 AM

I think the cheapest you're going to find a BD player this year is the $400 PS3.

dobyblue · 10-18-2007, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superman

I think the cheapest you're going to find a BD player this year is the $400 PS3.

Nope, they're going to be substantially under that going into December.

Superman · 10-18-2007, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Nope, they're going to be substantially under that going into December.

Link?

Stew4HD · 10-18-2007, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Nope, they're going to be substantially under that going into December.

for the profile 1.0 players? I'd like to see proof of your term "substantially under". $325, 350, 375?

dobyblue · 10-18-2007, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superman

Link?

Panasonic press conference - CEATEC.

Lee Stewart · 10-18-2007, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Panasonic press conference - CEATEC.

So which BD player is going to be "substantially" lower than $399?

Superman · 10-18-2007, 09:44 AM

Yeah, I'd still like a link to read, because this is the first I've heard of this.

10-18-2007, 01:45 AM	#1
neal77 High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: L.A. California Posts: 495	Price Drop: Sub-$200 HD DVD Player from Toshiba? Just a year-and-a-half since they launched, high-definition players are breaching the $200 barrier. If reports on the Web are correct, HD DVD is poised to break the $200 mark before the holidays. Toshiba has told me there's no official pricing moves with regard to their MSRP; however, reports on the Web indicate Wal-Mart may be prepping to sell a $198 HD DVD player. If so, this is a significant and aggressive move in favor of Toshiba and the HD DVD format: They would be delivering what--up until now--only a no-name manufacturer based in Hong Kong has promised. And even then, Venturer Electronics has yet to release its $199 HD DVD player to market. Given the need for frequent firmware updates, a player such as the one posited from Venturer gave reason for concern: Would a company like Venturer, which outsources its technical support, be able to stay on top of the updates required as HD DVD discs evolve? Toshiba getting there is a whole other story, though: That's a big gun going out to the masses--complete with established and experienced technical support. Toshiba playing at the sub-$200 level makes the cheap high-def player far more interesting--even if that player is "only" capable of outputting at 1080i resolution (a drawback considering the movie content is presented at 1080p; HDTVs can deinterlace the 1080i input, but that requires you to have a TV that's up to the job). Reaching $200 is a notable milestone, says Paul Erickson, Director of DVD and HD Market Research at DisplaySearch (a market research arm of NPD Group). "The $200 price point is considered an important financial and psychological barrier to cross for a consumer electronics device to become affordable to mainstream audiences," Erickson says. "This has been borne out in the past with DVD player, game console, and more recently, upscaling DVD player sales figures. And, according to our analysis of NPD retail sales data, consumers have thus far clearly demonstrated to be much more responsive to price, rather than content or features, when purchasing next generation DVD players. As such, getting below $200 and even $150 may actually be even more crucial for next generation formats to generate the mainstream sales numbers to succeed." The price drop rumor stems from posts at the AVS Forum and the HighDefForum.com, where an astute Wal-Mart employee noticed that there was a new SKU entered for a $198 Toshiba HD DVD player, the HDA2-W. If this turns out to be true, I'll be interested to see how the Wal-Mart factor impacts Toshiba's hardware sales. Earlier this year, Toshiba saw major boosts in sales with price drops this spring; a further price drop and availability in Wal-Mart could help the company, and the HD DVD format, widen its appeal to shoppers. http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/005711.html __________________ HD-DVDS: 155 DVD's: 1,800 SHARP 52" 52d92u LCD TV XBOX360 ELITE HD-DVD ADD ON Toshiba A30

10-18-2007, 01:55 AM	#2
Type A 1080 Optical Supporter Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Panama City, Fl Age: 38 Posts: 2,724	How long did dvd players take to get to this price point? Man, if this walmart sku turns out to be true, this is going to be great to help this format along. I personally would never buy 'venture' anything, I dont care what it is, perhaps most dont mind it though. I kinda hope blu ray follows suit with a cheap name brand player in the near future, but then I hope they dont....its a very strange sensation __________________ Mitsubishi HC3000U HD projector Dual Optoma 106" screens Harman Kardon AVR-7000 receiver Bose 901 VI, 301 IV, VCS 10 Bose AM-6 Series III Sony STR-DG600 receiver JVC GR-HD1 HD camcorder Xbox 360 Pro / PS3 40 Gig HD DVD 0 / Blu Ray 15 Games 18 / Games 2 Gateway 901x HTPC (modified) Sling Box Pro w/HD Connect Cable Dish 211 receiver w/Absolute HD pack HP Pavilion dv-6000 laptop (HTPC2GO) Link-Theater Gallery - 100,000+ views Link-55 Restoration Updated 6/21/08 Last edited by Type A; 10-18-2007 at 01:58 AM.

10-18-2007, 05:48 AM	#6
Super XP Star Trek: The Movie! Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Toronto, ON. Canada Posts: 5,775	This is phenominal news, should further drive HD DVD into peoples homes Big Time Topped with JB HI FI to STOCK HD DVD fully with both players & movies. Nothing but good news IMO. The Venturer HD DVD player is a very good quality player. Wait until it comes out and you will see what I mean. __________________ Toshiba Regza 46" HDTV (46RF350U) LCD 1080p/24p Toshiba HD-A35 / HD-A3 / XD-E500 LG GGC-H20L Super Multi / PC Drive Onkyo TX-SR605 7.1 TrueHD/DTS HD MA Precision Acoustics™ 8Ch. Hi Def Loudspeaker Series DVD's = 200 = 130 = 10

10-18-2007, 08:48 AM	#9
Superman HD makes my pants tight Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Baltimore, MD Age: 35 Posts: 2,601	I think the cheapest you're going to find a BD player this year is the $400 PS3. __________________ Samsung 56" 720p DLP HDTV Olevia 42" 1080p LCD HDTV Onkyo TX-SR674 Receiver Onkyo TX-SR606 Receiver Velodyne CHT Front Row 5 piece speakers Sony SS-SR305 for 7.1 surround sound BIC H-100 subwoofer RCA HDV5000 HD DVD Player Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD Player Samsung BD-UP5000 BD/HD DVD Player Xbox 360 Pro PS3 60 gig My own personal AV/HD forum

10-18-2007, 09:44 AM	#15
Superman HD makes my pants tight Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Baltimore, MD Age: 35 Posts: 2,601	Yeah, I'd still like a link to read, because this is the first I've heard of this. __________________ Samsung 56" 720p DLP HDTV Olevia 42" 1080p LCD HDTV Onkyo TX-SR674 Receiver Onkyo TX-SR606 Receiver Velodyne CHT Front Row 5 piece speakers Sony SS-SR305 for 7.1 surround sound BIC H-100 subwoofer RCA HDV5000 HD DVD Player Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD Player Samsung BD-UP5000 BD/HD DVD Player Xbox 360 Pro PS3 60 gig My own personal AV/HD forum

10-18-2007, 04:21 AM	#4
MikeRox Blu Blu Skies! :D Join Date: May 2007 Location: Huddersfield, United Kingdom Posts: 12,260	What you don't like Toshiba products now oblio? It's the A2 thats supposed to be going for $198.

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