Wal-Mart confirms $198 Toshiba HD DVD Player

It's official. CNN Money and Fortune Magazine confirm on October 25th that Wal-Mart has begun selling Toshiba's second-generation HD-A2 HD DVD player for $198.

Wal-Mart spokesperson Melissa O'Brien confirmed the rollback: "We reduced our HD DVD Toshiba player, the generation-two, to $198 earlier in the week." O'Brien also denied rumors that each Wal-Mart store would stock only 18 units of the Toshiba player, saying: "There are no limited quantities for stores or purchases."

Hi-Def Digest reports that the $198 price for Toshiba HD-A2 is currently being offered for in-store purchases only. Wal-Mart's website still lists the player at $274.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

unless they get some Blu ray players for that price also. It's not rocket science.

[shmee]

HD DVD has been around 250$ for months ans still the uptake is minimal.

90% of the Japanese producers are not even producing HD DVD drives.

do u think a consumer would choose HD DVD over BD

It is like choosing UMD over BD

apply some common sense

[sonarus]

hd-dvd has been 250 for months is true but that 50 dollar price point is going to make a big difference this xmas. Blu ray backers better start selling their players low at least 300 dollars. If they can sell a ps3 for 400 they can definetly sell blu ray for 250.

[shmee]

despite millions of ps3 owners BD could attract SOLE MOVIE WATCHERS too by lowering prices .

However i still believe it wont make any diff for HD DVD . In NA it could move a certain units but for sure EU and JAPAN are just lost territories for HD DVD

But i still would say " why take chance unnecessarily when SONY could drop the price of BD ?"

[joevfx]

haha blu ray is not F'd. this is a last desprate attempt to make some money back before toshiba drops out of the race. Hell with transformers being the biggest hd movie ever released it still didnt help hd dvd beat out blu ray sales for that week. plus, do you really think blu ray players wont drop in price before xmas, gimme a break. add to that pixar movies, pirates 3 and spidey 3 coming out hd dvd is the one who is F'd my friend.

[Wingnut26]

Another 1080i "HD" player. That's always pissed me off that they bring in these low priced players that display this interlaced HD bull crap.

[Silver360]

People goto to WalMart for everything at low prices. If they see this there it will be one more thing that WalMart endorses. They get in on the Hi Definition bandwagon at a low price. And here is the kicker most will think there is no difference between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD . So all bull aside this is a serious kick to the groin for Sony.

[FF7numba1]

to the guy above me:
really? spiderman will kill hd dvd and blu-ray players will get a price drop too, maybe. Doesn't matter they are leading.

[smturner68]

It will make a difference. Because, I now think it's a good gift price. I just might get my dad one for Christmas. That's about my limit, but it'd be cool for him, because he has a 1080i 50" tv.

People need to realize this. MANY people have HDTV's and have NO HD programming. I know a guy at work, and until I gave him my old HDTV antenna, he just had SD DirecTv. Of course, then after he saw the difference, he's gonna upgrade. My dad, who used to be savvy with electronics, doesn't have the HD box either. I think if I get him this player, and a few months paid of NETFLIX, then he'll get with the program. Maybe he'll either upgrade to high def with his Dish network, or he'll see that some movies are only highdef on Blu-ray and get one of those players too. I don't know, but I still think it's a great gift to receive when you have a highdef tv, but no source, or no current highdef disc source.

The points a lot of you bring up are becoming moot. By buying this player, it doesn't mean you can't later upgrade, but it'll certainly be worth a measly 200 dollars to get your feet wet. I love having both highdef movie format players in my house. Now, I just need to get rid of Dish network and get DirecTV because they have better pricing and a WAY better selection of HighDef channels. Too bad their DVR's aren't as good as Dish Network's.

[lawman1108]

Add an HD player to the mix along with my PS3 playing Blue-ray is all this system is good for. I should have used the money to get that LG BR/HD combo player.

[ruibing]

I knew Toshiba was going to use a price cut strategy to boost its sales and make claims of having more stand alone players (since they conveniently decide not to include the PS3), so I guess this is their holiday strategy. A $200 1080i HD-DVD player versus a $400 1080p PS3. Anyone who can look beyond $200 will just buy the PS3 unless their hatred for Sony is clouding their judgement. Just think of it as buying a $200 1080p Blu Ray player bundled with a $200 PS3.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

But it's obviously gonna push HD DVD players for that price.

[socomnick]

Im buying me this hd-dvd player 200 dollars is sweet.
I Hope its 1080p.

[sticky doja]

Its not, its 1080i I believe. Reguardless though, its a great deal for the price. Like I have said in a previous post, it is for the people that can't afford 1080p, like myself and most americans.

[ruibing]

The whole point of next gen DVDs is for highest resolution possible, and the HD-A2 only does 1080i. You might as well just get a $400 PS3 that does 1080p Blu Ray and plays next-gen games.

http://reviews.cnet.com/vid...

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

Now they are facing not 1 but 2 pretty brutal rivals, they don't just have to deal with Microsoft, they also have to deal with Toshiba who is pretty much the DVD king.

[jiggyjay]

I can definiely agree with you there but without the PS3 having blu ray then blu ray would've been already dead before it even launched because of the price difference between it and HD DVD...

[joevfx]

are you insane. the PS3 is the reason blu ray is on top. believe it or not Sony knows what they are doing.

[YoMeViet]

Why did you do 3 post in a row? and why did post #2 sound like it's replying to your 1st post?
#1 "Blu ray is f*cked"
#2 "I don't know if it's F*cked"

you sound a little bi-polar dude.O_O

[ktchong]

I think he's freaking out... which is what Sony and the Blu-ray camp are likely doing right now.

[paul_war]

I'm sure Sony arn't 'freaking out', they wouldn't be where suprised by a move like this, they would have seen this comming & have plans of .their own. Like almost any business would/

[Blitzed]

Lightning has always been all over the map. The guy can't think for himself and has a panic attack with every piece of news thats posted.

"BD FTW! No wait, HDDVD FTW, wait...PS3 rules! Oh, negative news, the PS3 is doomed. Oh wait another sales report, PS3 FTW! Crap, what did that blog say...will someone please tell me what to think!"

Grow a spine dude. Mean what you say and say what you mean.

[Sez]

if this is true. i will be getting this next month.

edit: thanks wageslave. i will do that. i totally forgot you could use MS's hd-dvd on a computer. thanks again for the recommendation

[wageslave]

I recommend you get the Xbox 360 External HD-DVD player instead. This is what I did. Why?

A) Pile of Free Movies.
B) Less money ($165) ( http://www.jellyfish.com/pr...
C) It can be used with your PC*
*D) Which means that you'll be able to use it to stream to Windows Media Center
*E) Which means that you'll be able to use it for the DATA HD-DVDs that are going to start to appear.
*F) Which means that you'll be able to use it for years to come even if you want to buy a another HD-DVD, BR, or Combo player in the futre.

The Xbox 360 HD-DVD is future proof. BlueRay is going to be dead on the desktop because Sony RIAA and Sony MPAA are only interested in it as a DRM-secure format, not a read-write data format.

(and here is a big hush-hush) Since HD-DVDs are the next high-storage format for PCs, you can bet that whatever ripping software appears, it will support HD-DVD primarily.

HD-DVD will be shipping in Toshiba boxes. Oh, and HD-DVD is also Sharp & NEC which make a *fcuk* of a lot of OEM drives for computers (if you didnt know).

[ActionBastard]

$200 for a discontinued HD DVD player? No 1080p? No multichannel analog outputs? If this is a deal, then O.J.'s innocent...

[Blitzed]

I recommend you ask Bill Gates to wear a condom.

You sound like an ad sometimes.

[scrillakiller]

i wonder what bluray has up its sleeves.can the 40 gb out gun this.honestly i think so as there is much more deman for ps3 than an hd player.but time will tell.
sony needs to pump out more games to counter this thats all.if more games mre demand for ps3 which comes with bluray so get on ur job sony

[SmokeyMcBear]

heres the thing.. the typical walmart shopper is going to see this 200 dollard hddvd player.. and see a regular DVD player for 40 dollars and go hmmmmm.. I dunno. This is a good thing for hd dvd.. also it will make bluray lower the price of players.. which is a good thing. But Im sorry, the typical walmart shopper is well uhhh. hmmm.. how shall i put this. I don't see many of them having big ol high defintion TVs.. I mean at least go to target or something... but walmart? Now if that was being sold at bestbuy for 200 bucks.. well then thats a huge plus for hd dvd.

[sticky doja]

"But Im sorry, the typical walmart shopper is well uhhh. hmmm.. how shall i put this. I don't see many of them having big ol high defintion TVs"

You do know Visio is the most sold HDTV on the market, and is primarily sold at Walmart right? While they might not have a "big ol high definition tv" they do have 720p/1080i tv's, which is exactly what audience this player is reaching out to, the MAJORITY of HDTV owners, not the minority (1080p).

[wil4hire]

If you couldn't afford a 500 dollar HD-DVD player...

Or a 300 Dollar HD-DVD player...

Or a 200 Dollar HD-DVD player...

What makes the HD camp think that that person owns a 1080p 720p HDTV?

[email protected] Captain:

Bluray has outsold HD-DVD with super expensive players. Disc wise. That is all Studios care about.. Disc sales...

Again, people who can't afford a HD-DVD player / Bluray player aren't watching/investing in HDTV's & HD-Movies. 200 dollar players, yet still 30 & 40 dollar discs...

[Captain Tuttle]

A $200 gamble on a side in the middle of a format war is easier to take than a $500 one? At least that's how I feel.

[squallsoft]

i think you just hit the nail on the head. if someone can afford a 1.5 - 2k TV, then they can afford a measly 400 dollar player. god people never learn. price is not everything when it comes to movie players. dont let the media fool you, bluray is winning this format war.

BluRay FTW!

[ktchong]

And nowadays a HDTV can cost as little as US$300.

That's how most families do their budgeting when buying new items. Let say they decide they want to upgrade to hi-def, and they are still concern with prices (of course they are -- most people are.) If they buy a HDTV (let say $500) + Blu-ray player ($400), that'll cost them close to $1000. If they buy a HDTV ($500) + HD-DVD player ($200), that'll save them $200. And a $200 saving does mean something to a lot of people.

And then there are people who have already bought a HDTV and are just waiting for the price of a HD player to come down. Those people do exist... and in great numbers.

[shmee]

apply some common sense.

200$ wont mean anything when HD DVD is lacking the disney titles, Spiderman 1,2,3 and Pirates sequels.

no one is waiting for HD DVD prices to come down cuz HD DVD has been around the 250$ for quite some time.

do a research before posting crap and calling me nasim.

You have several fake accounts on this forum and everyone knows you

I have yet to see an HD TV priced at 1000$ ( i mean the decent ones)

excepting Toshiba just 1/2 other japanese companies are supporting HD DVD .

plus the 40gig ps3 is on the way . This is a losing battle for HD DVD since most people would be buying ps3s this XMAS and most of the ps3 owners are BD movie purchasers too

[ktchong]

That's like saying people wouldn't buy a Blu-ray player because they can't watch Transformers or the Bourne or Matrix trilogy on it. You deliberately left out the fact that people can buy the $198 Toshiba HD DVD player and still be able to watch Disney movies or Spidey or Pirates or whatever - ON DVD. Upscaled.

$199 has always been the tipping point for any price war. $199 has always been the consumers' "sweet spot" for electronic gadgets.

And I could care less if you're nasim.

[wageslave]

I dont know if you knew this, but Walmart has a pile of cheap Plasma and LCD TVs.

Now, they arent quite up to my standards (and maybe yours). But People are going to be buying a plenty of 46" 1080p Plasma for $1200 and a $200 HD-DVD.

Many people have very nice Rear Projection in their home already, and many of those are HD. *THAT* person (who bought a 60" RP for $1500 a few years ago) isnt going to replace his sweet TV, he's going to buy a $200 HD-DVD... and a copy of Transformers FTW.

[Sez]

what are you talking about. more people buy HD-DVD stand alone than they do BLU-RAY stand alone.the BDA count the ps3 as a stand alone player just to boost sales.

[sticky doja]

I bought my 42" 1080i plasma for $762, and despite the low price is a great tv. There are no 1080p tv's for under $1000 but there are hundreds if not thousands of 1080i and less models for under $1000.

[sak500]

Wow almost close the mass market price point of $150. I'd be picking one up with transformers once it hits our shore

[mighty_douche]

still it wont help HD-DVD much, i know personally if i was thinking about being any new piece of tech id never go for the cheapest option. still it by some act of god that HD-DVD wins this war then at least it aint gonna cost us much.

[SacT0wnF1n3st]

I might get it but I'm saving money for GAMES and MORE GAMES and MORE MORE GAMES.

[Bill Gates]

AHAHHAHHAHA

This is what I'm talking about. Walmart cheap low/no class brands, and now they can add HD-DVD to their collection because that's where it belongs.

Blu-ray IS the SUPERIOR format, that's why it's winning. Walmart is merely trying to bank a few bucks on HD-DVD before its collapse a year from now.

AAAHAHAHAHAHAH

[tethered]

Walmart cheap low/no class brands?

Ok go here:
http://www.walmart.com/sear...

Whats on the top of that list?
Thats right, Sony.

Please stop being an idiot.

Edit:
@ Rooftrellen
Are you new here because if you have been here a while you would know he is a huge Sony fanboy.

[Rooftrellen]

Maybe that was his point. He is Bill Gates, after all!

[Captain Tuttle]

I guarantee you that I've been here longer than you and Bill Gates is the funniest poster on this site. It's good to see him back in top form.

Edit for tethered below: Sorry man...It's been a long week.

[tethered]

@ Captain Tuttle
I don't dispute anything you just stated.
I also don't ignore people because its really funny to see reactions of people that take it so seriously.

And yes, Bill Gates is a very funny SOB.
I just like to stoke the flames from time to time.

[skagrerrrr]

very funny bill gates, hahaha

[wageslave]

Did you just say that Toshiba is a poor quality brand? Huh?

Get out more troll. Toshiba is top-tier electronics.

[HeartlesskizZ]

If I did not own a ps3 I would buy this but I do own a ps3 so I pass =)

[ukilnme]

I have a PS3 as well. By default I will be supporting Bluray for now. I bought the PS3 for gaming, not movies.

[THE_JUDGE]

groceries not tv's. People don't go there to buy HD stuff. That's like going to Micheal Jackson's house because you need a baby sitter.

[Bladestar]

lol... are you sure you know you are talking about? if you go to NY upstate NY wallmart is the place people go for everything... and I mean everything... Sometimes I go upstate and I personally avoid buying at wallmart like the plage... I have this thing about supporting a communist state which we will be involve in WW3 in a matter of 5 years... but never the less.. never understimate the power of wallmart... There is a reason why that company is #1 on the fortune 500...

http://www.usatoday.com/mon...

You never watch the episode about wallmart on South Park? Wallmart is alive!

[THE_JUDGE]

is beyond me. But in reply, I know that people go there, alot of people. Most of the people who do are low-middle class to poorer, I don't mean to be mean but its true. Walmart has the people just not the clientele. Anyone who has a half a brain knows what if you need anything 'next-gen' or 'HD' Walmart is the last place to go. At BB and CC, the employee's KNOW a lot about HD stuff, at Walmart the employee's know WHERE the entertainment section of the store is. Thats a huge difference!

[joevfx]

i agree with you, walmart has become the place for cheap garbage ever since Target became huge. I think alot f people will see this $200 player and think i ist some cheap waste of money when seen next to $400 blu ray players at Target.

[LoydX-mas]

Walmart accounts for nearly 45% of ALL dvd purchases. This will help HD-DVD in a big way.

[jaja1434]

You seem to forget that the people with enough money to buy the best of things are about 10% of the worlds shoppers. The other 90 does not want the best HD TV or the best stereo. They want what they can afford. And in this case it might be this player. And while your right that WM is hardly the best place to go for anything electronic, it is one of the cheapest. Which to do you think people care more about, the best or the cheapest?

[OOG FunK]

Half of you guys are morons if you dont think walmart carrying any type of product is not a plus for that product. We are talking about the largest retail chain in the world they can single handedly decide who they want to win in HD just by saying they wont carry their hd dvds or blu ray cds. Walmart has way more power then you guys will ever realize. They deal with more people then you electronic stores combined so dont be ignorant.

[joevfx]

Walmart Used to be looked at like Target is looked at now. Now walmart is know for cheap crappy stuff. Walmart will not Help HD DVD. Target on the other hand....

[ukilnme]

Refer to 12.1

[tethered]

joevfx,
Look at reply #12.1

[man0fsteel]

this HD - DVD player's specs is at a max 1080i ... the same that you can get with a regular DVD up-convert system...so is it worth it?

[THE_JUDGE]

I never actually thought of it that way but thats soo true. Why buy an HD-DVD player if the picture is sub-par and sound isn't crap, even if its only $200. The special features don't do enough, if its below 1080p its regular DVD and upconvert FTW.

[power of Green]

Makes you guys feel better don't it! as if what you said is going to make a diference when most people owning HDTV's don't have 1080p max rez.

I see people going rabid on Walmart(should be for different reasons), you do know Waly World sells top Name Brand products right?, like top of the line HDTV's!(most likely spark a greater attach rate for HD products in the future).

If the HD-DVD base grows out of hand expect the studio's to adjust their stradegies as it would be foolish to ignor a much larger base.

[lawman1108]

And if you say that you can you are full of it. I have a $3,000. 45 inch Sharp LCD tv and once your in 1080 the diff is nill.

[power of Green]

So much for all the photo shop theories I read in the original thread.

[mirroredderorrim]

Wal-Mart dosn't sell top of the line HD-TV's, they do, however sell high-end. (but by no means a TV that would satisfy an electronics enthusiast)

[power of Green]

Only thing that sucks about good HD-DVD and Xbox 360 news lately is being out numbered by Sony fanatics in these threads.

EDIT below:

And good luck to you and your PS3's last stand.

[tethered]

Why do you even care?
Did you buy an HD-DVD add on for the 360?

[power of Green]

Why do you care that I care?...

I own an stand alone and the Add-on...

I think the U-control and U-shop features is the future and "I" get their vision of movie watching and it adds great value to movies and the software/hardware fusion is great. I like the direction HD-DVD is going why would I support a camp playing catch-up?.

EDIT Below:

No Blu-ray software sales are winning I was talking about advances in fuction and features(stand alone sales if I wanted to get anal about it).

Yah I'm not an hardcore gamer so I don't need two consoles I use to have two consoles in any given generation but that burn lots of time and money.

[tethered]

I was just curious.
I really haven't bought into either format other than some blu-ray movies I play on my PS3 when I'm not playing games.

It is nice to know that I will be able to get into HD-DVD so cheap should Blu-ray fail but I'm not so sure Blu-ray will fail. Its still up in the air but I don't think Blu-ray is playing catchup at all. Well as far as HD movie sales go anyway.

I will be buying the $399 40 GB PS3 soon as a dedicated Blu-ray player (and for gaming when my wife isn't at home) for the family room so I guess I will be a little more invested soon.