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Walmart orders 2 million $299 HD DVD players, in stores soon! (1 Viewer)

Edwin-S

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I'd read the update before any celebration. There is now confusion as to whether they meant HD DVD or Blu-ray. Some kind of confusion in translation.
 

Vincent_P

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Since HD-DVD is the format that has brought in Chinese manufacturers, I'm going to guess that the original translation is correct and these are HD-DVD players being discussed, and the "Blu" thing simply refers to the HD-DVD players use blue lasers just like the BD format.

Vincent
 

BrettB

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Will these cheap Chinese players be able to play Fox, Disney/Buena Vista, Lionsgate, MGM/UA & Sony Pictures movies?
 

RickER

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Id rather pony up the extra $50 for a Tosh player! Report says last of order should ship before the end of 2008, that narrows it down. News flash! HD and BD players will be cheaper in a year and a half!
I am still one of the fence sitters. But i can see me getting both HD and BD (if needed) when name brand players are in the 3 to 400 dollar price range.
 

Jason Seaver

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Not right away, obviously. But if Wal-Mart does manage to get a whole bunch of HD DVD players into homes, the non-Sony companies will probably re-evaluate their stance.

Of course, the same holds true for Universal and The Weinstein Company if a $300 BD player comes out, though we haven't heard much talk about those.
 

Manus

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" Will these cheap Chinese players be able to play Fox, Disney/Buena Vista, Lionsgate, MGM/UA & Sony Pictures movies? "

Fortunately not :) They have in-built quality control and do not support studios who buy into a clearly unfinished format before it works :D

~M~
 

Pete T C

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The translation was actually blue laser HD DVD. This was specified because in China they have red laser high definition disc as a format, too. Nothing to do with "Blu-Ray" which would simply read as "Blu-Ray."

In addition the press release also talks about being able to press the discs on the same equipment as regular DVD, which is not possible with Blu-Ray.
 

Joseph Bolus

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I think its safe to state that if this report is true Disney at least will be releasing titles to HD-DVD. Wal-Mart is the largest seller of Disney DVDs in the world!
 

Jerome Grate

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First, I thought entry level Toshiba players were already 299.00. The good news about this is that Walmart might actually help HD-DVD reach the mainstream consumer. This is pretty good news and my guess is that the price has no where to go but down after that.
 

ppltd

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In addition, 299 retail rice probably translate into a 199 WaMart price. And the war heats up.
 

Mark Booth

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The Toshiba HD-A2 is ALREADY available for $320. That's on the low end of your range so when will you be buying that HD-DVD player? :)

BTW, I guess you will be waiting a bit for the Blu-ray player in that price range.

Mark
 

Edwin-S

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My experience with cheap Chinese DVD players has been nothing but bad. I wouldn't spend 50 dollars on a Chinese HD DVD player.....let alone 200. I never thought I'd see the day where people would actually see the release of garbage players as a benefit. Remotes that don't work, poor quality picture, and cheaply built. Yup. That is exactly what HD DVD needs to succeed. Whatever happened to the desire for sturdy, quality built gear? Now it seems like it is all....."if it costs more than 100 bucks I'm not interested".

Also, If I was a studio I wouldn't release anything on a format that had the involvement of Chinese branded players.

It is a moot point anyway. Does anybody actually think that SONY and other Blu-ray manufacturers are going to just stand by and let TOSHIBA have free reign in the low end market? Don't worry, they will be making their own deals to flood the market with cheap Chinese garbage Blu-ray players. This war isn't over.....not by a long shot
 

Mark Booth

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I sure wish I could find that photo of the label on a PS3 that said: "Made in China". :rolleyes

Mark
 

RickER

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Made in China to the specifications that Sony placed on the product, i e we will make sure the quality is in the product. That is the key. A DVD player made with little to no quality standards, with a no name company...well, you get what you pay for.
 

Shane Martin

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The Walmarting of society is happening and that's what they demand. They are the largest retailer of DVD's so their influence can't be discounted when discussing a format war. It's not the hardware discussion that really is the good thing but rather it's the software influence that could be the result of this that will be the most interesting element.
 

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