The Wal-Mart $299 HD DVD player on the way

Get ready to get your cheap HD on kids. Wal-Mart just threw down some serious green for a batch of Chinese-made HD DVD players. Just as they brought DVD players down to near-disposable status, their deal for 2 million HD DVD players produced by China's Great Wall corporation will ultimately do the same for hi-def optical. The guts are developed by Taiwan's Fuh Yuan with a touch of help from Japan's TDK. How much? A magical $299, that's how much -- $100 less than the cheapest available HD DVD rig (Toshiba's A2) and half of Sony's $600 BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc player. It's not clear when we'll see the first units on Wal-Mart shelves, only that the final shipment from the order is expected before 2008 is over.

Update: Pull back the reigns HD DVD fanboys, Akihabara now says that they've made a "huge mistake" with their translation: the original source called it "?? HD DVD and ?? means Blu-RAY." In other words, Blu-ray HD DVD. Huh? Word to the wise: since both formats use blue lasers, it's best to wait for an English press release before either camp celebrates.

[Via Akihabara News]

[Demaar @ Apr 20th 2007 6:56AM]

Walmarts pushing for HD DVD? Lawd... does that mean the format war is over? They're some kind of unstoppable juggernaut in the US, yeah?

[ph @ Apr 20th 2007 6:58AM]

Cheap HD DVD players at walmart?

The Wars is over!

HDDVD FTW!!

[Big @ Apr 20th 2007 7:05AM]

THE CHINESE MARKET is going to be what kills the HDDVD/ BLURAY format war.

I lived in ShangHai, China for 2 years.
Over there, anything that is purchased on a DVD plastic disk is sold for about 8Yuan - 10Yuan (about $1.25).

Playstation 3 games ($1.25)
Xbox360 games (1.25)
WII games ($1.25)
DVD's (1.25) and so forth and so on.
Microsoft Windows VISTA ($1.25)
OFFICE XP/ OFFICE 200x (1.25)

They do not respect international copyright laws at all.

The Chinese MAKE the players and they MAKE the video game consoles. I've seen them MOD CHIP video game consoles to accept the backup disks with no trouble at all (takes them 10 minutes).
[when you return a malfunctioning 360/PS3 - it is shipped to China where it is repaired]

Its going to be IMPOSSIBLE to force everyone to buy $20/$30 BluRay or HDDVD movies when some one is selling them out a gym bag for $5.

[Olivier @ Apr 20th 2007 7:07AM]

Talk about a kick in the nuts for BluRay..

Also, I'm sure that Walmart probably got a way better deal than $299 for 2M units.

I think $299 will be their introductory price, and before December it'll be $249, with the last 6 months coming in at under $199.

This news combined with Amazon's sale charts showing HD DVD ahead of Bluray once again is a severe blow for Sony and Pals.
Good for them, I hope they vanish with the dinosaurs for them being so arrogant and disdainful with customer rights and demands.

bye Bye Sony. Take the PS3 with you and shut the door on your way out!

[R2P2 @ Apr 20th 2007 7:57AM]

I wonder how many corners the requirements for HD DVD players allow them to cut? i.e. Is it possible that the best this can output is 480p over component, with no HDMI support at all?

[tranzparentl @ Apr 20th 2007 8:23AM]

Great news, Walmart is very powerful. This could be bigger news than getting more studio support really.

[Andrew Baisden @ Apr 20th 2007 8:02AM]

there are way more bluray movies than hddvd so just because there are cheap players does not mean there will be good movies.

[grug @ Apr 20th 2007 8:29AM]

According to Wikpedia, there are 167 HD-DVD titles (as of March 2007) and 221 Blu-Ray titles (as of April 2007) available in North America. I wouldn't call that "way more", especially when you compare both figures to the absolutely huge DVD market.

You're correct that more players doesn't automatically mean more releases on the HD-DVD format, but more players == potentially more format support == more discs released.

[saboola @ Apr 20th 2007 8:02AM]

Seriously, this is a huge win for HDDVD. Good luck Sony. Better get started on that price drop for the PS3, you know the one that does not exist.

[BillyBob @ Apr 20th 2007 8:35AM]

If China can produce them in quantity, then they should be a whole lot cheaper than $299. I'm thinking $99 would be about right. I can wait another year...

[brian @ Apr 20th 2007 8:45AM]

Stay tuned for Blu-ray price drop after the break.

Back to you, Stan...

[tekdroid @ Apr 20th 2007 8:41AM]

wake me when I can back up 2 (or more) miniDV tapes to robust rewritable optical disc for $5 - without concerning myself with Hollywood DRM-related crapola. That's my personal archive war won right there.

[The Aggie CEO™ @ Apr 20th 2007 9:05AM]

Well Well Well..........

IF this thing has all the features of the Original players it would be worth it..........

but something tells me that it won't because it will be SEVERELY STRIPPED DOWN...........

Just like the CHEAPEST DVD players are missing good features such as zoom, or 480P outputs.......

This thing might cap out @ 720P and not have internet capability or HDMI output........

Walmart IF they wanted could get Toshiba themselves to make it and still sell it for $299 but if they are selling it for that price then their cost per unit can't be no more than $149 which means IF they take off they will eventually drop the price to $99 within a year..........

that wont make the format war over tho..........

Quality not Quantity.....

[ph @ Apr 20th 2007 9:18AM]

HD DVD players have a minimum standard. These will have at least 1080i output and very likely tru hd decoders. Even if it doesnt, 720p is still much better than 480i dvd, and 1506kbs dts is better than 448 kbs dolby digital.

[saboola @ Apr 20th 2007 9:30AM]

Like how the cheapest DVD players on the market have less "features"? This is just untrue. The Chinese manufacturers, not having the luxury of relying on just a "name brand", usually pack MORE features into their products, in order to compete with the big boys like Samsung. Think Apex and the ability to make the DVD player region free circa 2000.

[Liqwid @ Apr 20th 2007 9:15AM]

Wal-Mart has the RCA The RCA HDV5000 player, but they don't push it that hard (I don't know the price). Actually, in mine they have it on a high shelf, out of sight, and none on display. They also have the old Toshiba HD-D1, which is a first-gen model and sells for $349.99 and is carried online only.

[The Aggie CEO™ @ Apr 20th 2007 10:24AM]

dude..........

I have purchased the $20 DVD player from Wal-Mart on Black Friday(Day After Thanksgiving) since 2004.........they ALWAYS have less features which is why I would give them as gifts and not even stick them in my kids room.........

[Nick @ Apr 20th 2007 9:36AM]

except depending upon the quality of the machine it could crap out after 6 months and might give HD DVD a bad name for the consumers that actually thought buying a high def electronic device at walmart was a good idea.

[c @ Apr 20th 2007 9:39AM]

Akihabara News says its 2 Million Blu-ray and there was some mistake in their initial translation. So is it Blu-Ray or HD-DVD ?

[ananoyums @ Apr 20th 2007 9:39AM]

Nice I need to go pick one up when they are available.

[mj @ Apr 20th 2007 9:57AM]

Regardless of whether it has all the buttons on the remote, people will want to try HD movies at this price. Now that people have HDTVs they can consider HD movies. Plenty of people can convince themselves to spend another 150 or so if they were going to get a unconverting player anyway.

Walmart is backing this for a very good reason: you won't be able to download or pirate HD-DVD as easily as DVD for a while. Apple TV doesn't have HD yet. Amazon's Unbox doesn't have HD yet. So they need to push the next physical format as quickly as possible. HD-DVD's lower price is going to win, because Walmart can't wait while Amazon and Apple figure online HD out - they don't have time to wait for BluRay, even if their .

What are Viacom, Disney, etc. going to do if Walmart wants them to sell HD-DVDs? They are going to cave. They can't afford losing most favored status at Walmart. Only Sony's stubborness (having bet their company on BluRay) is going to keep them from joining in. So in about 5 years, HD-DVD will be doing fine. And then Sony will oust Sir Stringer and they'll announce big changes to playstation and start supporting HD-DVD.

As for the BluRay side, Sony already played their hand out. There's nothing left. They're already losing money on the $500 BluRay player and the $600 PS3. The Chinese aren't losing money on this. Walmart will lose money on this like all their blockbuster Black Friday sales, but they pocket profits from related sales of cables, movies, TVs and remotes.

I thought it was going to take another year for Walmart's Black Friday offensive. So I think they're spooked by Itunes, Amazon and the console online services.

[Espen @ Apr 20th 2007 10:02AM]

About two months ago, our local Wal-Mart was actually clearancing the RCA HD-DVD model for $200.. I thought about picking one up, but I think, like for many others, that $100 is my "tipping point" for this technology, and even then I really dislike that they keep having two formats.. The $100 might even need to be a dual format one..

[Z @ Apr 20th 2007 10:02AM]

These players are going to have to handle 1080p or they won't take full advantage of what the discs offer and they won't be considered true HD players. And Walmart cuts corners this way, they won't see the kind of consumer interest they're looking for. People aren't stupid; they catch on quickly and will know what to expect from the retailers, and if they can't find it, will go elsewhere.

But I don't see any reason why these players wouldn't support 1080p. After all, this IS Walmart - buying power and sheer quantity means the price could certainly go south from where it currently is while offering a feature set similar to the mid-range Toshiba.

[Shawn Garringer @ Apr 20th 2007 10:11AM]

Huh? 1080p for true HD output? What are you smoking? HD is anything > 480p so if it outputs 1080i or even 720p it will be perfectly fine. Boo-hoo to the 1% of people who can afford a 1080p display, the rest of us will be just fine watching it at 720p.

[someone @ Apr 20th 2007 10:11AM]

Big deal. Pairing my new Xbox 360 Elite with the $199 attachment not only saves me $100 on the actual player but also saves me an HDMI port on my TV.

Until any next-gen optical drive hits the $150 mark, im really not interested cause the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive simply makes more sense (plus you can plug it in to ANY computer cause it uses USB 2.0!)

[The Aggie CEO™ @ Apr 20th 2007 10:44AM]

Bah..........

OOOOOOOOOOH I have a USB HD-DVD Player that I can hookup to my computer..........

[Z @ Apr 21st 2007 10:36PM]

No. You can get a nice picture with 720p or 1080i. But true HD is 1080p. And 1080p is what the discs offer. I want every bit of res I can get.

[andy @ Apr 20th 2007 10:39AM]

I'll wait for english.

Considering that BRD is only as *cheap* as 600 right now, I have a hard time thinking this could be BRD.

If it's HDDVD, the format war just added a couple more years.


If it's BRD, then I'm buying one because the war is over.


I'm betting that the original translation is correct, "blue laser, HDDVD".

[Wiseblood @ Apr 20th 2007 10:49AM]

Guys, here's a google translation of a different article:

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ettoday.com%2F2007%2F04%2F16%2F320-2082635.htm&langpair=zh%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

"Its advantages are easier to maintain compatibility with existing DVD discs, and can continue using existing DVD production equipment." They're definitely talking about HD-DVD.

[pablo @ Apr 20th 2007 11:04AM]

Well, while I'm sure it would be cool to have them at a store to see on the shelves...

Amazon is already selling the Toshiba HD-A2 for $329.99 with the 5 free movie voucher. That's for name-brand Toshiba quality too. It's not their top-line player, but $329 with free shipping, sounds good to me.

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-HD-A2-HD-DVD-Player/dp/B000IJV4BC/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0422323-9796716?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1177081037&sr=8-1

[Rob @ Apr 20th 2007 11:28AM]

Can Someone Say "Betamax???" Thank you, Sony, I thought you could. Game/Set/Match.

Wal-mart drives the market. If they had way back backed Beta, things would be different today. I still remember the CHEAP Emerson VCR's WallyWorld sold back then, pushed the VHS format out there, and they are even bigger now than back then.

Blu-Ray is a stupid name for a format, anyway...people are just now beginning to understand what HD means. K.I.S.S.!!

Besides, I am blown away with an upconverted standard DVD on my 37" CRT HDTV...you only need so much clarity...well, at least I only need so much!

Call me when they are sold on Black Friday for $39.99 and we'll talk!

[Shawn Garringer @ Apr 20th 2007 1:26PM]

@Rob

Come on, Wal-Mart was barely a twinkle in Sam Waltons eye when Beta/VHS was playing out. And back then both VHS and Beta were hundreds of dollars.

[Rob @ Apr 20th 2007 1:36PM]

This site lists the Beta/VHS war as starting in 1975 and running for a decade.

http://www.mediacollege.com/video/format/compare/betamax-vhs.html

I worked at a Wal-Mart from the early to mid 80's, which would seem to be the heart of that time (perhaps winding down.) I never saw a beta machine in Wal-Mart, and while big name VHS machines were going for $350-$400, Wal-Mart had a model at the $200 price point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Wal-Mart

In 1970, Wal-Mart had 38 stores with 1,500 associates and sales of $44.2 million.

By 1979, with 276 stores and 21,000 associates, Wal-Mart reached $1.248 billion in sales.

Hardly a twinkle... ;o)

[Blubaru @ Apr 20th 2007 11:31AM]

They were really saying Blu-ray instead of HD-DVD lol.

Cheap Blu-ray @ Wal-Mart = Death of HD-DVD

The war is over.

HD-DUD FTL!!!

[Chuckles McGee @ Apr 20th 2007 12:01PM]

It's possible that the translation should have more precisely read "Blu-ray, high definition digital video disc player". The silly thing is that both of these trademarked formats have normal-word translations that are equally applicable to each format. Both "Blu-Ray" and "HDDVD" are blue-rayed laser, high definition digital video disks- so a little skipup in translation would make a big difference. At this point, who knows. The outcome is pretty significant though- if it's HDDVD, it could signal a shift in the war causing studios to change their backing. If it's Blu-ray, HDDVD is pretty dead unless it can hit some rockbottom player prices very, very quickly. If it's both, the war is over, no one really cares either way, and Blu-ray kind of sort of wins, as studios will have no reason to switch.

[Wiseblood @ Apr 20th 2007 12:05PM]

Oh come on!

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ettoday.com%2F2007%2F04%2F16%2F320-2082635.htm&langpair=zh%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

They're obviously talking about HD-DVD.

[Chuckles McGee @ Apr 20th 2007 12:12PM]

Depends...
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.udn.com%2F2007%2F4%2F16%2FNEWS%2FSTOCK%2FSTO5%2F3804769.shtml&langpair=zh%7Cen&hl=en&safe=off&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

Seems a bit more like Bluray. Another important point in our speculation is that TDK only manufactures Blu-Ray, not HDDVD products. Breaking into HD-DVD players seems a little strange when you're manufacturing Blu-Ray discs, no Blu-Ray players, and no HD-DVD discs or players. Who knows at this point.

[Wiseblood @ Apr 20th 2007 12:18PM]

For some reason Google is dropping all the "HD-"s translating that one making it a bit confusing. Here's how Babelfish translates the last paragraph of that article:

"Deng Hungchi stressed that, blue light HD-DVD and the present market DVD disc compatibility is very high, also does not need the disc card chest, largely reduces the merchant from the existing DVD transition the cost which needs to HD-DVD, future market potential"

Again, they're talking about how HD-DVDs can be produced with the same equipment used to make DVDs, which was always one of HD-DVDs main selling points.

[david @ Apr 20th 2007 12:50PM]

Since they are selling $300 BRD burners in China, a $300 BRD or HDDVD player is very possible. Wally world only cares about $$$ so it will probably carry both formats in time (they carry both discs). The translation web sites are not great and for sure untrustworthy for tech / brand jargon. And if previous posts are correct that TDK only makes BRD, then that should end the debate on this blog.

[Ashley Jones @ Apr 20th 2007 1:33PM]

It should be noted that guāngxiàn( ray ) translates to light ( as in "ray of" ) on most web translation sites. You can try this one.

http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-chinese/

also if you translate

http://www.udn.com/2007/4/16/NEWS/STOCK/STO5/3804769.shtml

you see this

"Phillips each selling price takes 599 US dollars, the new strength and Toshiba also take 499 US dollars, lucky Yan so long as 299 US dollars, are the market competition advantage base are at"

as far as I can tell Philips doesn't manufacture HD-DVD players and definately not
a $599 one especially when you consider the context it's taken with which is the price these players will be competing with at sale time.

If you take these "observations" along with the TDK involvement, blu-ray is a strong possibility.

The comment about the manufacturing process being easily shifted from dvd is strong for hd-dvd.

either way I guess we have to wait for the english announcement

[david @ Apr 21st 2007 3:22PM]

Ashley is correct Philips does not not make an HD-DVD unit. And after a little more research, the company that is manufacturing the player for Wally world has multiple players on the market. THey all say HDDVD but they are ALL SD units... http://www.globalsources.com/manufacturers/HD-Player.html

[saboola @ Apr 20th 2007 1:22PM]

What the 藍光藍光?!?!?

[mcphja2 @ Apr 23rd 2007 10:52PM]

When reading the translations, it is clearly talking about HD-DVD. I don't have a horse in this race, and I actually suspect Blu-Ray will win (if either format "wins"). However the article discusses cost effective conversion from DVD manufacturing. This can not be Blu-Ray.

I wonder how fast these will be hitting Wal-Mart shelves?

[BR @ Apr 20th 2007 1:56PM]

For the people that say this is Blu-Ray because it mentions TDK, TDK actually has developed (currently awaiting approval) the 51 gig TL disc for HD DVD. They support both formats...

http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/83411

[Shawn Garringer @ Apr 20th 2007 4:13PM]

@Rob

Wow 276 stores. *Yawn* How many did K-Mart have, or Sears? Those were the stores that made VHS and broke Beta. Wal-Mart was nothing until the early 90s when it started importing junk from China.

[Rob @ Apr 20th 2007 4:21PM]

I'm not a Wally World Fan Boy or anything, but $1.248 billion in annual sales is hardly nothing, and yes, they did import crap. I didn't say the $200 VCR's were any good. LOL

[Liquid @ Apr 20th 2007 1:58PM]

lol this is sad even if its for HDDVD it makes no difference there are players at this price for it already lol with free movies >_

[LJKelley @ Apr 20th 2007 1:59PM]

I am confident it is HD DVD they are talking about. Blu-ray uses a new pressing technolodgy while HD DVD is an upgrade from DVD, so when the allude to an 'easy transition for DVD Manufactures' they must be talking about HD DVD.

Good News for me as I have several HD DVD Movies... I really think whoever Walmart choose will win the war, atleast in America. Unless of course they release both players or if they choose blu-ray and Toshiba or RCA really undercuts them in price.

[myscrnnm @ Apr 20th 2007 5:36PM]

"I am confident it is HD DVD they are talking about. Blu-ray uses a new pressing technolodgy while HD DVD is an upgrade from DVD, so when the allude to an 'easy transition for DVD Manufactures' they must be talking about HD DVD."

Screw you. Both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD use the same technology. Both of them rely on blue/violet lasers, which have a shorter wavelength than red lasers, to up the capacity on optical discs. HD DVD is a DVD 1.5 while Blu-ray is like a 2.0. They are based on the SAME technology.

[Romeo Echo @ Apr 20th 2007 2:00PM]

I'm sorry, did you say, end of 2008? Man, that's an eternity away. Why even talk about this? There'll be plenty of sub-$200 HD & Blue-Ray players by then, if not sub-$100.

Snooze.