Venturer announces SHD7000 low-cost HD DVD player for holidays

Chinese firm Venturer has apparently been hard at work on a budget HD DVD player, which it's claiming will be out the door and onto store shelves in the US by this holiday season. The SHD7000 should have ethernet, DVD upconversion, HDMI, but the thing only outputs to 1080i, despite supporting TrueHD audio. We don't know just how cheap the SHD7000 is going to be, but entry-level is entry-level, so we expect it'll be less expensive than your other options, save Microsoft's $180 Xbox 360 add-on.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Singh @ Aug 28th 2007 5:46PM]

This is certainly great, but have you had a look at the Sony iMac killer. That is totally smashing,,, check this out http://www.gadget9.com/2007/08/28/sony-vaio-lt19u-imac-killer/

[newgalactic @ Aug 28th 2007 5:50PM]

Huh? How do you transition from an entry level HD DVD to "iMac Killer" by Sony. I don't know anything about this Sony, though I am curious. But how do you just switch topics like that? What do the parent topic and your link have in common? ...are you just advertising?

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Aug 28th 2007 6:08PM]

Does it come with root-kits preinstalled?
[/sarcasm]

[Addex @ Aug 28th 2007 9:05PM]

to Ihar `Philips` Filipau:

No, but it ships with Windows...

[JDizzle @ Aug 28th 2007 5:48PM]

I'm guessing "low-cost" is going to be $10 cheaper than the current cheapest and 10x worse.

[ATT @ Aug 28th 2007 5:53PM]

well you can't consider xbox HD-DVD player cause that just a HDDVD-ROM you still need a $1000 computer or an xbox 360.

so comes out been the most expensive.

[aeo @ Aug 28th 2007 6:01PM]

This would have to be _significantly_ less expensive than a Toshiba HD-A2 or HD-A20 to cause me not to buy a Toshiba unit in favor of a no-name brand.

[MD @ Aug 28th 2007 6:03PM]

We'll see... right now an "entry" level generation 2 Toshiba HD-A2 can be had for 199 and change. We should see an MSRP of 199, street price of 140-170. I think this will be good enough for J6P.

Oh and Engadget, WHO the hell cares about 1080p and 1080i... I doubt anyone can discern the differences. Send me some links and actual tests that 1080p is visually different from 1080i.

Great time for the Blu-Boy nut huggers to go nuetral.

[aeo @ Aug 28th 2007 6:07PM]

Oh and wtf is with the name "Venturer"?

Venture \Ven"ture\ (?; 135), n. [Aphetic form of OE. aventure. See Adventure.]

1. An undertaking of chance or danger; the risking of something upon an event which can not be foreseen with certainty; a hazard; a risk; a speculation.

Sounds like a stable company to me... not!

[humpty @ Aug 28th 2007 6:10PM]

1080i only? How can the HD-DVD consortium approve of this POS... arent there minimum standards for HD-DVD players.

[Rob @ Aug 28th 2007 6:34PM]

You're forgetting the "Chinese" part. This means that is another one of those "won't pay for the codecs because we're Communist China and there's no such thing as intellectual property and/or patents." So I would not be surprised if this thing is as typical as the crappy, and cheap, dvd players we get from China straight onto the Wal-mart shelves.

Nice price, but last for only a few months. But in any case, Toshiba's player is on sale, plus a bunch of free movies. This player would have to be under $100 to be considered a deal.

[Jason @ Aug 28th 2007 10:55PM]

Well you could say the same thing about the elcheapo DVD players that come out with no DTS and 2 channel sound.

[zargon @ Aug 28th 2007 7:28PM]

The Toshiba HD-A2 only support 1080i output. People are making a bigger fuss over 1080i than they need too.

I would suppose minimum standards for a HD-DVD player would be that it outputs HD. Which would include 720p, 1080i and 1080p.

[Dave @ Aug 28th 2007 7:52PM]

Those minimum standards for HD-DVD DO include an ethernet connection, and a second video decoder--two things the Blu-Ray consortium does NOT require--at least not yet.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Aug 28th 2007 6:12PM]

If that thing would be in $200 range, I definitely would consider it.

Right now I'm looking for upscaling DVD player - might as well buy into the HD DVD thingy.

If price of course would be right.

[Siva @ Aug 28th 2007 6:21PM]

Why would you consider this player in the $200 range, when you can buy the HD-A2 right now for that much and you get free disks too.

[Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Aug 28th 2007 6:39PM]

Not in Yorup. I leave in Germany. The cheapo player at bargain price might reach Germany.

HD-A2 costs over here 350€ flat. *Without* free disks.

[mattbrown @ Aug 28th 2007 6:34PM]

If this player sells below $200, this could mark the end of the whole format war, that is unless someone makes a blu-ray player for the same price.

And the 1080i thing isn't a big deal, really. If someone is holding out on an hd-dvd or blu-ray player because of the price, they probably don't have a TV that is supports 1080p anyways. Believe the 1080p hype if you want, but 1080i is the standard and will be for a long while.

[Britboyj27 @ Aug 28th 2007 6:43PM]

This will doom Blu-Ray. Imagine the following:

Average uneducated consumer goes into Wal-Mart
"Hi, I just bought an HDTV and I want to watch my movies in HD," says the consumer.
The minimum wage Wal-Mart associate, who may or may not actually work in the electronics department will look at the tag that says "HD" and "DVD" together and bam, you have an immediate sale.

On top of that, you've got the 'DVD' name recognition for most customers, as well as the fact that about half the people I talk to about HD-DVD and Blu-Ray think that BD players can't play regular DVD's...


It's all a bit sad... really.

[Dave @ Aug 28th 2007 7:35PM]

Sad? What would be sadder is if they sold them a Blu-Ray player...which would be a 1.0 player...and then they later bought movies with 1.1 features they couldn't take advantage of...and so they spend more money on a 1.1-compatible Blu-Ray player...and then they get a movie with 2.0 features they can't take advantage of...and so they buy a 2.0 compatible Blu-Ray player...and then they can't pay their rent...and then they end up having to sell crack and prostitute on the side and the state takes their kids away.

That's sad.

[Galley @ Aug 29th 2007 9:47AM]

Actually people who shop at Wal-Mart believe that owning an HDTV means that everything viewed on it is High-Defintion, no matter the source.

[Thomas @ Aug 28th 2007 6:59PM]

This could cause some big problems for Blu ray... when you're winning you might as well drop the price... you got more to lose, and more to gain than HDDVD..

[Ian @ Aug 28th 2007 7:13PM]

"but the thing only outputs to 1080i, despite supporting TrueHD audio"

WTF does one have to do with the other? Seriously. Do you guys even KNOW what you're talking about?

[Afsheen @ Aug 28th 2007 7:31PM]

While I am a blu-rayer (I own a PS3), I'm of the opinion that unless the blu-ray camp starts putting out competitively priced players, and quick, they're in for a rough haul. No amount of "better this" or "better that" can compete with cheap in this market. Sony should have learned that by now.

[Dave @ Aug 28th 2007 7:36PM]

Right. So you need to get lower prices--but some better this' and thats' wouldn't hurt either. I hear they're coming in 2009.

[Rick Person @ Aug 28th 2007 10:18PM]

Why? Sony Blu-Ray players are a quality product. You want to buy some POS chinese brand thats laced with lead be my guest. It will probably die within the first year and with the amount you'll shell out for two crappy 1080i players will be more than a quality Toshiba HD-DVD or Sony Blu-Ray player. I used to be like you and buy the cheapest thing possible. What it ultimately results in is getting burned one too many times. You too will figure this out eventually. And if I can't afford a quality product, I won't buy one at all. Enough said.

[Dave @ Aug 28th 2007 11:05PM]

I already have an HD-DVD player--so I don't plan to buy this one. Assuming you're correct, however, and the thing breaks after a year, is that so different from not being able to play all the extras on new content in LESS than a year? Personally, I'd rather take my chances that the thing lasts just a bit longer.

[Paul @ Aug 28th 2007 9:15PM]

I wonder if they're going to include the five free movies deal with this one.

[Dave @ Aug 28th 2007 11:06PM]

I think that deal ends October 31st.

[ian9outof10 @ Aug 29th 2007 7:40AM]

Let me fill you people in with something I like to call a "clue".

1080i on film material is incredibly easy to convert to 1080p. When a player outputs material at 1080i, it is done at 1080i/60 which is to say, it has twice the frame rate that a 1080p/30 output. This is becuase each frame is made up of two fields.

In flat screen TVs, like LCD and PDP, interlaced images are easily converted back into progressive. They have to be, becuase these TVs only display progressive. So what you end up with is a 1080i/60 video turned into a 1080p/30 video by your screen. As long as you have a 1080p TV. Which most people don't.

1080i is great, I've seen a lot of it out of the Toshiba HD DVD player, and I don't think many people could even tell it wasn't 1080p.

[Chris @ Aug 29th 2007 8:33AM]

Let me fill you in - while it may be "fairly easy" in the HD-DVD / Blu-ray players to convert the 1080i back to 1080p, its definitely NOT trivial, nor ever done perfectly. There have been plenty of instances where even the 1080p HD-DVD players (which all currently use a Broadcom decoder chip that can only output 1080i) that must then de-interlace to 1080p in another chip prior to output, manage to screw up the process. And that's de-interlacing inside the player - potentially easier than after being sent along some interface and received at a display!

Many progressive displays out there today (plasma and lcd) do not de-interlace film or video very well, and it doesn't take too much watching to tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p. However, since you need a true 1080p source (which, unfortunately, NO HD-DVD player currently is), you can't even make the comparison.

I have a 1080p front projector and the difference exists. I use a PS3 for now, and am waiting for a true 1080p HD-DVD player before I pick one up.

(BTW, yes, I understand that there are HD-DVD players that OUTPUT 1080p. The problem is that internally the decode the bitstream to 1080i and are then forced to inverse-telecine that signal back to 1080p in a video processor chip external to the decoder. And despite being "pretty" good at it, they are not perfect, and you can lose resolution in scenes with high frequency detail, which is even more obvious when that detail is moving. Why buy now when things are "ok" when they should be better - and cheaper - soon enough?)

[Ryan Germann @ Aug 29th 2007 10:43AM]

I've always wondered about the frame rates of 1080p: 60 FPS non interlaced from 24 or 30 fps sources isn't 60 frames anyway: 1080i where the lines interlaced from the PREVIOUS frame stay on screen until they are overdrawn by the frame two later is a non-flickering picture that to the human eye may actually appear smoother, where the interlacing sort of "tweens" the content from one frame to the next.

Thanks for bringing that into the 1080p vs 1080i conversation. I never see the so-called 'tech journalists' do it, nor even ask about frame rate in that respect

[Stephen @ Aug 29th 2007 9:20AM]

The player is indeed manufacturered in China, but it was concieved of and designed in Canada, (Venturer is located in Markham, Ontario) supposedly. You may want to change your information.

[barry @ Aug 29th 2007 11:41PM]

the war is over in the winner is hd dvd. it's more affortable, it plays a great picture, it has better movie selections, and the average joe can buy it now. the people running sony blu ray division should be fired. blu ray will be completely dead by july 2008, but this on your callendar

[barrington.thompson @ Sep 2nd 2007 4:17PM]

I live in the UK, and I think the lowest priced Toshiba HD DVD (HD-E1) on the Toshiba's UK website has all three high definition sound formats:-
http://www.gottatoshiba.com/catalog/hddvd/hddvdplayers/HD-E1

If the Venturer's only has True-HD then it probably would be a waste of money, because I donot think that it will be able to play all HD DVD discs (Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD.

Therefore, no need for me to ask futher questions:
Reliability, features, Picture and Sound quality...

I had became rusty, and had to check some information with the official HDMI's site, cannot rely on the different HDMI versions stated by manufacturers, because they are useless - a con - misleading...
http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/faq.aspx#hdmi_1.3

In my opinion any person who gives buying an HD player based principally on the cheapest price instead of reliability, features, pictures and sound qualities is stupid...

Does thes mean that the Chinese are now using HD DVD instead of their own high definition player EVD/VMD?
http://www.engadgethd.com/2005/12/29/more-competing-formats-evd-vmd-high-definition-players-coming-t/

[barrington.thompson @ Sep 2nd 2007 4:37PM]

My attitude was that if HD DVD could get into the Chinese and Indian market and Blu-ray doesnot then that should help HD DVD to win the war.

On the internet there were talks with the Chinese about solving the royalties problem that may have been solved.

The last thing that I heard, some where, on the internet was that there were talks with the Chinese about the HDMI connections recently that probably have been solved sucessfully.