Amazon: $129 Toshiba HD-A3 with 7 HD DVDs and free shipping

Guess what? It's yet another rock bottom sale day for Toshiba's HD-A3 HD DVD player. This time it's Amazon serving up the HD-A3 with 7 HD DVD titles and free shipping for just $129. The deal combines the extended 5 HD DVD "perfect offer" with Warner Bros' 300 and Universal's The Bourne Identity HD DVD titles thrown in for kicks. That's two extra discs and $21 less than the official $150 dealio. Crazy, we know.

[Thanks, Andrew]

[Fatima @ Jan 18th 2008 6:55AM]

They have to clear out the stock, what else are they gonnna do with them?
You can prolly get these for like $50 in a few months.

[E71 @ Jan 18th 2008 7:56AM]

That's right HD-DVD, cover up your inferiority with more FREE movies.

Maybe if you start giving away two dozen FREE movies and a mini shelf to store them on you'll be half at HOT as Blu-ray.

[FrankTheCrank @ Jan 18th 2008 8:37AM]

It's a blowout here on HD-DVD players, movies and whatever else you can find with HD-DVD on it...

Hurry, come on down to CRAZY EDDIE's...

OUR PRICES ARE INSANE!!!!

[Johnnyg0 @ Jan 18th 2008 8:40AM]

You look like you have a lot of technological expertise to really see the difference between both format (codecs and everything).

And you're right BluRay is so hot with all its current players that won't be able to play future movies because they will use a new key... really great stuff.

This is why HD video has been spreading so fast for the past 5-7 years..

[Smart People Play Tuba @ Jan 18th 2008 9:40AM]

All "HD DVD vs. Blu-Ray" talk aside, one thing the two format have in common:

Both of their "5 Free Discs" offers SUCK. Look at the movies on those lists. I see maybe 2 or 3 worth watching more than once. Rentals, at most.

[Dylan K @ Jan 18th 2008 6:58AM]

Looks like a great deal. I'm still holding out until either format actually wins.

[[e-mail] @ Jan 18th 2008 9:20AM]

for a hundred and fifty bucks? with 7 dvds?
what are you insane?

shit buy this now.. and sucker it up and buy a blu-ray player IF blu-ray wins..

i still prefer HD-DVD and i think it was a d!ck move by sony to back blu-ray ( not to mention moronic and costly )
all because they hate toshiba and Microsoft?

[Winters @ Jan 18th 2008 9:39AM]

@your_boring

You have *no* idea then about HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

"i think it was a d!ck move by sony to back blu-ray ( not to mention moronic and costly ) all because they hate toshiba and Microsoft?"

Well, it was actually sony who first developed the HD disc for the consumer market many years ago. HDTV had been popular and out in Japan for a while but there was no medium for it, hence where it all started. They gathered the support of nearly all major manufactories too if you had not noticed. Its NOT a sony-only product.

It was actually Tosh who broke away (right choice of words?) from Blu-Ray to form HD-DVD along with Microsoft who wanted to use their iHD software or something.

Id reccomend you actually read up on something before you make sweeping statements.

[cronick @ Jan 18th 2008 11:16AM]

My idiot brother is still holding onto his Beta in case it finally wins the VCR war....

[hemmy @ Jan 18th 2008 5:38PM]

@[e-mail]

Blu-ray tech has been around since 2001 in Japan, with the Sony BDZ-S77. Long before Toshiba even had the idea of HDDVD. In my book it was Toshiba who made a "dick move" by not working with the technology that was already there.

[Jeff @ Jan 18th 2008 6:59AM]

Can anyone say "closeout"?

[cmc @ Jan 18th 2008 7:01AM]

If this isn't a Death Rattle then I dunno what is!!

[Guinnis @ Jan 18th 2008 7:04AM]

HDDVD can still win if the drop the players to like $50 and have the studios that are still with them do combo DVD/HDDVD disks. Throw in a ton of advertising and they would have a huge jump in market share. They would lose a boat load of cash but that is probably there only chance to win.

[Flashpoint @ Jan 18th 2008 7:45AM]

HAHAHAHAH

Fanboyism is INCREDIBLE.

HDDVD has basically loaded a single bullet into a gun and put the gun to its head and you think they can probably do better later on....

THERE IS NO LATER. BLU RAY WINS.

[ssuk @ Jan 18th 2008 8:15AM]

Flashpoint's comment screams irony, as he has rarely been positive towards HD DVD, but heaven forbid he sees you make fun of Bluray.

[FrankTheCrank @ Jan 18th 2008 8:39AM]

Guinnis...

I believe, man...I believe...

Laserdisc still rocks, who cares about Blurayz, hmph!

[[e-mail] @ Jan 18th 2008 9:23AM]

"umm earth to matilda" ( zoolander reference.. sorry lol )

HD-DVD still have a higher market share at the moment hate to break it to you.

[Winters @ Jan 18th 2008 9:56AM]

@[e-mail]

"HD-DVD still have a higher market share at the moment hate to break it to you."

Your an idiot.

blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD in most if not all territories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_high_definition_optical_disc_formats#Sales_data

If your gonna make wild claims at least back them up.

[Tad @ Jan 18th 2008 10:22AM]

I think $99.99 is the magic price point. If they get the player down to this price permanently in retail shops they will enter the general consumer market and our enthusiast (fanboy) opinions won't matter. The question is will they do it in time.

[Andrew @ Jan 18th 2008 10:46AM]

If you look back in Flashpoint's comments, he's almost always negative ranked. The dude is a freaking idiot.

I agree with the first poster though. The whole high definition optical disc is stagnant. People aren't buying like the marketing guys thought they would. Quite frankly, who cares who wins? Microsoft did their job by confusing the marketplace, further ensuring digital downloads win.

[Zeus.:God @ Jan 18th 2008 10:58AM]

ssuk, it also screams hypocrisy.

I also agree that HD-DVD can still win here. I hate all these fanboys who think its over, but really, thats all they are; fanboys.

I don't even understand how anyone in their sane mind could actually want Blu-Ray to become the standard of optical media- its ridiculous.

[andy @ Jan 18th 2008 11:05AM]

Zues

I agree with you, but I do want to see more blu-ray burners and discs. In file storage, it's all about disc space.


For HD movies, either format has enough capacity to store the movie and some other stuff, so it's really inconsequential. It's price and DRM that's more relevant to that fight.

[Keith S. @ Jan 18th 2008 3:37PM]

HD-DVD will never be able to 'win' if it can't get support from all the studios. It's just not going to happen no matter how low the players get and how many people buy them. If the player owners can't go to the store and find the titles they want for their player - the format has lost. I think it will be a lot easier for Paramount and Universal to make the change to Blu-Ray than to get all the other studios (and they'll never get Sony) to switch to HD-DVD.

I have an HD-DVD player and I've seen the lack of selection when looking for movies. I'm now planning on getting a Blu-Ray player. I'll be holding onto my Toshiba, but the Laserdisc player will be leaving my rack to make room for a Blu-Ray player (no,I'm not making that up). Tax refund = PS3 for me.

It's over - case closed. HD-DVD lost out. Come next Christmas, HD-DVD will be a dead format.

[hcjthree @ Jan 18th 2008 7:08AM]

Hmmm...it's sad, it's really sad! I feel for them...not! Well the only good thing about the sorting out of the so-called "format war" is that at least it should be done before the average consumer starts to really get into high definition dvd's, then what a mess it would be. People made a big deal about the "format war", but it only effects tech junkies like us (even though I was blu-ray from the start

[Craig @ Jan 18th 2008 9:11AM]

Well, I'm kind of disappointed that it seems to have worked out with HD-DVD "dying" like this. I was hoping both formats would stick around, and we'd all just end up buying combo players. Eventually, one of the formats would demonstrate itself to be technically superior and would become the de-facto "preferred" format. As it stands now, I really don't think there's been enough time for the market to make that determination.

[BrianB @ Jan 18th 2008 7:13AM]

Someone here and around China can hack that to play Blu-Ray.

[Brian @ Jan 18th 2008 7:13AM]

Hell. Yes.

Keep slashing those prices! The war isn't over yet... they can still make Blu Ray players cheaper!

[captain underpants and the bringdown gang @ Jan 18th 2008 8:58AM]

HD-DVD isn't dead however this is great news for us technophiles as the price war is going to make it so that at the end of the day... we will have to pay less for the same thing.

[Jon @ Jan 18th 2008 7:20AM]

If only both formats would've worked together to make a unified format in the beginning all the people sitting back waiting for someone to "win" (including myself) would've jumped in along with the early adopters and sales for hi-def dvd's and players would be alot more brisk. Yea sure the prices might have been higher at the start with no competition, but like everything else, the prices would level out like cd's and dvd's have. They really need to just skip the disc format altogether and go strictly streaming or downloading...we all know thats the future. I'd actually like to have a box where I can stream first run movies to my big screen. I would have no problem paying a premium for that! Not having to worry about crying babies and people talking.....priceless!

[WiFiSpy @ Jan 18th 2008 7:22AM]

Costco has the HD-D3 (same as HD-A3) for $129.99 also....

[mattyuk @ Jan 18th 2008 7:24AM]

I'm sad to see HD DVD losing. I don't think people have grasped what we have entrusted Sony with - the king of invasive DRM, rootkits and custom formats that hinder the user experience (DAPs), misleading advertising (PSX). We're letting it take the next major disc format... Judging by how Sony has been in the past, it's only a matter of time until it does something stupid with this format.

I like bluray, just not the company behind it.

I know I'll get flamed for this, but I cannot support bluray simply due to the business behind it.

[L @ Jan 18th 2008 7:31AM]

For the gazillionth time: SONY =/= BLU-RAY.

Some people just don't *want* to get that, apparently.

[Flashpoint @ Jan 18th 2008 7:51AM]

HOW COULD ANY LOGICAL PERSON EXPECT HDDVD TO WIN?

#1 Blu Ray has the higher potential storage capactity. That in itself killed HDDVD in a side by side comparison.

#2 SONY put Blu Ray drives in the PS3. PS3 allowed BR to have instantaneous market penetration. For God's Sakes, they sold out their entire inventory of PS3's within the first 3 weeks.

Had Microsoft put any faith in HDDVD they woulda loaded the 360 with an HDDVD drive and an HDMI port. Of course, after XBOX1 was a "loss leader" for 90% of its fiscal quarters Microsoft got cheap and decided to make EVERY SINGLE EXTRA FEATURE AN ADD -ON...especially the Hard Drive.

Microsoft backed HDDVD and in making a flawed business decision, they KILLED IT IN ONE SWOOP.

It was all down hill from there.

[ssuk @ Jan 18th 2008 8:17AM]

L, Sony MAKES Bluray, as a result, they are forced to back their own format, so yes. Sony = Bluray. Just because big movie companies are signed up to it doesn't mean they somehow have some stake in Bluray, they're just using the medium to distribute home entertainment.

[riggs @ Jan 18th 2008 8:34AM]

@ssuk: Matsushita(panasonic), Pioneer, Philips, Thomson, LG Electronics, Hitachi, Sharp, Samsung, and Sony are all members of the blu-ray disc association. its not just sony =\

[FrankTheCrank @ Jan 18th 2008 8:47AM]

Blu-ray Disc was started by Hitachi, LG, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Thomson in February 19, 2002, with Panasonic, Sony, Pioneer, and Philips as the back-bone of the foundation.

Sony is just one piece of the puzzle.

Among the movie studios, Blu-ray Disc is currently exclusively supported in the United States by Sony Pictures Entertainment and MGM as well as Disney, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and Lionsgate, representing over 70% of home video marketshare.

HD-DVD's demise is inevitable.

[KC @ Jan 18th 2008 12:31PM]

@mattyuk,

Do you use CDs? Sony was behind CDs. How about camcorders, personal stereos (walkman, basically, portable music), etc. I'm sure you own a DAP of some sort.

It would be interesting to see how you would live without some of the stuff that Sony has come up with, including the logic chips that go into lots of electronics, DSPs that go into audio equipment and phones, etc.

[Ordeith @ Jan 18th 2008 8:14PM]

Don't let it get to you, ssuk. Sony knows their public image with regard to formats and DRM is bad. They don't want to publically 'own' the blu-ray format even though politically they do.

Yes there are other companies involved. But anyone here not paid by Sony that thinks Blu-Ray isn't Sony's baby are just kidding themselves.

Blu-Ray, with BD+ has the most invasive DRM of any physical format ever unleashed on the market. Sony hasn't activated/used half of what the Blu-Ray DRM is capable of. They don't want to cause problems in the marketplace while there is still a chance of competition. But once Blu-Ray stands alone, be afraid. Be very afraid.

It is the most anti-consumer DRM you can get on a retail physical format. It is no wonder the most anti-consumer studios are all backing it.

[Bad Beaver @ Jan 18th 2008 7:36AM]

Argh, Europeans are being ripped off, as usual. Cheapest Toshiba player is still €180 here, but you get a coupon for 7 movies.

[Iain @ Jan 18th 2008 7:56AM]

Precisely.

HD-DVD should give up on the US and give the rest of us these amazing deals.
A HD-DVD player with 7 movies for £65? They'd take the UK in a week.

[ssuk @ Jan 18th 2008 8:19AM]

I think we have more chance of hell actually freezing over...

[Scott @ Jan 18th 2008 5:42PM]

$129.99? The same 'deal' costs us Brits £149.99! Thats around $280-300 depending on where you get your dollars. What a jip!

[tekdroid @ Jan 18th 2008 8:11AM]

The downfall of HD-DVD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=friS4OOcdgQ

My apologies to anyone offended by the subject matter, but the subtitles are hilarous (and must have taken some time).

[zunq @ Jan 21st 2008 3:01PM]

Apparently you aren't familiar with Godwin's Law:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
"a good rule in most discussions is that the first person to call the other a Nazi automatically loses the argument."

[bob sakamano @ Jan 18th 2008 8:13AM]

720p/1080i?

that isnt HD is it!?? maybe they meant 1080P?

[blade417 @ Jan 18th 2008 8:22AM]

nah, i've read it a couple times, it clearly means 720p/1080i

[Big Wizz @ Jan 18th 2008 9:19AM]

No, the most HD-DVD can output is 1080i. Blu-Ray can do 1080p. Of course, not many people can even see the difference between the two...

[G2 @ Jan 18th 2008 9:25AM]

Incorrect, Big Wizz. The HD-A3 can only output 720p/1080i. Step up to the HD-A30 and you have 1080p support. This has nothing to do with the HD-DVD spec.

Also, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p are all HD resolutions.

[bob sakamano @ Jan 18th 2008 9:39AM]

yeah i understand that they are all HD.

but the main gist of HD DVD and BLU-RAY is to give you 1080p, isn't it?

[Zeus.:God @ Jan 18th 2008 11:05AM]

No, Bob, the reason for Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is to provide high definition content at home, on a high definition television.

That does not specifically mean 1080p, that means 720p, 1080i, and 1080p.