Right on cue, the Venturer SHD7001 HD DVD player has gone on sale via QVC UK, and while all the specs look exactly as we predicted they would, the price is a hair lower than we expected. Pegged at £169.92 ($338) -- or available for two easy payments of £84.96 -- this 1080i player comes packaged with Troy and Hulk, an HDMI cable and eligibility for five other free flicks. Notably, this is QVC's "Special Value" of the day, so there's a good chance that the price will increase after the unit's first 24 hours on sale, but at least those interested in a cheap HD DVD player (and located across the pond) can snap it up now and save a few pounds over the alternatives.

[Via RegHardware]

Remember when all our hopes were lost after Fuh Yuan retracted a statement that got us worked up over a $299 HD DVD player at Wal-Mart? Ironically enough, an off-brand player is indeed finally available through the aforementioned retailer some seven months later, but frankly, we're underwhelmed. Sure, the 1080i SHD7000 -- which is being sold at $199.98, a full $50 lower than we'd heard previously -- isn't exactly a terrible deal, but considering that Toshiba's own HD-A2 can apparently be had for the same, what's to get all jovial about? Nevertheless, we're also hearing that Venturer is getting set to launch the SHD7001 -- which should boast minor cosmetic enhancements, if anything -- a month from today through the UK's QVC TV Home Shopping Channel. Regrettably, there's no word on how pricey that model will be, nor if it will be a UK exclusive, but considering the exchange rate right now, we've all ideas the Americans won't be keen on importing one no matter what.

[Via TVPredictions, thanks Andrew and Aaron]
Read - Wal-Mart's $199.98 SHD7000
Read - SHD7001 set for December launch

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]