Wal-Mart $98 Toshiba HD DVD Player!

[admin]

highdefdigest forum thread where the original link was posted:

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/showthread.php?t=23476

The link to Wal-Mart directly:

http://holiday.ri-walmart.com/?section=secret

$98 for the Toshiba HD-A2! $14.96 for HD DVD movies. These are some very good prices indeed ...

[admin]

Wal-Mart HD DVD commercial:

[BR7]

What does A2 mean ?

[Chewy]

http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?t=84546

don't blink, the technology moves too fast, the first players were more like computers than dvd players

look for all this technology to become smaller and more affordable as chipset makers
catch up

[BR7]

Thanks Chewy

[admin]

The A2 is the superceded Toshiba second generation HD DVD player. It only has 1080i output. You can now buy the A3 for $169 at Sears (the A3 is also limited to 1080i). Both are good players and good DVD upscalers - I'd buy them just for the upscaling really.

[locoeng]

I do believe they are offering 5 free movies as well...

http://bfads.net/Walmarts-Secret-Friday-Sale

[admin]

Yes, the normal redemption offer still applies, so you get to choose 5 free HD DVDs from a list of 15. These movies usually retail for at least $20 (on Amazon.com), so that's $100 worth of free movies for $98. Better be quick though, it's a limited offer and only a few sets will be made available to purchase. In the same sale, there are also some HD DVD titles that have been reduced to $15, full list here:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=931301

For those that have a Xbox 360, you can also get the HD DVD add-on drive for it from Amazon, get King Kong HD DVD (value: $20) included in the box, Heroes - Season 1 DVD (value: $69.95) as a gift from Amazon, and then also the 5 free movies. So that's about $190 worth of free movies for $180. More info here:

http://www.digital-digest.com/news-60760.html

Obviously, these offers only apply to people living in the US, which is a shame. Here in Australia, we have to pay $AUD 549 ($US 500) for the A3, plus we only get 3 movies (no choice either).

[digibunny]

The A2 is the superceded Toshiba second generation HD DVD player. It only has 1080i output. You can now buy the A3 for $169 at Sears (the A3 is also limited to 1080i). Both are good players and good DVD upscalers - I'd buy them just for the upscaling really.

The 1080i vs 1080p argument is void though in this regard. It also tells you that deinterlacing will be done by your screen instead of your dvd player. Unless you have a CRT Full HD TV which for some reason doesn't have an option to show 1080i as 1080p the benefit of a 1080p capable player is non existant. LCD Full HD screen aren't even able to display 1080i interlaced. So 1080i will be 1080p on your 1080p screen and if you only have a interlaced 1080i screen 1080p doesn't matter.

I also see no reason why your TV or projector would be worse at deinterlacing than the HD player.

[admin]

Yes, for most cases feeding 1080i or 1080p from film content to a 1080p (Full HD) screen will display identical pictures (which is why I get annoyed when the Blu-ray group call their players "True HD"). More info here:

http://wiki.digital-digest.com/index.php/1080i/p

For non-film content, then it's a slightly different matter. Then there is also 1080p/24, and if your TV has it (and renders it either in 72 Hz or 120 Hz for super smooth motions), then 1080p/24 output does help (but again if your TV is smart enough, it can take 1080i inputs and turn them into 1080p/24 - the Pioneer plasmas can do it through their PureCinema Advanced mode).

[tigerman8u]

Got two of them. they were the last 2 wal-mart had. 2 hd players and 10 hd movies for $210 not bad. shame they don't offer more hd movies to select from.

also got the Acer laptop they had for $348. last one they had.

[admin]

Got two of them. they were the last 2 wal-mart had. 2 hd players and 10 hd movies for $210 not bad. shame they don't offer more hd movies to select from.

also got the Acer laptop they had for $348. last one they had.

I'm jealous

[tigerman8u]

Almost got one last month at Amazon on sale with free shipping for IIRC $208. Glad I waited.