Best Buy online sells out of new budget HD-A2 player

[Zeus]

Best Buy online has sold out of the new budget Toshiba HD DVD HD-A2 player. Visitors to the online store can now clearly see that the product is all sold out. Where store collection is concerned, there is a tag which states there is limited availability.

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[dennis872007]

this should help hd-dvd sales out.

[xllzerollx]

now if someone had the idea to make a cheap BD player, but nooooo, its next gen, it haves more "space",better graphics"""" it needs to cost a lot........
gread for hd dvd

[DEDDOA]

I reckon things like ths will be the deciding factor on which format comes out on top, not the capacity of the disk or audio data. When it comes down to it, DVD didn't take off untill the playes were cheap enough for the general public to buy, same for CD. I expect at the end of the day, whichever side can get the most low price players on the market will be the winner as they have a better chance of getting them in homes, or even multiple units per home. Thank god though it's not just Sony selling Blu-ray or else they would have no chance of a sub $200 player anywhere this decade, mainly due to Sony's usuall belief that you should pay premium for their products (thats not a PS3 jab thats sony in general).

[_Mazza_]

I've got to say that Sony did the right thing putting Blu-ray player in the ps3, It's not necessarily needed for games because of compression techniques etc, but without it I think HD-DVD would be winning.

[So-Unreal]

now if someone had the idea to make a cheap BD player, but nooooo, its next gen, it haves more "space",better graphics"""" it needs to cost a lot........
gread for hd dvdbecause of more dics space the blue-players can do a higher bit-rate but im 100% sure that we may never see this because i think the cpu in them will not be able to handle the higher bit-rates because they put in a slower cpu for cost reason. HD-DVD and blue-ray look the same right.

[exorcist1966]

They might have all sold out but how many did they actually have if they only had 50 or 100 units it's not really going to worry the bluray camp.

[DEDDOA]

They might have all sold out but how many did they actually have if they only had 50 or 100 units it's not really going to worry the bluray camp.

When the technology is cheap enough to be have models in the "budget" range, then yes I think the blu-ray camp have reason to worry. This though can only be a plus for consumers as it will force them to lower prices to make sales. It won't likely be until the players get near DVD player prices that HD movies will take off in the mainstream so untill then I expect this format war could go either way.

[taka912]

Decided to do a check in my area for in store....

Sold out: Sparks NV 155 Los Altos Pkwy, Sparks, NV 89436
Available: Reno NV 5575 S Virginia St, Reno, NV 89502

Wonder how many they actually received...

[cokemusic1]

Doesn't this HD-DVD player have very limited functions ?HD-DVD @ budget prices is great but then if all the major movie studios move to Blu-Ray it won't matter when they have no HD-DVD's to play it on.

But Yeah def blow to Blue-Ray.

[whackawookie]

They might have all sold out but how many did they actually have if they only had 50 or 100 units it's not really going to worry the bluray camp.

best buy, amazon, walmart, circuit city - infact almost everybody is selling them for this cheap now.

[dennis872007]

best buy, amazon, walmart, circuit city - infact almost everybody is selling them for this cheap now.

did they sell out in all stores? i doubt it.

edit: went to wal-mart online and all they have is the ps3 and a blu ray player no mention of an hd-dvd player.

and circuit city seems to have them in stock.

amazon also has it in stock.

im guessing best buy had very little of the hd-dvd players

[sigma8]

Best Buy also sold out of the PS3 Guitar Hero 3 bundles. I guess that means it's selling just as many as this HD-DVD player.. Oh wait no, neither stat means anything.

[Xenontc]

I've got to say that Sony did the right thing putting Blu-ray player in the ps3, It's not necessarily needed for games because of compression techniques etc, but without it I think HD-DVD would be winning.

Obviously putting the BD in the PS3 was smart, if the PS3 didn't have a BD player, HD-DVD would be completely dominating. What would you rather pay for the exact same thing, $400 or $180.

[dennis872007]

Obviously putting the BD in the PS3 was smart, if the PS3 didn't have a BD player, HD-DVD would be completely dominating. What would you rather pay for the exact same thing, $400 or $180.

its not the same thing. they only support 720p and some 1080i. ps3 supports 1080p

[msanchez]

...This though can only be a plus for consumers as it will force them to lower prices to make sales....

And this is should be the only thing that matters to us. The format war is all screwed up, and I can't wait for it to be over already...... but if there's 1 good thing about it is that because of competition in the end we'll get better deals than if they had just decided to release 1 universal format. I guess that might be my "glass half full" philosophy.

I seem to remember someone in the BD camp saying that by x-mas we should see some reasonably priced entry level BD players, and by the looks of things they will need to release them if they want to keep their lead.

[Frak-Frakistan]

poor ppl don't even know that it doesn't support full HD.,suckers who suck for system thats already dead.

[Hidari_Mak]

Doesn't this HD-DVD player have very limited functions ?HD-DVD @ budget prices is great but then if all the major movie studios move to Blu-Ray it won't matter when they have no HD-DVD's to play it on.

No offense, but this line of reasoning is similar to what PS3 fanboys used. "Sure the 360 is getting more sales now, but when the major game developers move to making PS3 games a priority then the 360 won't be doing well at all". In both cases, it relies on the major industry supporters deciding to throw all of their weight on one side of the battle, and to ignore the potential profits from the other side.

Just like game studios aren't going to overlook the potential purchase of games by 360 owners, movie studios aren't going to suddenly drop the HD-DVD format if they're currently releasing movies for it -- especially now that HD-DVD players have hit the popular <$200 price.

[N1GHTRA1N]

its not the same thing. they only support 720p and some 1080i. ps3 supports 1080p

So what, most people don't have 1080p sets and most people who do won't notice a difference since you really need at least a 60" screen to even begin to notice the difference in 1080i and 1080p. Hell I can hardly see any difference on a 65" TV.

[felixm477]

They might have all sold out but how many did they actually have if they only had 50 or 100 units it's not really going to worry the bluray camp.

look at it this way, walmart came out with a budget hd-dvd player with 15ish allocations that could sell out. Bestbuy obviously noticed and did the same they now are sold out, im pretty sure circuit city and alot of other retailers will follow suite and a price battle will eventually ensue. there is more retail activity going on for hd-dvd players than there is for blu-ray players. when was the last time you ever saw a blu-ray standalone player sell out at a retailer? right never.

[felixm477]

its not the same thing. they only support 720p and some 1080i. ps3 supports 1080p

that is for that specific model hd-dvd player but considering your saving yourself $200 to have your tv de-interlace for the same picture ide say its pretty good for a bargain. for a bargain model its not bad and others will follow that output 1080p, i consider this player better in features then those gimped 1st and 2nd gen bluray players that have already been declared obsolete in featursets.

[Desolationstorm]

Doesn't this HD-DVD player have very limited functions ?HD-DVD @ budget prices is great but then if all the major movie studios move to Blu-Ray it won't matter when they have no HD-DVD's to play it on.

But Yeah def blow to Blue-Ray.

Its not a bad HD player actually it does 1080i and has a decent upscaling for dvds. One thing Ive heard is that it doesnt read scratched discs to well. Anyway Ill be buying it tomorrow anyway. If I can get my hands on it. Its a big move if they can have a lot of sales for this machine this chrsitmas. PS3 was a good move on sonys part but I still feel like it was more of a dirty trick, yeah it comes as part of the machine but if the format died your were forced to adopt it. Not saying it will, it was a brilliant move and has seriously helped them, but if say they would have released it at 350/400 without BR last year who would have complained?

Though I know its $400 now and most anyone would rather have BR then BC

[Spnoz]

First and foremost, it is an error to think that the average consumer actually care about getting an HD signal, since most of them don't even own TVs on which that would make a difference.

Second, the average consumer doesn't always goes with what is "best" on a technological standpoint, but instead goes for what it can afford that would improve his actual situation. Betamax had better quality than VHS, but since JVC allowed any third party to build VHS players, the market was flooded with cheap VHS players and people bought those because they were more affordable.

Next, there was Laser Discs and VCDs. Both provided a better image than VHS (although not very much with VCDs), but since players were expensive, no one but audio-video nuts gave a damn about those, and those format eventually died.

It wasn't until DVD players were available under the 200$ mark that the format started to take off.

A lot of people seem to forget that most people out there don't rush out to buy the latest technology every time something new is released. Most people have other priorities in life than watching TV, movies and playing games. To most, these things are really secondary, and many will even upgrade only when they can't find stuff compatible with what they have anymore. We should stop calling stupid everyone that doesn't jump on that same bandwagon we jumped in.

Anyway...

More than likely, the format that will come out on top will probably be the one that will first flood the market with cheap models. Many people also seems to think that customers will go where the movies are, while it's actually the contrary. Movies will go where the consumers are. That's how it always worked in any industry out there. If because of cheap HD-DVD players, the format gain ground and eventually get major acceptance over Blu-Ray, you'll see most movie studio drop their Blu-Ray exclusivity and go with HD-DVD.

It's the same reason why so many games are going multiplatform nowadays. Companies go where the cash is.

[Desolationstorm]

Just an update to anyone that cares. I picked up the HD-A2 with a friend at walmart on friday, $98 with the five free HD-dvd sale is not bad. I dont care if the format dies, it was a good deal and worst comes to worst I have a upscaling dvd player.

One funny not Toshiba made me laugh when I open the box and find composite cables, seriously toshiba:p thats absurd. Good thing I buy my cables online. Just made me laugh but all in all its a player, i updated it and it runs better. Still a little slow with power on but not a huge deal for me.

[msanchez]

....One funny not Toshiba made me laugh when I open the box and find composite cables, seriously toshiba:p thats absurd. Good thing I buy my cables online. Just made me laugh but all in all its a player, i updated it and it runs better. Still a little slow with power on but not a huge deal for me.

I assume you don't have a ps3 or else you would have died suffocated from the extended laughter attack that not finding an HDMI or component cable in the box would have caused. I know sony are probably still loosing a decent amount of money on each ps3 sold..... but after so many price breaks and sku changes how come they haven't included the God forsaken cables in any of them?

[Xenontc]

its not the same thing. they only support 720p and some 1080i. ps3 supports 1080p

Okay, so the PS3 supports something that .01% of the world has. You're point?

[Desolationstorm]

I assume you don't have a ps3 or else you would have died suffocated from the extended laughter attack that not finding an HDMI or component cable in the box would have caused. I know sony are probably still loosing a decent amount of money on each ps3 sold..... but after so many price breaks and sku changes how come they haven't included the God forsaken cables in any of them?

Luckily I have yet to go out and buy one. I can understand cutting costs, but seriously if this is supposed to be about how good something looks atleast give us component cables that goes out to everyone that makes next gen hardware. I dont care I have a spare hdmi cable for either a ps3 or when my 360 dies;). Either way I just have my friend buy me cables from bestbuy, something funny about it going from $70 to $5 hahah

[dennis872007]

Luckily I have yet to go out and buy one. I can understand cutting costs, but seriously if this is supposed to be about how good something looks atleast give us component cables that goes out to everyone that makes next gen hardware. I dont care I have a spare hdmi cable for either a ps3 or when my 360 dies;). Either way I just have my friend buy me cables from bestbuy, something funny about it going from $70 to $5 hahah

dont you mean going from $70 to the 5 finger discount

[Desolationstorm]

dont you mean going from $70 to the 5 finger discount

Sure if 5 finger means employee

[dennis872007]

Sure if 5 finger means employee

last time i heard the most an employee gets is 50 percent off.

[Desolationstorm]

last time i heard the most an employee gets is 50 percent off.

No they were supposed to restructure the whole employee discount, but on cords its cost plus 10%