Wal-Mart Now Selling $199 Venturer HD DVD Player
But Toshiba beat the company to the punch with its new low price.
By Swanni
For months, the HDTV industry has buzzed about a low-cost HD DVD player from China that could give HD DVD a major advantage against Blu-ray in the high-def disc format war.
HD DVD boosters predicted that the player would be available at Wal-Mart, which would drive interest among the masses.
Venturer is based in Ontario, Canada, but has a manufacturing partner in China.
Ironically, though, the launch of the Venturer player is somewhat anti-climatic with entry-level Toshiba players now available at some stores for under $200.
The Venturer SHD7000 features 1080i output with a HDMI connection and an Ethernet port for downloads of special features.
The lowest-priced Blu-ray player is now Sony's BDP-S300 at $499 suggested retail, although Wal-Mart is now selling it for $348.
HD DVD and Blu-ray are the two formats battling for the high-def disc audience.
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