Walmart carries Venturer HD DVD player afterall

[Boz]

Sure seems like it. So much for no Venturer at Walmarts LOL..

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7942216

So now we have these at $199 (possibly $149, pretty soon) as well. Great stuff.

[thollian]

cool!

[majortom1981]

I would rather get the toshiba $199 hd-dvdd player at bestbuy then this one at Walmart.

[Dogan]

<snipped>

Edit: nevermind. The page looked strange on Opera.

[Boz]

I would rather get the toshiba $199 hd-dvdd player at bestbuy then this one at Walmart.

Well the bottom line is that $199 for Venturer would be like MSRP at this moment.. I expect their everyday price to be more like $149.

not so much to hurray for :sleep:

I'm not sure what you are trying to point out.. players are quite obviuosly in-stock and available.

[Dogan]

I'm not sure what you are trying to point out.. players are quite obviuosly in-stock and available.

Yeah. Read above post.

I hope this leads to more price wars = good for us consumers.

[bob_loblaw]

Are there drawbacks from these cheap players? Like it dying in a couple of months?

[Boz]

Are there drawbacks from these cheap players? Like it dying in a couple of months?

Well it is definitely based off of Toshiba.. which is a good thing.. I'm pretty sure that the parts are manufactured at the same places as any other electronics.. and even with this Venturer you still get EVERYTHING HD DVD has mandatory.. meaning TrueHD, DD+ 1.5, online connectivity, full HDi support for interactivity and persistent storage.

I'm thinking of picking this one up for one of my bedrooms.

[TDQuiksilver]

Well it is definitely based off of Toshiba.. which is a good thing.. I'm pretty sure that the parts are manufactured at the same places as any other electronics.. and even with this Venturer you still get EVERYTHING HD DVD has mandatory.. meaning TrueHD, DD+ 1.5, online connectivity, full HDi support for interactivity and persistent storage.

I'm thinking of picking this one up for one of my bedrooms.

Still doesn't mean the hardware build and/or components are up to a higher quality. Five factories can all use the same components, but which one cuts corners to produce more at a cheaper rate? The same one(s) that will be pushing your $100 players to follow suit with Toshiba.

The question that LyhT posted above raises an eyebrow. Yeah, they're cheap... but are these going to have issues six months? Just a thought.

[Boz]

Still doesn't mean the hardware build and/or components are up to a higher quality. Five factories can all use the same components, but which one cuts corners to produce more at a cheaper rate? The same one(s) that will be pushing your $100 players to follow suit with Toshiba.

The question that LyhT posted above raises an eyebrow. Yeah, they're cheap... but are these going to have issues six months? Just a thought.

Trust me.. other CE brands are using the same electronics.. it's no different.. the only real difference is that most upper level brand electronics have or SHOULD have higher quality control. They are manufactured at same places.

This of course does not change the fact that for $100-$150 a person will be able to enjoy next-gen hi-def movies with interactivity and online features with no sacrifices at all.

It's not like these players will go bad as soon as you take them home, it's a bit silly to even talk about this. You have chinese DVD players now that work just fine. Hell even Pioneer one that I have in one of my bedrooms now is most likely cheap ass chinese player with pioneer sticker on it. And get this, it was $50 a few years ago and it's still working fine.

[goji]

The question that LyhT posted above raises an eyebrow. Yeah, they're cheap... but are these going to have issues six months? Just a thought.

Don't all cheap electronics have that problem? :p You generally get what you pay for. The company naturally looks out for its bottom line so basic functions will exist. Beyond that don't be surprised if a mysterious meltdown occurs or your discs magically disappear once you put them in.

[TruckWEB]

I've seen a couple at my local Walmart. They look like Toshiba A-2 in a little less stylish casing. $199 CAN with 2 included movies (not the same as Toshiba offers).

They don't look cheap at all. A copy of the A-2.

[Matt]

I would rather get the toshiba $199 hd-dvdd player at bestbuy then this one at Walmart.

exactly. they are both 720p.

[G_0]

was at Walmart up here in canada just quick on the weekend. They were playing transformers in HD on the venturer player. In the 4 minutes I stopped to compare to my tv I saw 4 people buy the player.

4 people in 4 minutes. That is more people then I know with a BD player, and I know a few.

[Joel]

I've seen a couple at my local Walmart. They look like Toshiba A-2 in a little less stylish casing. $199 CAN with 2 included movies (not the same as Toshiba offers).

They don't look cheap at all. A copy of the A-2.

It is. They even take the same firmware updates.

[Boz]

It is. They even take the same firmware updates.

They are actually A3s.

[TruckWEB]

They are actually A3s.

How do you know?

If they are A-3, that Toshiba sell for $299 (here at least), the Venturier at $199 is a steal then.... What corner did they cut to sell it $100 less?

[Boz]

How do you know?

If they are A-3, that Toshiba sell for $299 (here at least), the Venturier at $199 is a steal then.... What corner did they cut to sell it $100 less?

Nothing really, just goes to show that Toshiba isn't really losing a lot of money on players to begin with.. on AVS forums people have download the firmware update for A3 and it worked flawlessly on Venturer. I believe there's some good deals for Venturer in Canada.. read this thread

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread....5284&page=5

2 warner movies in the box? Interesting.. PLUS some good deals for UK customers or so I hear.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/11/29/qv...enturer_hd_dvd/

It's a good player no doubt. I expect this one to be about $149 just before Christmas.. I think that at this point it's exclusive to Walmart.

[MikeFu84]

I just picked one of these up tonight. Got the exactly two movies pictured above. Watch firewall and it looked awesome on this player. Only thing that I see as a negative right now is it took 3-45 seconds for the player to kick in and start playing the movie. Not sure if that was because it was the first time it was turned on or not, but its something I can live with.

Now I just need to start building my HD-DVD collection.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

nah, the long load delay is standard for any High Def player. yours is normal SaucE (Y)

speaking of, you should write a review and post it on Neowin SaucE

[MikeFu84]

nah, the long load delay is standard for any High Def player. yours is normal SaucE (Y)

speaking of, you should write a review and post it on Neowin SaucE

I probably will. Just want to use it more than once before I do. Probably will do so in the new year after I get to break it in.

[goji]

^ Don't forget to list your other equipment (ie., TV, audio etc) (Y)

[MikeFu84]

^ Don't forget to list your other equipment (ie., TV, audio etc) (Y)

Once I get everything setup the way I want, I plan to post in the Show Your Setup thread. I don't have the fanciest stuff, but it works for me.

[Coldgunner]

sounds good, hope this translates to a better deal the what the register predicts for those of us who are in europe.

[MrKuro]

Its a decent deal, as it is essentially the same hardware as an A3.

although when i picked up an A3 recently for a gift, I got excellent free HD-DVD's included .. (Planet Earth, Borune Ultimatum, and Matrix Trilogy) ... package for $269cnd