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Best Buy gives the Xbox 36- HD DVD player a proper send off.  (Source: BestBuy.com)
Microsoft's Xbox 360 HD DVD Player hits a new low

DailyTech reported over the weekend that Microsoft pulled the plug on its Xbox 360 HD DVD player. The move was not surprising considering that Toshiba, maker of the drive, already decided to get out of the HD DVD hardware market.

We noted in the article that it would only be a matter of time before a "fire sale" would commence on the discontinued player. Today, Best Buy confirmed our suspicions by slashing the player's price to $49.99.

The $49.99 price is likely the bottom end for the player which has seen its MSRP drop from $199.99 to $179.99 to $129.99 over the past year.

The Xbox 360 HD DVD player is available for shipping on Best Buy's website, or if you prefer, in-store pickup is available if you wish to get it even sooner.

Potential buyers should keep in mind that Microsoft still intends to provide product support and warranty service for the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. Customers are also still eligible to receive five free HD DVD movies via a mail-in rebate [PDF] if they so choose.

The peripheral as its name implies is primarily targeted at Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, however, it can also be used on Windows-based PCs. Microsoft stated from the beginning that it was giving its customers a choice by providing the HD DVD player as an optional accessory instead of making it standard as with Sony's PlayStation 3.

The gamble to include the Blu-ray drive as standard equipment on every PS3 sold may turn out to be a boon for Sony as its console outsold the Xbox 360 for the first time ever in the U.S. during the month of January -- Warner Bros. announced its decision to back Blu-ray in early January.

For its part, Microsoft attributed the less than stellar January sales to Xbox 360 shortages.

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Is it worth $50?
By Belard on 2/25/2008 2:37:35 PM , Rating: 2
That the thing about add-ons with such limitations. Is it worth $50 for 5 movies you may get? Then what...? Start building your HD-DVD collection?




RE: Is it worth $50?
By daftrok on 2/25/2008 2:52:29 PM , Rating: 2
Hell yeah! Given that HD DVDs cost less than DVDs its one hell of a fire sale.


RE: Is it worth $50?
By joemoedee on 2/25/2008 2:53:19 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
That the thing about add-ons with such limitations. Is it worth $50 for 5 movies you may get? Then what...? Start building your HD-DVD collection?


Considering 5 free movies, plus King Kong it's not a bad deal. There's still plenty of HD DVD movies out on the market currently, and I'm sure they will soon be available for a decent price. (IE: Discovery selling Planet Earth HD on HD-DVD for $29.99)

So for a minimal investment, folks can get some decent HD titles on the cheap. Are you buying for the future? No. But for the current, I'd jump on it.


RE: Is it worth $50?
By bodar on 2/25/2008 4:30:34 PM , Rating: 2
Better move fast. According to the PDF, the window for purchase date ends in 3 days.


RE: Is it worth $50?
By mikecel79 on 2/25/2008 4:33:42 PM , Rating: 2
Where can you get Planet Earth on HD DVD for $30? I have an HD DVD player and have been looking to get Planet Earth but everywhere I've seen it's selling for $40 to $50.


RE: Is it worth $50?
By joemoedee on 2/26/2008 7:09:37 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Where can you get Planet Earth on HD DVD for $30? I have an HD DVD player and have been looking to get Planet Earth but everywhere I've seen it's selling for $40 to $50.


http://slickdeals.net/?pno=11728&lno=1&afsrc=1

Add the HD-DVD set to your cart, go to Checkout, Voila, -$50 coupon automatically applied for $29.95. Not bad at all. :)


RE: Is it worth $50?
By joemoedee on 2/26/2008 7:14:24 AM , Rating: 2
As another lookout for you newfound HD-DVD owners, DeepDiscount.com has a few $9.98/$12.98 HD-DVD's out there with free shipping...

http://www.deepdiscount.com/viewcategory.htm?categ...

Scroll down to the bottom and you'll see a pretty decent selection, dependent on your taste. :)


RE: Is it worth $50?
By tallcool1 on 2/26/2008 7:56:00 AM , Rating: 3
Start buying up a bunch of HDDVD movies at discount.
Sounds great, until 3-5 years from now if your player dies, gets broke, or whatever... then your stuck with a library of movies you cannot watch as no HDDVD players will be available by then. You would be better off buying regular DVD movies for even less and just watch them via upconvert. At least you know they will be good to play years from now.


RE: Is it worth $50?
By 91TTZ on 2/26/2008 9:04:24 AM , Rating: 2
Someone will always have one for sale on Ebay. There were over a million of these things made.

You can still buy Laserdisc players or 8 tracks on Ebay if you really wanted to buy one.


RE: Is it worth $50?
By Hiawa23 on 2/26/2008 12:35:19 PM , Rating: 2
Start buying up a bunch of HDDVD movies at discount.
Sounds great, until 3-5 years from now if your player dies, gets broke, or whatever... then your stuck with a library of movies you cannot watch as no HDDVD players will be available by then. You would be better off buying regular DVD movies for even less and just watch them via upconvert. At least you know they will be good to play years from now.

I got the add on for Trnasformers & the free movies, I love mine. I plan to get the movies for cheap & buy a standalone as soon as the prices drop on those. I am a collector & just cause the format failed doesn't mean I can't enjoy the movies for years to come just like I continue to do with VHS, DVDs, or may just pickup another ADD-On & use it for my computer, plus with places like amazon or Ebay I am sure you will be able to find one, hell you can still buy VCRs all over the internet.


RE: Is it worth $50?
By wallijonn on 2/27/2008 10:50:11 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
At least you know they will be good to play years from now.


Years from now the movies will be in 16 bit true colour, be mastered at p24 and be able to play at 4096p on your 32 bit true colour laser TV. Today's dvds will look crappy on tomorrow's sets. Most probably.

Just look at DVDs you bought 5 years ago. Chances are that they cannot hold a candle to today's movies (Godfather trilogy, for example; it needs to be remastered and restored before it can be re-released on HDM.) 5 years ago many dvds were in stereo, but now people want 5.1 and 7.1 lossless audio. Who knows what we'll "want" 5 years from now?, 16.4 lossless audio?

Compare all the James Bonds movies to the recently frame-by-frame remasters. There is no comparison.

Chances are great that very few of today's DVDs will be around 5 years from now because the TV sets will have made quantum jumps in technology. Can you find a Lser Disc player from 5 years ago that have HDMI outputs?


I see $79 Profit
By Lord 666 on 2/25/08, Rating: 0
RE: I see $79 Profit
By Spivonious on 2/25/2008 3:06:05 PM , Rating: 2
When I worked there a few years ago, you couldn't return something without a receipt. You could trade it in, but cash drops 20% off of the price. Trade-in credit was usually 50% of what a used one sold for.


RE: I see $79 Profit
By Desslok on 2/25/2008 3:09:52 PM , Rating: 3
Best of luck trying that.


RE: I see $79 Profit
By FITCamaro on 2/25/2008 4:47:09 PM , Rating: 2
Walmart will take back anything if you complain enough. My mom is a pharmacy manager for a specialty pharmacy that has the displeasure of being owned by Walmart. She has customers who call and demand their money back for narcotics wanting to return them since they didn't need them all. It's illegal to take the drugs back but Walmart will give them a refund if they bitch enough.


By VoodooChicken on 2/25/2008 3:12:15 PM , Rating: 2
Around 20+ years ago, Atari started running commercials, I THINK for the 7800, and it was at a time when Nintendo took over the world and Sega was about to launch in America. They had a real goofy cheesy commercial ("FIFTY BUCKS??!!") that reminds me of the Pizza Hut FIVE BUCKS?? commercial they got now.




By 91TTZ on 2/26/2008 9:34:26 AM , Rating: 2
That was for the Atari 2600. They started selling it for $50 even after the 7800 was around. I remember that commercial with its lame rap- "Under 50 bucks? FIFTY BUCKS?- well isn't that nice. The 2600 from A-TAR-I"


...
By FingerMeElmo87 on 2/25/2008 2:01:15 PM , Rating: 2
lol, that sucks




By Staples on 2/25/2008 3:35:20 PM , Rating: 2
They are in stock at most of the Best Buys around here but I think it would be better to save the money for a Blu Ray player. Great price but not worth it for me, given its lifespan and how rarely I watch movies.




What about us?
By electriple9 on 2/25/2008 11:16:57 PM , Rating: 2
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon...
If you could get HD DVD movies for $12.99 its totally worth it, you get HD movies a price lower then that of a standard def dvd.
Thanks




If they add 5 free movies...
By xphile on 2/26/2008 2:47:34 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Best Buy Offers Xbox 360 HD DVD Player for $50

Then at $50, they are almost offering enough where I'd be tempted to take one off their hands. My only question is - will they direct credit that $50 or is that a check? :-)




EB Games Australia also at $50
By BradCube on 2/26/2008 3:08:58 AM , Rating: 2
For those interested, EB Games Australia have also today reduced their pricing on new HD-DVD add ons to $49.95.