The battle between the Blu-ray and HD DVD standard is
showing no sign of letting up. Backers of both disc standards are looking to
kick off the summer buying season with reduced pricing on their players.
Toshiba will offer a $100 instant rebate on its HD-A2 HD DVD player
from May 20 to June 9. This will effectively reduce the price of Toshiba's
entry-level player from $399 to $299.
In addition, Toshiba will also offer a "Father's
Day" promotion from June 10 through June 16 which will provide a $100
instant discount on any Toshiba HD DVD player. This is in addition to the
current promotion where customers can select
five free HD DVD movies via a mail-in form for purchasing a Toshiba HD DVD
player -- that promotion runs until July 31.
Panasonic, on the other hand, just recently announced its
new DMP-BD10A
Blu-ray player. The player features 7.1 channel audio, Dolby True HD,
dts-HD, automatic 1080p up-conversion over an HDMI connection and Panasonic
EZ-Sync technology for easy integration with Panasonic home theater systems.
According to engadgetHD,
Panasonic is following Toshiba's lead and is including five Blu-ray movies with
its player. Panasonic doesn’t give buyers a choice of which titles they receive,
but the titles (Crash, Fantastic Four,
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean:
Dead Man's Chest and The Transporter)
are arguably far superior to those offered by Toshiba. Likewise, the movies are
included right in the retail box – there is no need to mail off any forms. The
suggested MSRP for the DMP-BD10A is $599.