The battle for the future of the high-definition DVD has taken an intriguing turn: For the first time, mega-retailer Wal-Mart has begun selling a player for less than $200.
In various online forums, enthusiasts have reported seeing the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player available in stores for $198, significantly less than its common price of $230-$280.
"We reduced our HD DVD Toshiba player, the generation-two, to $198 earlier in the week," Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien confirmed. "It's happening now, and that's really all I can tell you. We don't give any information on what we're planning to do for the holidays. We know HD DVD and Blu-ray are going to be popular items this holiday season for some of our customers. ... They will be more popular this year than they were in previous years."
O'Brien said rumors that each Wal-Mart store would stock only 18 units of the Toshiba player were false. "There are no limited quantities for stores or purchases."