Wal-Mart sells Blu-ray player for $298
Same unit also will be available at Best Buy for $347
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 5/14/2008
MAY 14 | Come Memorial Day weekend, Wal-Mart will start selling Blu-ray Disc set-top players for $298, the cheapest starting price point yet for players in the format.
The Funai player is Profile 1.1 with picture-in-picture functionality.
The retailer did not immediately comment, but sources indicate the hardware will be manufactured by Japan-based Funai and will be sold under the Magnavox brand. Dubbed Magnavox NB500MG9, the player will be Profile 1.1 with picture-in-picture functionality.
AVS Forum bloggers report seeing the player on shelves at various Wal-Mart outlets now, but the model should be more widely spread throughout the chain by May 24-26, according to sources.
This same player also will be sold at Best Buy under the chain’s in-house Insignia brand beginning mid- to late-July, priced at $347.99. Typically, Insignia products are among the more inexpensively priced at Best Buy.
Funai first announced its intentions to bow a Profile 1.1 Blu-ray set-top player during January’s Consumer Electronics Show. Sub $300 pricing was anticipated, but street dates and retailer partners weren’t provided.
Although research analysts have circled the $200 mark as the sweet spot for mainstream Blu-ray hardware adoption, these budget-conscious Funai players should give format sales a boost.
This marks the first time at Wal-Mart that Blu-ray set-top players will launch with price tags that dip below the $399 PlayStation 3. Currently, Blu-ray set-tops start at $399. During the 2007 holidays, several BD players did temporarily fall below $300, but set-tops have since risen back to the $399 mark this year.
Best Buy may throw significant marketing around the Insignia BD products, as the chain has a vested interest in the brand.
“We will promote it,” Best Buy spokesman Brian Lucas said. “We won’t promote it exclusively [from other Blu-ray players]. But it is a brand that customers have responded well too. Consumer Reports has given the brand high marks.”
Chain spokeswoman Emily Schroeder added that the Insignia BD player should particularly help families, pinched by today's tightening economy, enjoy modestly-priced summer activities.
"We hear that a lot of folks are canceling travel-related vacations, and they are most likely looking at home entertainment options," said Schroeder. "They want to have fun this summer, but they don't want it to be extravagant."
However, the PS3 will remain one of the most advanced Blu-ray devices on the market. The console is firmware upgradeable to Profile 1.1 and Profile 2.0 with BD Live. Funai’s players are not expected to playback BD Live Web-enabled features.
