Wal-Mart has begun a new promotional campaign dubbed Operation Main Street in which many products will see huge price cuts for a limited time.
From the full promotion however, Blu-ray products seem to be leading the pack. The Magnavox NB500MG9 Blu-ray player is selling for $198 USD, down from $229. The player is Profile 1.1 compatible and will upconvert standard definition DVDs to 1080p.
Potential buyers of the most popular Blu-ray player, the Sony PlayStation 3, should be delighted by the promotion as well. The $399 USD 80GB PS3 will come with a $100 USD Wal-Mart gift card that can be used on any items available at Walmart.com. PlayStation 2 buyers will receive a $30 USD gift card if purchasing the aging $129 USD
Other deals not involving Blu-ray include a 2GB Sony Walkman media player for $49 USD and a 15.4 inch Compaq CQ-139WM notebook for $298 USD.
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According to ABI Research, prices for older model Blu-ray players should drop to $150 USD for the holiday season, a steep price drop over their current average $200-250 USD price tags.
The analyst group says the price drops will be necessary to fight off pressures from emerging HD movie download services. The group also believes the studios will need strong Blu-ray sales for the holiday following the current economic downturn.
The sales prices will most likely be on older Profile 1.0 and 1.1 players that lack BD-Live Internet capabilities.
“Blu-ray vendors and dealers are starting to realize that for Blu-ray to become the next DVD, they need to lower player prices in order to generate interest and build volumes,” notes ABI Research’s principal analyst Steve Wilson.
HD download services, especially those rolled out recently by Netflix, TiVo and Amazon, will be Blu-ray’s biggest competition for the time being, noted ABI.
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Pioneer has introduced its new LX01BD Blu-ray Disc home cinema system, complimenting the HD video of Blu-ray with “exclusive audio technologies”. Sporting a distinctive and compact three-dimensional speaker design, it is ideal for Pioneer’s line up of Full HD Kuro televisions. The LX01BD incorporates a profile 1.1, BonusView Blu-ray Disc player that opens up a wide range of high definition entertainment options.
To provide lifelike motion picture, it provides HDMI Deep Colour support, which enables a wide range of colour tones and smooth transitions. The LX01BD has an integrated 5.1 channel amplifier and comes with compact dodecahedron technology derived satellite speakers that generate sound fields in all directions.
The LX01BD is capable of processing the latest audio formats DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD and will reproduce every note in high definition studio quality. Pioneer’s proprietary Multi-Channel Acoustic Calibration System (MCACC) analyzes the sound characteristics of the listening room and calibrates the system accordingly, while potential standing waves are effectively minimized, using Standing Wave Control.
Pioneer’s LX Series component/systems, are the perfect visual complement for the KURO Flat screen TVs. And that’s no different for the LX01BD, which shares the KURO plasma’s minimalist aesthetics, elegant lines and characteristic piano black finish. The system’s aluminium top plate makes a high-end statement and provides great durability.
