Audio Video News

If you bought an HD DVD player or Xbox drive before February 23, here's some good news from Best Buy. You now have two options. You can keep your HD DVD player and the store will give you a $50 gift card to ease the pain. Or you can trade in your HD DVD player for further gift-card bounty.

The $50 gift cards will cost the chain $10 million. But hey, as COO Brian Dunn says, that's what it takes to "reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs."

Why would anyone want to keep an HD DVD player? As the Best Buy press release notes: "HD-DVD players can actually deliver greatly enhanced video performance with standard DVDs by upconverting the video resolution."

Here's what the press release has to say about the $50 gift card: "Most Best Buy customers won't have to do anything to receive their gift card. As a demonstration of its commitment to its customers, Best Buy will proactively mail cards to all customers that the company can identify as having purchased an HD-DVD player. Members of the Best Buy Reward Zone program, customers who purchased Performance Service Plans (PSPs) or who made their purchase on BestBuy.com should look for their gift cards in the mail by May 1. Other customers who may not be easily identified can call (888) BEST BUY to receive their gift cards with proof of purchase through a credit card or their Best Buy receipt."

If you'd prefer the trade-in option: "Beginning on March 21, customers who do want to get rid of their HD-DVD players can visit Best Buy's Online Trade-In Center at bestbuytradein.com. Visitors to the site will receive instant estimates of the value of their HD-DVD players and movies. Those who agree with the estimates can then ship their goods to the Trade-In Center free of charge by downloading a prepaid shipping label and will receive an additional gift card as payment for their trade-in. This service is open to HD-DVD owners regardless of where they bought their player." (Emphasis added.)

Despite the dodgy economy, Best Buy recently opened eight new stores.