FRED MANTEGHIAN BLOG

"Okay boys, I want a clean fight. No bitin', no spittin', and definitely no hittin' below the belt. Now shake hands, go back to yer corners and come out when you hear the bell. Ya understands?"

Rules may be fine for the ring, but when it comes to all out war – format war that is – rules is fer da birds. Start with the fact that HD-DVD players are starting to sell like hot cakes. How is that possible with Blu-Ray holding their million disc march to announce that, despite HD's five month head start, they've sold more discs than their rival?

Turns out, HD has a secret weapon. Price. Toshiba's gen-2 machines have dropped in price significantly and consumers are responding. At Costco last week the HD-A2 was $350. Checking Amazon as I write this, there is only one A2 left, and it going for $332.88 – that's $67.11 off the newly lowered MSRP of $400 (it was $500 when first announced last September at CEDIA). Did I mention, the box contains details on how you can get five free HD movies? That brings the net price down to about $220!

The top end machine, the HD-XA2 which offers 1080p output (the A2 is only a 1080i machine) can be had for even more significant savings. Amazon has it for $516.88, which is 35% off the MSRP of $800. Yup, you get the movies too.

Finally, there's the more recently introduced HD-A20 ($500 MSRP) which straddles the features of the other two units, gives you 1080p output and can be had at Amazon for an are-ya-sittin'-down price of $375.88.

Oh, I know. Sony has promised a sub-$300 BD machine before Christmas (to go along with the PS3's they announced before last Christmas). But you know, that's like saying you're saving a killer punch for the last bout.

Tell it to the mat.