Kmart Drops Blu-Ray Over Price

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

As HD-DVD players have dropped below $200, Blu-ray is starting the feel the pressure. In one such move, Kmart has decided to drop Blu-ray players from its stores, mostly because of pricing.

Of course, Kmart will continue to sell the Playstation 3, which includes a Blu-ray player.

Wal-Mart and Circuit City are offering the Toshiba A2 player at below $200, as is Amazon.com. The downside of the player, of course, is it is 1080i only. However, the lower prices seem to be turning the tide, which seemed to be in favor of Blu-ray after events such as Blockbuster choosing to rent Blu-ray only.

And deals like the Sears Black Friday special on the Toshiba A3 ($169) and the current Buy.com Xbox 360 HD-DVD external drive ($164.99 bundle with Heroes Season 1 and five movies) just add downward pressure. In fact, Wal-Mart even has an early “Black Friday” special this weekend with the A2 mentioned above going for $98!

We Say: However, even at these lower prices, many are still concerned with ending up with “Betamax” hi-def DVD player. We’ll see what the holiday sales bring.