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zoobie
Cinematographer
Joined: 27 Feb 2005
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains
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| Quote: |
(Wall Street Journal) Did you plop down big dollars for a HD DVD player using Toshiba's HD-DVD format - which recently lost the battle with Sony's Blu-ray format?
Well, depending where you bought it, you may be eligible for a refund of a gift card to ease the disappointment.
Wal-mart is offering refunds for HD DVD players purchased on or after Nov 1. To qualify, customers must return the players by April 30 and have a receipt in hand. Original packaging isn't required.
Meanwhile, BestBuy is giving $50 gift cards to customers who bought an HD DVD player or an HD DVD unit for a Microsoft XBox 360 video-game system anytime before February 23. Gift-card recepients can keep their HD DVD units.
BestBuy says it will mail the gift cards, which don't expire, by May 1 to customers who bought warranties or who are part of it's "Reward Zone" program. Other BestBuy customers can call 1-888-BestBuy to participate. Be sure to have your receipt or credit card information as proof of purchase.
People looking to get rid of a player altogether - regardless of where it was purchased - can check out Best Buy's online trade-in center.
You're not looking at great prices when trading in, but it's something. For instance, you'd get $148.50 for a Toshiba HD XA2 unit originally priced at $1,000 and $2.70 apiece for HD DVD's. |
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budz
IGA Ninja
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Location: In the shadows.....
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Circuit City was one of the first retailers to give store credit to customers who bought HD DVD PLAYERS.
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PuzZLeR
WiLd CaRd
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Location: Toronto Canada
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I would love to know if some of these retailers bought into some sort of insurance, much like futures, options or a hedge for protection "just in case". This rebating/refunding seems like it would have been very expensive otherwise.
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edDV
Member
Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Location: Northern California, USA
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About time they gave store credit for "HD Ready" TVs that lacked HDCP (invented after the sale).
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budz
IGA Ninja
Joined: 11 Jan 2003
Location: In the shadows.....
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| edDV wrote: |
| About time they gave store credit for "HD Ready" TVs that lacked HDCP (invented after the sale). |
:/ That term "HD READY" bothers me because it's like a half-assed terminology. As in case of HDCP that was invented after the fact so it's not really "HD". Go figure.....
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satviewer2000
Member
Joined: 29 Apr 2004
Location: Canada
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| PuzZLeR wrote: |
| I would love to know if some of these retailers bought into some sort of insurance, much like futures, options or a hedge for protection "just in case". This rebating/refunding seems like it would have been very expensive otherwise. |
Well since the "money" is actually in the form of a store credit, then the store will still evenutally make their money back since the customer must use the coupon in that particular store, and will likely have to spend much more than what the coupon is worth in order to buy a BluRay player (or anything else for that matter). It's actually quite a smart "marketing" ploy by the retailer.
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FulciLives
UNDEAD OVERLORD
Joined: 09 May 2003
Location: Pittsburgh, PA in the USA
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Considering how many retailers are doing this I wouldn't be surprised if Toshiba is behind this to some extent. Not saying I know this to be a fact I'm just saying that I bet Toshiba is somehow ... if only partly ... funding this ... after all it is their equipment and if any is to "save face" over this it is Toshiba ... not the retailers.
- John "FulciLives" Coleman
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PuzZLeR
WiLd CaRd
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Location: Toronto Canada
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I do know that Toshiba was honoring "out clauses" on contracts for HD-DvD carriers/retailers/studios/etc., but don't know the details myself. It is good business I believe for all parties concerned - and I agree that it prevents resentment towards the Toshiba brand.
Satviewer2000, I see your point - sacrifice a bit of the margin to win another sale later. And this too soothes their customers' disappointment as well.
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oldfart13
Member
Joined: 09 Nov 2000
Location: Canada
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$100 off a LG Dual player at Futureshop Canada. That unit had also been marked down from $899 to $499, so $399 would be a good price and you can still keep your HD-DVD videos....
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sunderland
Member
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Location: north east england
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why not just keep them and use them as good upscaling dvd players and then buy all the cheap hd films that is out
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edong
Member
Joined: 29 Sep 2005
Location: LOST in the USA
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Yesterday, my son received from Best Buy a $50 gift certificate. Reason: he bought an Xbox from them. They are very generous I think. Are they preempting a possible class-action lawsuit? I don't see a reason for a lawsuit. Did people sue during the VHS-Betamax format war? Then again, lawyers always see something to sue.
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SCDVD
Member
Joined: 05 Oct 2004
Location: United States
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| sunderland wrote: |
| why not just keep them and use them as good upscaling dvd players and then buy all the cheap hd films that is out |
Presuming that a person is going to buy a BlueRay player which also upscales, why would they want to have two upscaling players? As for buying "cheap HD films", that will be a fleeting "pleasure". When the cheap HD films are flushed out of the channel, then what? You're stuck. One option if a person doesn't want to pay the present prices for a BlueRay player is to return their HD-DVD player and stick with DVDs a while longer and buy a BlueRay player when the prices come down - and they will.
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edDV
Member
Joined: 06 Mar 2004
Location: Northern California, USA
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I feel all the issues were disclosed in the BluRay vs. HD-DVD battle. There was going to be a loser, maybe both. Buyer beware.
This wasn't the case with expensive "HD Ready" TV sets sold up to late 2005. There was no warning that analog component wouldn't be supported at full resolution or any warnings about digital encryption requirements for high def DVD or broadcast flag.
I think this is one of the few cases where a massive class action lawsuit is justified.
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stiltman
Hi Ladies
Joined: 10 Jul 2003
Location: Studio 54
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| edDV wrote: |
This wasn't the case with expensive "HD Ready" TV sets sold up to late 2005. There was no warning that analog component wouldn't be supported at full resolution or any warnings about digital encryption requirements for high def DVD or broadcast flag.
I think this is one of the few cases where a massive class action lawsuit is justified. |
I agree 100%
My HDTV is an old 3rd generation
DVI and Component with no HDMI
I feel I was screwed with the new encrypted HD signals. One of the reasons I wanted an upconverting DVR on component before they we're not around any more.....Just one thing, I thought about it too late, and now I can't find one. 
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| jagabo wrote: |
| I use the FixEverythingThat'sWrongWithThisVideo() filter. Works perfectly every time. |
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MOVIEGEEK
The Dude
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Location: CA,USA
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| Quote: |
| For instance, you'd get $148.50 for a Toshiba HD XA2 unit originally priced at $1,000 and $2.70 apiece for HD DVD's. |
148.50 for a XA2?! 
There's no way I'm trading in my XA2 and HD DVD's,I will be enjoying them for years to come.In fact I recently bought a few more HD DVD's at a great price.I am in no hurry to buy an overpriced BD player,I might buy one in a year or two though.
The Best Buy $50 GC offer is a great promo and I wish other retailers would offer a similar program.
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PuzZLeR
WiLd CaRd
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Location: Toronto Canada
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@MOVIEGEEK: From an accountant's or financial person's point of view, what you're doing could be arguably financially feasible to enjoy HD entertainment today instead of major investments currently on the market with the only existing format BD now.
Even if down the road you actually had to replace your HD-DvD discs with BD ones, you're still ahead by not jumping in while prices are still very high now.
I am not recommending people buy HD-DvD, or its wares today, but since you already have one as the incumbent player, you're best just sticking to it until the prices go down. I agree.
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Josh Mickens
Member
Joined: 04 Apr 2008
Location: United States
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You guys sound like accountants when you debit and credit the store credit. hahaha. That's a good thing they're offering people some form of compensation because it'd really be unfair to those people who didn't know their future player would plummet. I kind of had a feeling that it'd take over though. Just the name blu-ray sounds so cool that people would wanna indulge in it. That, and of course the PS3 came out and dominated the market.
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USB TV Tuner
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jman98
Member
Joined: 08 Oct 2004
Location: Freedonia
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| MOVIEGEEK wrote: |
The Best Buy $50 GC offer is a great promo and I wish other retailers would offer a similar program. |
Amazon.com, where I bought my HD DVD player, sent me email the other day and told me they were giving me $50 in Amazon credit to compensate me for buying my player from them. I appreciated that as they did not have to do so. I have enjoyed my player and it has worked well for me as an upscaling DVD player, so I have no regrets. I bought the first season of Star Trek (the original series) in HD DVD and that alone gave me enough enjoyment to have justified the cost of the player.
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PuzZLeR
WiLd CaRd
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Location: Toronto Canada
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| Quote: |
| Just the name blu-ray sounds so cool that people would wanna indulge in it. |
I agree. I do believe one of the reasons HD-DvD failed is actually the awkwardness of saying "H","D",<pause>,"D","V","D", especially when we're so used to just "DvD".
I'm not a fan of the color blue, however the name "blue" and "ray" gives a cool feeling and the name flows out the mouth very smoothly. Good marketing.
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MOVIEGEEK
The Dude
Joined: 08 Mar 2002
Location: CA,USA
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I think "HD DVD" is more descriptive than "Blu Ray",Blu Ray could be a weapon from a Sci-Fi film. 
The reason HD DVD failed was lack of studio and retail support,not to mention the PS3.
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yoda313
Regular joe
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Location: sector 001
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Well I'm not out that much from HDDVD. I've got six or seven movies and my hddvd addon drive for the xbox 360 was bought used for 100 on ebay.
All in all it was a nice ride and I can still use my movies. The addon sits on top of my xbox so it doesn't really take up any space.
I also went on the cheap end for BLuray with my 200.00 liteon BLURAY ROM pc player. I wasn't going to spend big before the war was decided and now I can I am set for awhile.
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PuzZLeR
WiLd CaRd
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Location: Toronto Canada
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I guess the negative thinking sets in when "HD-DvD is dead", but their supporters are not exactly getting hosed at all today and have it good despite the format's demise.
No, I'm not an HD-DvD fanboy and don't recommend buying the hardware today, but have to re-iterate on my last post. I'm still with blu-ray, however, doing the math - HD-DvDers are getting high quality HD entertainment today at an amazing discount. The savings are incredible and who cares if they have to replace these movies on BD 5 years from now when they are $5.99 at Wal-mart (if they actually care to at all by then).
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Wile_E
Desert Wanderer
Joined: 12 Jul 2004
Location: Texas
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There will be no need for HD-DVD users to replace their discs in the future. The format is digital. Even if players become obsolete, as long as you have a player on your computer, you will be able to rip it and store it on a hard drive. Then play it in a media center PC. The discs may eventually be obsolete, but the ISO's of the discs will live on.
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ViRaL1
HAZMAT
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Location: Making the Rounds
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Returned my A3 to Walmart for a full refund ($200) and kept my 360 HD-DVD ($50) for all the $10 movies I picked up. I don't feel as though I've lost anything at all. I made out like a bandit for Hi-Def movies. I had a PS3 (for games) to begin with and a few BR movies so my bases were covered. For those who invested several hundred early on, most knew things were uncertain. You can't really complain too much if you got burned.
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PuzZLeR
WiLd CaRd
Joined: 12 Oct 2006
Location: Toronto Canada
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| Wile_E wrote: |
| There will be no need for HD-DVD users to replace their discs in the future. The format is digital. Even if players become obsolete, as long as you have a player on your computer, you will be able to rip it and store it on a hard drive. Then play it in a media center PC. The discs may eventually be obsolete, but the ISO's of the discs will live on. |
I agree totally and this further justifies that HD-DvD users are scoring big now. You can remux/reauthor or even re-encode the HD-DvD content differently, even now, and even if you want it playable on a BD disc, so yes you can have it "forever" regardless of the physical disc.
However, when I was referring to replacing the movies to BD, I was referring to those purists who want the "actual official disc".
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