Amazon is going Wal-Mart's current HD DVD promotion one better.

 

Etailer Amazon is matching Wal-Mart's 12 free HD DVD offer, and sweetening the pot by discounting all three third generation Toshiba HD DVD players. In addition to receiving two HD DVDs in the box, five free from the Toshiba rebate, and five free from Amazon at purchase, the players are being discounted 25%-33% off list. The HD-A3 is $225, the HD-A30 $269.98 and the HD-A35 is going for $359.98.

 

Yet another compelling reason to go get a player if you've been on the fence.

If you are thinking about an HD DVD player or are on the fence, get to your local Wal-Mart this morning for a great buy on an entry level Toshiba HD DVD player.

 

Beginning at 8am Wal-Mart shoppers who purchase a Toshiba A2 or A3 HD DVD player will receive 12 free HD DVD titles, making the player essentially free. Two movies are packed in with the unit, five come as part of Toshiba's mail-in rebate, and Wal-Mart is ponying up and giving you five more on the spot. Wal-Mart sells the A2 for $198 and the A3 for $298.

 

It's a very good buy, and if you've been thinking about it, now's the time. Go. Now.

The BDA is reporting that sales of Blu Ray players have topped 2.7 million units to date.

 

Figures include both stand-alone players and Playstation 3 videogame consoles. The HD DVD Promotional Group had reported last week that HD DVD player sales had hit the 750,00 mark, that figure including Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on units. On the software front, Blu Ray has sold over 4 million discs since inception through November, with HD DVD accounting for 2.5 million units in disc sales. HD DVD has enjoyed the upper hand in stand-alone player sales throughout the Format War, and with the BDA not claiming a victory in stand-alone player sales, it's safe to assume that Playstation 3 videogame consoles still account for the majority of Blu Ray hardware sales.

 

It's business as usual this week in the Format War, with both sides trying to dress up weak PR announcements as trumpets of the other side's apocalypse. Neither side has begun to act like they really want to win, and we're still stuck with a fractured HD media market.

 

In a press release issued this morning, the HD DVD Promotional Group states that HD DVD owners are utilizing HD DVD's online interactivity, and coming back for more.

 

"We've only scratched the surface in offering web-connected experiences to fans of hit movies and TV shows, so it was great to see so many connecting online for these titles," said Universal's Ken Graffeo, also co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group.

 

"As more titles from the HD DVD studios include access to downloads, trailers and community pages, the owner of any HD DVD player can take advantage of these web-connected experiences. Seeing the fan base rally around 'Transformers', 'Heroes' and other key titles on HD DVD was validation that there's an interest in extending the movie watching experience." stated Chris Saito, Paramount Home Entertainment's vice president of worldwide HD DVD marketing. "Growing and feeding the fan communities is a critical piece to evolving home entertainment, and this is an example of where HD DVD is meeting the challenge."

 

Transformers saw 80,000 of it's purchasers check out it's online features, with nearly a third of them returning for more visits to download additional content as it was released.  Universal reports that nearly a third of consumers who purchased Heroes: Season One, Knocked Up and Evan Almighty came online to download content.