Retailers to Phase Out HD DVD
Video Business is reporting that retailers are moving swiftly to phase out HD DVD.
Toshiba, Warner Home Video and Universal Studios Home Entertainment all are offering incentives for retailers to discount and sell-off HD DVD products as the stores turn to marketing and merchandising Blu-ray Disc as the sole high-definition home entertainment format.
Stores can return Toshiba HD DVD set-tops and recoup certain costs, retailers said. The manufacturer also was granting price credits for
stores to sell the players on clearance.
Ultimate Electronics had few outstanding HD DVD players on shelves by February, as the chain stopped ordering new models just after Warner’s January announcement.
Following Warner’s January announcement, regional sell-through chain Newbury Comics was already significantly reducing the depth of HD DVD orders. Now, it will return much of its new release HD DVD stock, including Universal’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age, chain executives said. Newbury also will take advantage of a Warner rebate program, running Feb. 17 to April 12, that gives stores incentives to mark down about 40 featured studio HD DVD titles by $5 to $10.
Using Universal incentives, DeepDiscount and DVDPlanet have slashed prices by as much as 60% in recent days on about 100 participating HD DVD titles. Universal’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin and The Fast and the Furious were among HD DVDs going for $12.20 at DeepDiscount. On Thursday, all of DeepDiscount’s top-selling 20 high-def titles were in the HD DVD format.
In one of the more innovative Toshiba reactions, Texas electronics store Bjorn’s is allowing people to return HD DVD players they bought in store for credit toward the purchase of a new Blu-ray set-top. Customers must also hand back any free-with-purchase HD DVD titles. Bjorn’s will then independently close-out these discarded products.
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A few days ago, at the local wal marts, here in Dallas.
I notice today that the shelf is completely EMPTY of HD-DVD players. Even thou the stick price on the demo unit and shelf still say $148. Before the death of HDD, they had about 10 boxes, constantly. Now an empty hole.
Mabye they sold em or sent them back to the distributor.