Toshiba Permanently Drops HD DVD Player Prices

Hot on the heels of a month-long promotional price cut, Toshiba announced on Thursday that it would permanently lower prices on two of its entry level HD DVD players.

Effective July 1, Toshiba says its HD-A2 player will be permanently offered at an MSRP $299, while its HD-A20 will be offered at $399.

This returns prices on both players to the same levels seen earlier this month as part of the company's month-long $100 rebate offer. As we've previously reported, Toshiba had reported stronger than expected results from the recent promo, with some retailers claiming a five- to ten-fold increase in sales.

This most recent announcement comes amidst a series of price drops on both sides of the format war over the last two months. Toshiba's $299 price for its HD-A2 player remains the lowest for a standalone high-def player (the least expensive stand-alone Blu-ray player is Sony's BDP-S300, which the company is currently offering at a MSRP $499).

Ken Graffeo, co-President of the HD DVD Promotions Group told Video Business that his organization has found that price is the biggest motivating factor for consumers when it comes to buying a high-def disc player.

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