Following on from a post on the difference between Blu-Ray and HD on The Shelf back in August, it seems the heat has been turned up further in the battle for the dominant format with news of the upcoming launch of a cut price HD-DVD player.
In response to the growing success of the PS3, primarily due to a cut price model that still comes equipped with Blu-ray player which trippled sales in North America over the thanks giving holiday season, HD had said it will launch a similar cut price player after Christmas in an attempt to level the playing field.
The new SHD7001 standalone High Definition DVD player from Venturer offers 1080i video output via a direct HDMI connection to your HD ready TV. It also comes with Dolby TrueHD (5.1channel) sound completes the SHD7001 HD experience.
As well as providing a less costly HD player for HD ready TV’s, the SHD7001 is also backwards compatible, meaning existing DVDs can also be played. It goes even further stating that this HD offering will actually enhance the viewing experience of normal DVDs.
Bonus features can be accessed through broadband via an Ethernet connection, as well as a range of other broadband enhanced features such as access to viewer forums and other interactive offerings.
There are no fixed prices released for the player yet but the SHD7001 is thought to break the magic $200 barrier, the price that would undercut any Blu-ray offering as a result of cheaper manufacturing methods. It will be available exclusively on the QVC shopping channel on the 29th December.
