Launched just over three months ago with a $349.99 price, Best Buy is now selling the Insignia NS-BRDVD Profile 1.1 Blu-ray player for only $229.99. The NS-BRDVD, like seemingly all of the low-cost Blu-ray decks, is a variant of the Funai NB500.

It had been rumored that Funai was going to cut the MSRP of the NB500 from $299 to $249 to remain ahead of expected price cuts coming from Sony. Perhaps this is a manifestation of those cuts. The unit had already been selling for less than the previous MSRP, so this would be in keeping with the pattern.

Picked up from EngadgetHD.

This week’s “sale events” at BestBuy.com have a few deals worth mentioning. (When did a ’sale’ become a ’sale event’? Isn’t a sale by definitely an event? Anyway…) If you buy one of three Insignia 1080p HDTVs (42″ LCD $899.99, 47″ LCD $1,199.99, or 50″ plasma $1,399.99) you’ll get the Insignia NS-BRDVD Blu-ray player for just $149.99. That’s $130 off their standard $279.99 price. The NS-BRDVD is one of the many rebadged variants of the Funai NB500 unit, and it is a BonusView / Profile 1.1 player, not BD-Live / Profile 2.0.

You can also save 5% to 15% on four other Blu-ray decks. The LG BH200, which handles Blu-ray and HD DVD discs (for those of you who made the mistake of investing in HD DVD media), normally $599.99 is now $509.99. The Panasonic DMP-DB30K Blu-ray deck, normally $399.99, is $359.99. The Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray deck, also normally $399.99, is $339.99. And finally the Sharp AQUOS BD-HP20U, yet again normally $399.99, is $379.99.

Personally I can’t recommend the LH BH200 to anyone who doesn’t have a number of HD DVD discs they still need to play. It just isn’t a good value as a Blu-ray player, and it is BonusView / Profile 1.1 only, despite having an Ethernet port and supporting Internet connectivity for HD DVD. While the Ethernet port means it is possible it could be upgraded to BD-Live someday, it doesn’t seem likely as LG has really stopped work on this family with the death of HD DVD.

The Sharp unit is not only the most expensive of the remaining three, but also the least capable, being just Basic Profile / Profile 1.0, and not even BonusView. Give it a pass. The Panasonic DMP-BD30K is a nice player, but it is also only BonusView and as it lacks an Ethernet port it will never be updated to support it. The one recommendation for the Panasonic is that it has 5.1 analog audio output.

The real pick here is the Samsung. Not only is it the least expensive, but it is the most advanced of the lot. It is ‘BD-Live Ready’, which means that while it is BonusView-only today, Samsung plans to add BD-Live support via a firmware update.

For two days only, Sunday June 29th and Monday June 30th, BestBuy.com is offering a free $100 gift card with all Blu-ray Disc players, plus free shipping.

This is actually part of a larger BestBuy.com Stars & Stripes Sale. it is online only, not available at Best Buy retail locations.

This week, June 15th through June 21st, Best Buy is offering two Blu-ray movies for $25. Pick any two titles from the 29 offered and get both for $25.

And there is another deal than I think I missed earlier, it started on May 11th and runs through July 5th. Get two Blu-ray movies for $30. For this deal choose two titles from the 40 being offered, and get both for $30. Note that there is some title overlap between the two deals, so definitely check out the first, and less expensive, deal first.

Best Buy has begun selling a Blu-ray deck under their in-house Insignia brand, the Insignia NS-BRDVD. This is very likely another variant of the Funai NB500. That would mean it is Bonus View/Profile 1.1 only, no BD-Live/Profile 2.0. And the Magnavox NB500NG9, a Funai NB500 variant, sells for $298 at Wal*Mart, so that’s a better value. In fact, the Samsung BD-P1500, which is ‘BD-Live Ready’, sells for $348 at Wal*Mart, and a 40GB PS3, which is a better BD deck and a gaming system, is $399 (with a free movie and remote through today). So there really isn’t a good reason to buy one of these.

But it is still nice to see the general trend for more Blu-ray players hitting the market with lower prices.

Via EngadgetHD.

According to The New York Times, Best Buy is giving those who purchased HD DVD players from them before February 23rd (the day Toshiba announced the end of the format) a $50 Best Buy gift card. The NYTimes summarizes the program nicely:

The Best Buy cards, which will not expire, will be sent automatically to most customers who purchased HD DVD hardware by February 23, when Toshiba announced that it was abandoning the format. Best Buy’s list includes those who belong to their rewards program, bought extended warranties, or purchased the machine on its Web site. Others need to show proof of purchase to get their cards.

Basically, if Best Buy knows who you are they’ll send you the card automatically. Otherwise you’re going to have to go in and claim it, with proof of purchase. Best Buy sold HD DVD players to over 200,000 customers, so if everyone eligible claims their card this could cost them over $10 million. But it is clearly a solid PR move to help those who might feel burned by picking the loser in the format war take a more favorable view of Best Buy. And, since the card is only good at Best Buy, it will help encourage them to come back in and buy more - perhaps a Blu-ray player.

Toshiba, and the rest of the HD DVD camp, have done a wonderful job of completely ignoring the piles of bad news heaped on HD DVD over the past couple of months. They’ve continued to issue basically the same statement about how they see HD DVD as the better value, vow to continue the fight, etc. Well, the news today is perhaps the bleakest yet. Wal*Mart is dropping HD DVD completely and going Blu-ray exclusive, according to their official blog:

Enough about my family and on to the Wal-Mart plans… by June Wal-Mart will only be carrying BluRay movies and hardware machines, and of course standard def movies, DVD players, and up convert players. Not sure of the short term pricing plans, but history tells us that as more people move to a new technology prices typically go down.

Wal*Mart also issued an official statement:

Bentonville, Ark., Feb. 15, 2008 – Wal-Mart Stores, U.S. today announces that its 4,000 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores will move forward this year with one hi-definition movie and hardware format: Blu-ray. The change will take place quickly over the next several months whereby the retailer will phase out HD DVD offerings and reorganize shelf space. By June, Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Clubs, www.walmart.com and www.samsclub.com will offer only Blu-ray movies and hardware machines, as well as standard definition movies and DVD players, and up converts.

“We’ve listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases,” said Gary Severson, senior vice president, Home Entertainment, Wal-Mart, U.S. “With the customers best interest in all we do, we wanted to share our decision and timeline with them as soon as possible, knowing it will help simplify their purchase decision, increase selection, and increase adoption long term. We anticipate enhancing our selection with continued great values in hi-definition Blu-ray products, so our customers can further enhance their entertainment experience at home.”

Wal-Mart will continue to sell through remaining HD DVD product, but in less than 30 days customers will see a more predominant move toward Blu-ray in stores, clubs and online. As the nation’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart thoughtfully reviewed all areas and impact in making its decision, and is excited to move forward with one format and share its future plans with customers.

With Wal*Mart dropping HD DVD completely, and Best Buy focusing on Blu-ray, you have the top two retailers of consumer electronics and media both pushing Blu-ray. And Netflix, the top online rental company, is also dropping HD DVD. How many more hits can HD DVD take before they just lay down?

Picked up from CNET News.com.

After yesterday’s announcement that Netflix is dropping HD DVD and Best Buy will promote Blu-ray, the HD DVD Promotional Group issued what seems to be their form letter response:

We have long held the belief that HD DVD is the best format for consumers based on quality and value, and with more than 1 million HD DVD players on the market, it’s unfortunate to see Netflix make the decision to only stock Blu-ray titles going forward. While the Best Buy announcement says they will recommend Blu-ray, at least they will continue to carry HD DVD and offer consumers a choice at retail.

Is it just me, or does that ‘at least’ postfix sounds desperate and pitiful? HD DVD needs to go on Jerry Springer. “Sure, he left me for another woman and told everyone he loves her more. But he said I can still cook for him and do his laundry! At least I can still be part of his life!” HD DVD needs some friends to sit them down and get them to move on. Someone stage an intervention.

HD DVD got two heaping scoops of bad news today. One wonders how long Toshiba and the rest of the HD DVD camp will maintain their “Everything going remarkably well!” delusional stance. Hey, HD DVD, to quote: “No you’re not, you’ll be stone dead in a moment.” How many times do you need to be clubbed on the head before you get on the damn cart?

So, first up,