For Black Friday, Blu-ray players dip below $100
If you’ve been holding out for Blu-ray player prices to drop, then this year’s Black Friday weekend shopping event could bring welcome news, as you’ll be able to get a decent player for $100 or even less.
Last year around this time, we saw prices fall to as little as $150 on older models that lacked newer features. The real news this year is that while some of the heavily discounted Blu-ray players being promoted in fliers and on websites are older so-called BonusView (Profile 1.1) models that lack Blu-ray’s BD-Live Internet feature, there are also some fully featured BD-Live models at new low prices.
For example, Best Buy is offering the Insignia NS-BRDVD3 Blu-ray player, a BD-Live model that can also stream instant movies from Netflix, for $100. Given its price and features, it’s one of the best deals we’ve seen.
H.H. Gregg is offering Toshiba’s BDX2000 BD-Live Blu-ray player for $80 after a $20 mail-in rebate. This model, announced not too long ago at $250, is currently selling at Amazon for just over $100. The same player is offered as a doorbuster special at Ultimate Electronics for $90.
At Sixth Avenue Electronics, Black Friday specials include Pioneer's BDP120 Blu-ray player for $99. It’s a BD-Live model that comes with a 1GB USB flash drive. And Costco—and Costco.com—will be selling Vizio’s $150 VBR110 BD-Live player for $99 from Nov. 27 through Nov. 29.
If you’re willing to spend a bit more, Sixth Avenue has the Panasonic DMP-BD60 for $129—a price we’ve seen elsewhere as well, though above Dell home’s now-expired $109 deal—and Sony’s BDP-S360 for $147. The Sony is widely available for about $150 at several retailers, and it’s $137 at Amazon.com’s weekly electronics deal. But if you’re near a Walmart, the chain has it for $128—the lowest price we’ve seen—and another Sony model we’ve never come across before, the BDP-S369, for $148. LG’s BD370 player, which has access to Netflix streaming movies, is $130 at Amazon.com, the same price as it was on a recent Best Buy Deal of the Day.
For those who can live without BD-Live, there are several below-$100 deals. For example, Meijer has Sylvania’s NB530SLX for $89, while Walmart’s $78 doorbuster price for the Magnavox NB500MG1F Blu-ray player is the lowest price we’ve seen, though it’s available in limited quantities.
Just as it did with TVs, Samsung cut prices for the week on several Blu-ray models, making the BD-P1600 widely available for $150, the BD-P3600 for $230 and the BD-P4600 at $280. Samsung’s HT-BD1250 HTIB system, which includes a Blu-ray player, is now $400 at numerous retailers, including Best Buy, Crutchfield, Amazon.com, Sears, and RadioShack.
As we do with other CE categories, we'll continue to monitor Blu-ray pricing during Black Friday and beyond. So keep checking back regularly for updates. And be sure to keep us posted on the best deals you find this holiday season. —James K. Willcox
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